KUCHING, May 2: For the first time, the Sarawak flag was featured prominently at the head of a column of Malaya and Borneo war veterans during the Anzac Day march held in Adelaide, South Australia on April 25 to honour Australians who lost their lives in defence of Sarawak and the brave Iban trackers who supported Australian and Commonwealth forces during the undeclared Malayan Wars which immediately followed World War Two.
The National Malaya and Borneo Veterans Association Australia Inc (NMBVAA) South Australia and Northern Territory (SA/NT) Branch contingent also carried the Malaysian national flag as well as the Sabah flag to honour Australians who died on operational service in defence of Sabah during the Indonesia Confrontation with Malaysia.
Anzac Day is Australia’s main commemorative occasion, honouring the courage and resilience of Australian and New Zealand soldiers who landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. The term “Anzac” became a symbol of honour for these soldiers and those who served after them.
The Anzac Day march to commemorate the sacrifice of some 103,000 Australian Service personnel who lost their lives in the service of the nation began with a Dawn Service representing the funeral followed by the service at the Cross of Sacrifice and the march representing the gathering at the graveside of those that have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Confrontation veteran Don Cameron, the NMBVAA SA/NT Branch vice president, led the contingent of Malaya and Borneo veterans in this year’s Anzac march. In doing so, he also paid tribute to the Iban trackers he had served beside nearly sixty years ago.
Branch president Major Paul A Rosenzweig carried the Sarawak flag to honour the eight Australians who died in defence of Sarawak during Confrontation, and a further three who died after being evacuated from Sarawak—and the service and sacrifice of the Iban trackers in defence of their homeland.
Branch member Vicki Crannaford carried the Malaysian national flag in memory of her brother, Signalman John Tassell, who lost his life on the Malay Peninsula in 1966.
“We remember them. Lest we forget,” Rosenzweig said in a media release today.
Recapping the history, Rosenzweig shared that in 1965, Private Don Cameron served as a rifleman during the Indonesian Confrontation with Malaysia. He was part of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), and stationed in Terendak Camp at Melaka. They were deployed to Sarawak to conduct counter-insurgency operations. On Feb 15, 1965, Cameron was part of the advance party that flew from Singapore to Kuching.
The main body arrived in Kuching on March 23. On that day, 3RAR assumed responsibility for the Bau sector and 23 kilometres of border. The Australian soldiers occupied a series of defensive positions, responsible for defending their allocated areas of responsibility within Sarawak and on the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
The ‘B’ Company assumed responsibility from the Gurkha company at Kampung Gumbang near the border. Their fortified position was at a nearby site which the Australians called ‘Bukit Knuckle’ based on the distinctive features of the rock mountain in the near distance.
“In Sarawak in 1965 and 1966, the Australian rifle companies were supported by highly effective Iban trackers. Very little has been recorded of the Iban Trackers, and almost no official records still exist.
“The battalion had 24 Iban trackers from Sarawak attached for operational duty. The trackers selected Banga Rima to be their overall leader. Six of them were assigned to ‘B’ Company, with Nabau Gerasi selected by the trackers to be their leader.
“Don (Cameron) recalls how shocked the members of his company were to hear of the early death at the border of an Australian Sergeant and an Iban tracker.
“Sergeant Reg ‘Reno’ Weiland and Mudah Jali of 3 Platoon, ‘A’ Company at Stass were killed-in-action by an anti-personnel landmine near the border on 23 March 1965, on a reconnaissance patrol on the first day of operations. Tracker Enggil Japing was wounded in the same incident,” Rosenzweig said.
The two Iban trackers attached to Cameron’s platoon were Balling Ajong and Unchat Unyong. These trackers wrote down their addresses for Cameron. Balling gave his address in the care of Tuai Rumah Mangah, the Iban Longhouse Headman named Mangah, on the Marirai Ballih River in the village of Kapit. Similarly, Unchat Unyong gave his address as care of his father, Tuai Rumah Unyong, on the Bena Sot River in Kapit.
In September last year, Cameron and Rosenzweig conducted a private liaison visit to Sarawak to plan for a commemorative service the Branch will conduct at the Sarawak Heroes Memorial Park in August this year in conjunction with their New Zealand counterparts.
In Sibu, Cameron and his wife Jenny, and Paul Rosenzweig and Crisel Rosenzweig, had an emotional meeting with the family of the late Iban Tracker Unchat Unyong, who had died in Kapit in June 2021.
“Many Ibans had been recruited as trackers during the Malayan Emergency (1948-60), and then during Confrontation (1962-66) they contributed more than any other local community to their own country’s defence,” he emphasised. — DayakDaily
