Snippets

Malaysia Day in Sandakan

The Philippines denied the legitimacy of the colony’s decision to federate into Malaysia once it was free of British rule. It was uncertain what they intended to do about it should the amalgamation occur.

Kusno Sukarno, the President cum dictator of Indonesia saw the emergent Federation as a disruptive and potentially destabilising economic and political force in southern Asia. 

He claimed that Malaysia was nothing more than a device for Malaya to acquire an empire for itself. Sukarno held that the smaller territories would come under the domination of Kuala Lumpur and the overall effect for them would be to change one distant colonial master for another more local overlord. 

Sukarno also saw this as a direct threat to Indonesia and vowed to prevent the Federation coming into being; by force of arms if necessary. 

He had other ideas for these territories, and harboured a vision of forging a mutual economic and political organisation with himself at its head and Indonesia at its core.

Sukarno began assembling forces at the Indonesian borders with the colonies. The world waited to see what he would do should the territories become independent, and Malaysia come into being. 

Meanwhile, the only apparent adversities were in the increased vehemence of the rhetoric from Djakarta. 

Less obvious was the clandestine assistance he was giving to the remnants of the failed rebellion of the previous year. Not everybody in the three colonial territories welcomed the amalgamation with Malaya and Singapore. Many considered the prospect of Malaysia with misgiving. Those decisions affecting their lives and future would be made for them in distant Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. They would become poor cousins of the Federation and the Malayan and Singaporean majorities could swamp their wishes and opinions in Council.

Sukarno infiltrated army advisers and subversives into the territories to feed this discordant belief and encourage the creation of a sleeping fifth column that could rise against Malaysia should it come into being.

It was into this politically uncertain environment that the Royal Navy disembarked the 1st Green Jackets (43rd/52nd) down the gangways of HMS Albion in July 1963 for its second tour of duty in Borneo. 

In the absence of an immediate military objective, the Regiment was dispersed by companies and deployed to give aid to the civil power. 

For Letter ‘C’ Company, this meant a return to Sandakan on the northern coast of North Borneo.  

Sandakan had been the capital of North Borneo, but was destroyed by bombing during WW2. The cost of rebuilding was too high for the British Chartered Company that ran North Borneo, it became a Crown Colony and the capital shifted to Jesselton.  In 1963 it was developing as a major port for the export of forest products.

The Company’s work consisted of village patrols to seek out any hidden rebels, and to accompany police patrol boats along the rivers, where remote lumber camps were felling hardwoods and planters followed on to cultivate the cleared land with rubber and oil palm plantations.

These  camps were extremely remote; access was by river only and they were easy prey to raiding parties from the nearby Philippine Islands. Armed pirates  attacked them frequently and with impunity. The camps had no defence other than the irregular police marine patrols. The raiders rigged banks of outboard motors in false sterns of the raiding fishing boats, which meant they could outrun the slower police launches and make their getaway should they be discovered. 

The raiding parties would be armed with a variety of firearms and a rifle section from the Regiment accompanied each launch patrol to provide additional armed assistance should it become necessary.

Meanwhile, the political rhetoric concerning Malaysia continued. It was increasingly positive from Kuala Lumpur, and its more heated antithesis came from Djakarta.

The date that the Federation of Malaysia would come into being was fixed finally for 16th September 1963. All of the former colonial territories except Brunei would federate into Malaysia on that day. 

The Sultan of Brunei had earlier decided to withdraw from the negotiations and opted out of the merger. His tiny, oil rich kingdom would remain under direct British protection.

Malaysia Day would be a public holiday and the event marked with parades and celebrations.  Part of Letter ‘C’ Company would march past a saluting base and various dignitaries on the Padang at Sandakan. 

Elements of the Regimental band were present to punctuate the proceedings with renditions of ‘Mechanised Infantry’ and ‘Sambre et Meuse’: all at 140 paces per minute.

The Company formed up in its best olive drab uniform with highly polished ammunition boots to provide a military guard and conduct the march past.

A festive atmosphere prevailed among the crowd that lined the perimeter of the Padang. Flags and bunting flew and happy and enthusiastic voices applauded the sequences that led to the Union Jack being lowered for the last time and the flag of Malaysia raised in its stead.

It was at this point that we expected trouble to flare up. We felt for the lump in our pockets that was the spare magazine with ten rounds of live ammunition we all carried onto the parade.  We were briefed to expect hostilities to commence the instant the flags changed. 

Intelligence believed that Indonesian regulars had infiltrated into the area as guerrillas and would support a revolt by armed fifth columnists to take over the town. It was not known how many of them there were or what equipment they carried. 

We had to assume they were well armed, well trained and committed to their task; as any soldier working in a hostile environment must be. It was our job that day to take them on should they show themselves, restore order and protect the dignitaries and public in any consequent altercation. 

But nothing happened! If there were fifth columnists and Indonesian troops there that afternoon, they did not act.

The parade passed off without incident. It became a memorable day for the right reasons. The Malaysian flag now flew languidly above the Padang, and everybody went into the town to continue the celebrations. 

That evening, Band Sjt. Fred Shore and the Regimental dance band were playing to a full and enthusiastic audience in the auditorium of the Curium Hotel.

 Among the applause came calls for various musical numbers and none delivered more vociferously than from the two British pilots of the Borneo Airways DC3 that were on a stopover for the night in Sandakan.

The band thought they recognized the co-pilot, and it turned out that he was identified as a demon trombonist in a jazz club in Southampton.  Fred and a number of the bandsmen had visited the club when the Regiment was stationed at the School of Infantry in Warminster before its posting to Penang. They had him on stage and blowing in double quick time to create a fitting end to Malaysia Day in Sandakan.