Malayan Govt. Forces

Pingat Khidmat Berbakti
(General Sevice Medal for Malayan Govt.Forces)

The Malay Regt.,Police and Auxillary Air Force participated in the Emergency from the start,the Senoi Praak were formed in the mid 50's. The Government also raised other units "Ferret Force", "Perak Aboriginal Constabulary" , "Malayan Scouts-later to become 22 SAS" ,"Dyak Trackers(Sarawak Rangers) who gave sterling service","Federation Regt."-to provide a military option for non Malays-,"Malayan Naval Force" -for coastal patrols and the "Home Guard"-formed as an extention of the Briggs Plan to provide self defence capabilities for New Villages and Kampongs". The Singapore Regt.and Singapore Artillery were also employed. During the Confrontation period the Royal Malaysian Army,Navy,Air Force and Police plus the Sarawak Rangers were engaged.

Malay Regiment

In 1933 an experimental Company of 25 Malay recruits was raised,in 1934 a further 125 Malays were recruited,in 1936 a full battalion was raised and given the name 'Malay Regt.' A second battalion was raised in 1941 and both Battalions fought in the Japanese invasion and were disbanded after the Japanese victory. In 1947 the 1st.& 2nd. Battalions were reformed and,to cope with Emergency tasks,a third Battalion was raised in 1949. Later,as the Emergency tempo increased a further four battalions were raised.

Malayan Naval Force

MNF Flag post 1958

 MNF Flag post 1966

The Malay Navy, which was the Malay Section of the Royal Navy, was reactivated on 24 December 1948 at the outbreak of the Communist Emergency, when the Malayan Naval Force regulation was officially gazetted on 4 March 1949. The Malayan Naval Force or the MNF was based at an ex-Royal Air Force radio base station in Woodlands, Singapore. The base was initially called the 'MNF Barracks' but later renamed HMS Malaya. The main function of the Malayan Naval Force(MNF) was coastal patrol in order to stop the communist terrorists from receiving supplies from the sea. In addition, the Force was tasked with guarding the approaches to Singapore and other ports. The MNF was firstly equipped with a River-class frigate HMS Test that was used as a training ship but by 1950 had in service an ex-Japanese minelayer HMS Laburnam, a Landing Craft Tank (LCT), HMS Pelandok, motor fishing vessel HMS Panglima, torpedo recovery vessel HMS Simbang and several seaward defence motor launches (SDML). The vessels of the Force were later renamed with the prefix Malayan Ship(MS) to differentiate them from Royal Navy units. In August 1952 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, bestowed the title 'Royal Malayan Navy' Singapore to the Malayan Naval Force in recognition of their sterling service in action during the Malayan Emergency. The navy's ships now carried the prefix Her Majesty's Malayan Ship(HMMS) and subsequently flew her own white ensign on 31 December 1956. The Royal Malayan Navy Singapore that was then still part of the Royal Navy, was eventually transferred to the independent Federation of Malaya on 12 July 1958 and renamed the Royal Malayan Navy(RMN). With the hoisting of The Federation naval ensign - the White Ensign modified by the substitution of the Union Jack with the Federation flag in the upper left corner- the RMN was thus made responsible for Malaya's maritime self defence. The new navy bravely shouldered the responsibility with only an operational and training base at HMMS MALAYA and a small coastal fleet of 1 LCT, 2 Ham-class inshore minesweepers, 1 coastal minelayer and 7 ML's (ex RN's 200th Patrol Squadron) on free transfer from the Royal Navy.

Police

Commissioners
Col.W.N.Gray.............1948-52
Col.A.E.Young ...........1952-53
W.L.R.Carbonell.........1953 -58
C.H.Fenner..................1958- 

At the start of the Emergency the Police were suddenly required,in addition to normal duties,to provide static defense for terrorist targets and anti-terrorist patrols in urban and jungle areas,intelligence gathering and radio communications had to be greatly increased . To cope with this a recruiting campaign was started in both Malaya and Britain resulting in,at it's peak,a force of 75,281 all ranks including Special Constables. In order to provide protection and Government services to the aboriginal population, fortified camps,designated'Forts' were established in the main tribal areas with a permanent Police garrison(on rotation) and a Police Lieutenant as 'Commander'(on rotation). Apart from the Police quarters and airstrip each Fort had a shop and medical dispensary staffed and run by the Dept.of Aboriginal Affairs. Ground approach to these Forts was difficult so most movement in and out was by air;stores airdrop by Dakotas/Valettas and personnel movement by light aircraft.

Senoi Praak

The Orang Asli or aboriginal people of Malaya were always,due to their geographical location,a factor in the Emergency. Before the Briggs plan began to restrict food supplies from the urban areas the terrorists mainly used the deep jungle for R&R and conferences,nearby aboriginal tribes were indoctrinated and encouraged to supply food and intelligence. As the urban sources of food dried up from 1954 onwards more pressure was put on aboriginal villages to enlarge their cultivations to provide food for the terrorists. To counter this and engage the enemy, Police and Military deep jungle operations were increased and Richard Noone,Adviser on Aborigines and Head of the Dept.of Abrigines formed a small force of aboriginals trained and armed to operate with other security forces or on their own in jungle areas,thus the Senoi Praak(Fighting People).* Since the inception of the Malayan Scouts aboriginals had worked as porters and guides for troops(mainly SAS)on deep jungle operations so Noone enlisted the help of 22 SAS to help Asst.Protector Colin Dewsnup* (ex.Lieutenant, British Army)provide basic training. Unlike the U.S Forces in Vietnam who equipped their Montagnard units with full battle uniform and equipment and put them on K Rations, Noone wanted his units to remain as close to their origins as possible with basic uniform,light armament and food rations that mirrored their natural diet; all of which was achieved. As the Senoi Praak proved their worth and grew in size Charles Ley who was Asst.Protector,Perak was moved to join them. From their formation until the late '60s they remained a part of the Dept.of Aborigines and then were incorporated into the Malaysian Police where,after several Departmental moves they became part of Pasukan Gerakan Am (General Operations Force) Initially it was never imagined that these units would ever take part in formal parades and as badges of identity are not worn on jungle operations little thought was given to badging the Senoi Praak. On the left above is shown an early cloth badge which is based on the Dept. logo with a more sophisticated and later issue in the centre. On the right is the current badge which shows that the wearer is in the 3rdBtn.PGA.The motto "Cekal Berani Setia" roughly translates as "Resolute,Brave,Loyal".