By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Sept 5: Australian Malaya and Borneo war veterans recently gathered to honour their comrades who served and died during the Malayan Wars, which include all Commonwealth military, police and civilian forces, and Iban trackers who served and lost their lives in defence of Sarawak.
According to a press release, the commemorative service was held in Adelaide, South Australia, last Friday (August 29), which is ahead of the Malaya and Borneo Veterans Day, which is observed on August 31 and is the prime commemorative event for the South Australia and Northern Territory Branch of the National Malaya & Borneo Veterans Association Australia (NMBVAA)
During the ceremony, branch vice-president Don Cameron, a Borneo veteran of 1965, placed a tribute in memory of the loyal Iban Trackers he had served beside nearly sixty years ago, which included Balling Ajong from Rumah Mangah longhouse on the Marirai Ballih River, and Unchat Unyong from Rumah Unyong on the Bena Sot River.
Branch member Paul Bayliss, who served with the British Army in Kuching during the Confrontation, placed a wreath in honour of the fallen members of the Federation of Malaya Police, North Borneo Armed Constabulary, and Sarawak Constabulary.
Meanwhile, South Australian state president Major Paul Rosenzweig OAM (ret’d) paid tribute to the 11 Australians who died in defence of Sarawak—eight on operational service and three after being evacuated from Sarawak.
Rosenzweig said of all the fallen: “Their sacrifice was not in vain, upholding the sovereignty of Sarawak. We will remember them. Lest we forget.”
This month, the South Australian state president and vice-president of the NMBVAA of Australia are returning to Sarawak to join the Eastick family reunion to commemorate the service of Brigadier Tom Eastick DSO ED from South Australia, who was Commander of Kuching Force at the end of World War II.
On September 11, 1945, Brigadier Eastick accepted the Japanese Surrender, and Batu Lintang Camp was liberated by a detachment of the 9th Australian Division commanded by Eastick.
The Australian party will join several activities coordinated by Dato Lim Kian Hock OAM, including a service of commemoration and wreath-laying ceremony at the Pending Point jetty in Kuching to honour the 80th anniversary of the Japanese Surrender in Kuching, and a wreath-laying ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Batu Lintang POW and Civilian Internee Camp.
The formal activities will conclude with the unveiling of a commemorative memorial at the Batu Lintang WWII Memorial Square.
This is Rosenzweig’s sixth visit to Sarawak, as well as Cameron’s, since his military deployment to Kampung Gumbang in 1965. — DayakDaily
