By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 22: Australian military veterans and families have returned to Sarawak to retrace the sites where Australian troops served during Confrontation, this time to commemorate six decades of peace between Malaysia and Indonesia.
According to a press release by the National Malaya and Borneo Veterans Association Australia (NMBVAA) South Australia & Northern Territory Branch, the party called in to Kampung Krokong, Kampung Suba Buan, and Kampung Serikin in the Bau district—areas where Australian military forces were deployed in 1965 and 1966 to help defend Sarawak.
The visit forms part of the association’s reunion pilgrimage to Sarawak, held under the banner ‘Operation Hornbill 2026’, marking the 60th anniversary of the Malaysia-Indonesia Peace Agreement, also known as the Jakarta Accord, signed on Aug 11, 1966.
Rather than focusing solely on the conflict, the veterans said their pilgrimage was intended to commemorate the 60 years of peace that followed, as well as to honour the service and sacrifice of Australian and Commonwealth service and police personnel during Confrontation.
“The mission of the Commonwealth military forces during Confrontation was to deny any intrusion into Sarawak. The forces assigned to the First Division defended the line of approach to Kuching by taking responsibility for a sector of the Sarawak-Kalimantan border up to 30km in length. Their task was to protect the capital by defending the approaches to Bau—‘the key to the door of Kuching’,” said the press release.
At Kampung Krokong, the reunion party visited St Patrick’s Catholic Church, where members of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) established a platoon patrol base in 1965. Patrick Lee Kho Jui hosted them, with village chief Sata Najoi present.
Inside the present church, remnants and relics of the original building remain, alongside framed photographs documenting its construction six decades ago.
South Australian NMBVAA State president Major (ret’d) Paul Rosenzweig OAM JP presented four large, framed photographs of St Patrick’s Church taken in May 1965 to Lee. He also presented Lee with an NMBVAA wall plaque to commemorate the association’s reunion pilgrimage to Sarawak.
NMBVAA vice-president Donald Cameron and Jeffery Hiscock, both veterans who served in Borneo during Confrontation, presented a 3RAR wall plaque on behalf of 3RAR veterans of the association’s South Australia/Northern Territory Branch.
The visit concluded with a group photograph of the veterans, families, and local community members.
“The NMBVAA’s approach to commemoration is built on four pillars— remember the fallen, remember Malaysia, honour the living, and look to the future. Through this approach, the association builds on our shared history to strengthen friendship and cooperation between generations and nations,” said Rosenzweig.
He added that the historic sites are important to the South Australia and Northern Territory Branch of the NMBVAA, reflecting the long-standing bonds of friendship and cooperation between the people of Sarawak and Australia.
“Through our visits and support, we hope to maintain the strong bonds of friendship between Australia and Malaysia, which will contribute to the future stability and prosperity of the region,” he said. — DayakDaily
