By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 26: “Nda manah mimpi… anang baka nyak.”
The Iban phrase, meaning “The dream does not bode well… don’t do it”, has remained etched in the memory of the Sarawak Governor Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar for more than 50 years.
Those were the last words uttered by Jungle Squad Constable Jabu Ajai before he was killed during an operation against communist terrorists in Tulai, Sarawak, in 1971.
For Wan Junaidi, who was leading the team during the operation, the incident was more than just another episode in the line of duty. It was a deeply moving experience that taught him enduring lessons about responsibility, leadership and humanity.
Operation to hunt communists
Recalling the incident, Wan Junaidi said that, as an inspector at the time, he was ordered to lead his platoon to conduct a special operation after a team stationed at Tulai, Binatang (now Bintangor), came under an ambush.
The attack left two Jungle Squad personnel dead and six others seriously injured.
“After receiving a briefing in the operations room, my platoon left Sibu for the location at about 4pm aboard a Nuri helicopter and spent the night near the area.
“I instructed my men that we had to move at 7am the next morning because we could not spend two nights in the same place. We had to find those who had killed our men,” he told Bernama.
The following morning, as the personnel prepared to move out, Jabu was still asleep.
“I wondered why Jabu had not got up. Then one of the men, Constable Merom Bujak, volunteered to wake him up the Gurkha way by kicking him until he woke up.
“Once awake, he told us he had had a nightmare. But before I could ask him more about the dream, I ordered Jabu to get ready and delayed our movement by an hour. We finally set off at 8am to begin the mission,” he said.
After about two hours of travelling, the team arrived in a hilly area, where a reconnaissance team alerted them to the suspicious movement of several individuals believed to have fled from a nearby house.
Wan Junaidi and his men proceeded to the house to inspect the area. Inside, they found an elderly man, a woman and five children. Nothing appeared unusual, except for several cups of tea placed on the table.
“It was suspicious because children would not be drinking tea. Besides, there were far too many glasses on the table.
“I then instructed one of the men to check the hilly area behind the house. The search uncovered a resting place used by communist terrorists, confirming that the house had been used as a stopover for the communists to eat and drink before retreating to a strategic position on the hill,” he said.
Jabu’s final mission
Wan Junaidi said he subsequently led his platoon up the hill when, suddenly, gunfire erupted from the enemy’s direction.
In a split second, Jabu and Merom fell.
Wan Junaidi rushed to Jabu, who had died on the spot, while Merom was seriously injured.
“I can still vividly remember the blood gushing from Jabu’s body… I never imagined that his nightmare, which had left him feeling uneasy that morning, was a bad omen.
“After realising that Jabu had been killed, Corporal Majani, his close friend, rushed forward, embraced his body and wept, crying, ‘Why must you die?’,” he said, his voice filled with emotion.
According to Wan Junaidi, Majani, overwhelmed by grief and anger after seeing his close friend’s body, wanted to kill all the civilians in the house.
“He acted rashly, returning to the house with the intention of killing the elderly man, woman and children there, while pointing a Bren light machine gun at them.
“Realising what Majani was about to do, I immediately rushed back to the house and kicked him to stop him from acting on his intention. I then ordered a member of the team, Hassan, to keep the situation under tight control.
“I told Hassan, ‘I have no time to deal with Majani. Don’t let him get hold of his weapon. Even though we know what their parents have done, we cannot kill these children,’” Wan Junaidi said firmly.
For Wan Junaidi, the principles of humanity and the safety of civilians could never be compromised, even amid battle and the loss of a fellow comrade.
Investigations later revealed that the elderly man was a key leader of the group responsible for managing the finances of communist terrorists in the area.
“Intelligence also revealed that the killing of the Jungle Squad personnel at Tulai Camp was carried out by a group from Ngemah led by Ubong Nuing,” he said.
Ubong Nuing was the leader of the North Kalimantan People’s Army (PARAKU), an Iban who joined the communist armed movement in Sarawak that opposed the formation of Malaysia in 1963, before surrendering to the authorities in the 1980s.
The jungle as a teacher
Wan Junaidi said his years serving as a Jungle Squad officer taught him the true meaning of discipline, emotional control and humanity while carrying the responsibility of defending the country.
He said the sense of camaraderie within his multi-ethnic platoon also changed the way he viewed situations, particularly as a leader who had to respect the views and beliefs of his men.
“In my platoon, when I was serving in Miri, half were Orang Ulu and the other half Iban, with only two or three Malays. In Sibu, the composition was slightly different, with most being Iban and a smaller number of Orang Ulu and Malays.
“That was where I learnt a great deal about the cultures and beliefs of my men. The Iban, for example, have certain beliefs about dreams, sounds and various other signs… I learnt about all these things so that I could understand my men,” he said.
Recalling another experience while serving in the jungle, Wan Junaidi said it taught him the importance of understanding his men’s beliefs, particularly in critical situations.
He said it was around 7pm and darkness was beginning to descend, but his platoon had yet to set up camp for the night.
“While we were putting up the tent, suddenly a tree branch fell near the spot where we intended to set up camp. After that, all my men fell silent.
“I did not know why they had suddenly stopped working. One of them came to me, spoke to me in Iban and explained their belief.
“The Iban believe that if you are doing something and something unexpected happens, it is a sign that misfortune is about to come,” he explained.
Wan Junaidi, who was only 23 at the time, realised that although he was the leader, he still needed to remain humble and respect the views of his men, particularly those who were much older and more experienced than him.
“I then asked how we could overcome the situation as it was almost dark, we had not eaten and the tent had yet to be completed.
“They said we could move elsewhere and did not have to go far. Although we had already gathered the wood and materials to put up the tent, I agreed and ordered everyone to move,” he said.
Realising that his men’s concerns could affect their concentration and morale, Wan Junaidi decided to move about 100 metres from the original location.
“Everyone was happy. If I had said we were staying there, they would not have been happy because, for them, it was not just about the leader dying. Many more could have been killed if a battle broke out.
“After we moved and put up the tent again, everyone became calm. A sergeant came to me and said, ‘Sir, you made a very good decision.’ Otherwise, the men would have been worried and unable to sleep,” he said with a smile.
From that experience, Wan Junaidi said a leader must not only know how to defend the country, but also understand the hearts, beliefs and concerns of his men.
“In the jungle, where uncertainty is everywhere, the strength of a team lies not only in its weapons, but in the confidence and trust they have in one another,” he said.
Experiences that shaped his leadership
Wan Junaidi’s experiences as a police officer were also documented in his 2014 book, A Policeman, which includes accounts of his encounters with the communist threat, as well as historical information on the era of communist violence in Sarawak.
Born in Kampung Pendam (now Sadong Jaya), Sarawak, on Feb 1, 1946, Wan Junaidi, 80, joined the Royal Malaysia Police in 1964 and served in the Jungle Squad from 1968 to 1973, during which he was also posted to the Rajang Area Security Command (Rascom).
He subsequently pursued legal studies at the University of Buckingham, England, in 1978 before becoming a practising lawyer.
He later became actively involved in politics and public administration, holding several key positions in the federal cabinet before being appointed president of the Senate.
He was appointed the Sarawak Governor for a four-year term from Jan 26, 2024 to Jan 26, 2028. — Bernama
