The Veterans Plight

THE VETERANS PLIGHT

Since I left the ATM some 24 years ago, nothing much have changed or improved, the service remains the same. Except they now get better pay checks and have peaceful days.

The current crop of men have not seen what my fellow comrades have gone through mainly the Infantryman who had to slough it out in the deep jungles of East and West Malaysia. As infantryman we never complained of anything we were told to do, we just ‘followed orders’, as good and loyal soldiers, serving the King and Country.

Be it day or night, rain or shine, thunder or lightening we the infantryman will walk in the toughest and most rugged terrains one can only imagine. As for other officers and men of the ‘non-infantryman corps’ they are always in support of all those foot soldiers carrying their heavy packs with 14 days of ‘compo ration’ which can weigh up to a shocking 60 pounds, with full gear and ammunition.

When ‘helis’ do not turn up, we eat what is available in the bush, as 14 days rations can be consumed for max 18 days, if you are lucky, otherwise we eat exotic food and fruits that we have.

Yes, orders can be given at anytime of the day to move at wee hours of the night, sometime even at 0200 or 0300 in the damp and cold nights and at times can be freezing cold in the deep jungles.

There were even occasion when our cooking oil gets ‘frozen’ at night, that is how cold it can be in the high mountain peeks we operate from, waiting for the CT’s to appear or be ambushed by them.

Nobody in his right frame of mind would want such a dangerous job. But, as good Malaysian Infantryman we are there to secure the borders, while others have a peaceful night, sleeping with their loved ones in the comfort and security of a proper home.

The jungle was our home for months, sometimes we are deployed up to 3 months without a break, that was reality for me and my boys, we eat, sleep and share whatever we have like a big family. The festive occasions, celebrations, New Years, birthdays and what you have is forgotten once we don the ‘celoreng’.

You only get news once in 14 days if the ‘heli’ comes with the ‘resup’, that is if ‘weather permits’, otherwise you just hope and pray that it will come.

You write letters inside the bush with whatever paper and pen you can find, most of the time the ‘signalman’s’ message pad becomes our mail pad. You scribble whatever there is to say to your wife and kids as briefly as you possibly can. The mail will be send to your spouse back home inside the camp. The “Q” is responsible for delivering that mail and later collect the reply from the wife.

If anyone gets shot, or legs get blown up or get sick you just pray very hard that the heli can pick you up or winch you up from where ever you maybe in the bush. So many have died because the heli could not find us or could not come in time, you just ‘bleed to death’.

Nobody knows the agony of a wounded personnel hoping he can get out and get to a hospital in time. Everyone is always concerned and would do anything to safe his buddy, that is what ‘comradeship’ is all about, we would chop down trees to build a quick extraction point for the heli to land or just to ‘hover’ and pick up the casualty. There is always the danger of being shot at again by the CT’s if they can detect our extraction point of the casualty.

At any moment one can be attacked, ambushed and even the nights are not safe enough to really lie in your hammock and sleep soundly, peaceful sleep is a luxury in the ‘operations area’. Even going to the ‘water point’ on a daily basis to fetch water is a real hazard, as they can lay bobby traps or lay an ambush at anytime.

Mind you the guys who ‘snore loudly’ in the jungle is not at all safe, the soldiers sleep at night and the CT’s can be walking at night looking for us. This is a routine for them, just simply to avoid us detecting them in broad daylight.

I say all these once again to remind the present generation, the present government that peace for this nation was paid with ‘blood, sweat and lots of tears’, when one of our comrade gets killed or maimed for life. Their families are deprived of a husband, a father and a son. They are all still very alive and kicking up until today, I have personally lost my squad-mates, 3 of them were RMAF Pilots and another lost his leg in a bobby trap incident in Sungei Siput.

Another 3 pilots were my school mates and rugby team mates. Their memories lived on in my brains until today, the laughter and happy moments we had together in uniforms and in the rugby field.

Yet, today the ‘pure veterans’ that fought the real CT’s are left in search of justice and equality. The government of the day needs to address the issue of the ‘pension scheme’, which was scammed by ‘unscrupulous’ leaders during their tenure in ‘high office’.

All the retirees who retired before the ‘three pay increments’ were left behind and lurking in the dark, not knowing who to turn to or who to approach to bring the issue affecting the pensioners.

Up until today there is only ‘talk’ and more talking and the issue is at the courts right now as we the old soldiers are all dying one by one every minute and every day.

The irony is that they are all majority very old soldiers, some of them even Generals and are just B40 category citizens in their 80’s, 70’s and 60’s. I am talking about the veterans who served during the 2nd emergency period of 1969 up until 1989, when the CT’s decided then to ‘Lay Down Their Arms’.

This historical event took place on 2nd Dec 1989 in Hatyai, Thailand, thanks to the then PM, Tun Mahatir. His vision 2020 can never be ‘realized if we kept on fighting the CT’s’.

What wrong have we done to deserve this treatment, every year we all happily celebrate ‘HARI PAHLAWAN’ as we did on 31st July, hardly two days ago.

Is there anyone out there who care for all of us Veterans yang ‘Sangat Dibanggakan dan Disanjung Setiap Tahun, if you really hargai kita do the right thing MR PMX. There is no more time for ‘rhetoric’.

MAJ ABDUL RAHMAN TEOH (R)
2 Aug 2024