![]() ![]() Rizal, who received the Panglima Gagah Berani, the nation’s second highest military gallantry award, after an attack on the communists in Sarawak, said the bravery and expertise of the Iban trackers were on a par with the famous Gurkha army. “They were specialists in tracking communists in the jungle because of their experience in hunting animals in Sarawak jungles,” he said. The father of two, who also has his own blog at, said the bravery and courage shown by the Iban trackers had even impressed Malaya director of operations during the communist insurgency and former High Commissioner General Sir Gerald Templer, who described them as “the best in the world” in what they did. Rizal, who served in the army for 25 years, said he gathered the material for the book over the past two years from various sources. ![]() Rizal’s first was an autobiography, My Adventure, in 2008. with its intertwined communist insurgency demands historical revision as its. “The idea of writing the book started in 2008 but due to lack of reference materials and books at that time, I had to postpone it,” he told Bernama, adding that the book was his second. The beginnings of Voluntary Service Overseas in Sarawak, progenitor of. The author, Sarawak-born Lt Col (Rtd) Robert Rizal Abdullah, who now resides in Taiping, Perak, said the book was expected to be officially launched next month in Kuching. Their unheralded journeys as the country’s heroes fighting alongside the British army against the communists in the thick jungles of the peninsula have finally been documented in the soon-to-be-released book Iban Trackers and Sarawak Rangers 1948-1963. MIRI: They were the unsung heroes during the communist insurgency and regarded at the time as among “the best in the world” on a par with the elite Gurkha army. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |