Three Ex-Servicemen Recount Their Battles Against The Communists

By Nurrul Huda Ahmad Lutfi ALOR SETAR (Kedah), Aug 30 (Bernama) -- Three ex-servicemen who had near-death experiences in their defence of the country against the communist insurgency in the 1970s, recounted some of those moments recently when interviewed by Bernama as part if its run-up to National Day reportage. At about 8.45 am on Jan 20, 1976, Othman Shaari, 75, who was with the Territorial Army Regiment, was travelling with 13 other colleagues on their way out from Gubir Camp in Kedah, where they had just completed a three-month operation protecting the Gubir Dam when they were set upon by rebels. “Suddenly at a bend just 700 metres from the camp, we heard the sound of shots from the hill...it was the communists trying to attack us,” he said, adding that he and his colleagues immediately returned fire. In the skirmish, three soldiers were seriously injured including Othman who took a bullet just six centimetres above his kidney and ended up fighting for his life for four hours until help arrived and he was transported to Penang Hospital where he spent 45 days in recovery, with the embedded bullet taken out two weeks after he sustained the injury. Yahya Kamis, 64, suffered a permanent injury to his left leg when his calf took a bullet during an ambush by about 20 communists on the morning of March 28, 1979, when he was travelling in a truck with five other soldiers, transporting food supplies for army personnel from Pengkalan Hulu to Bukit Berapit in Perak. Sadly, two of Yahya's colleagues were killed in the exchange of fire which took place for about 15 minutes until back-up arrived in the form of an armoured vehicle which had gone ahead of the truck during the journey, recalled the veteran, who was with the Royal Malay Regiment at the time. Despite having to contend with a weak leg for life, the ex-soldier never lost his zeal to serve in the army, retiring in 1994. Ex-commando Noor Muhammad Lawamiah, 62, lost his right leg when he stepped onto a booby trap while on an operation with fellow colleagues in the Op Gubir Muda 1 in Kedah, in 1978. “It was the first day of Hari Raya and my right leg was shattered. I had to wait for about two to three hours for help to get me out of the area,” he recalled, explaining that the experience didn't deter him from continuing to serve the country. “We enjoyed serving the country...placing the country's needs above our own. When we entered an operation, we thought only of our country and fighting the communists," he said. All three veterans share the same hope - that the younger generation will appreciate the sacrifice soldiers made in the past, with Noor Muhammad urging all Malaysians to "treasure the peace that we have in this country...don't be easily influenced by negative elements”. -- BERNAMA