Page 31 - Malayan Story
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MALAYAN STORY
them early in the morning when they were rubber tapping as most of them were.
In Perak five guerrillas stopped a lorry carrying 30 labourers to a tin mine. They picked out two of
them, one a man and the other a woman, both Chinese, and stabbed them to death in front of the
others. Then they burned the lorry, took two of the labourers back with them into the jungle and let
the others go free.
The Government had tightened up the conditions for convoys going to the Cameron Highlands or
Frasers Hill since Sir Henry Gurney, the previous Head Commissioner had been ambushed and
killed on the Frasers Hill Road. All convoys were protected both in the front and rear by the military
or the police. In spite of that, a band of 30 terrorists held up the convoy in Segri Sembilan, probably
because some of the lorries in the convoy were loaded with food and drink. A few weeks later
another ambush was being planned to attack a convoy taking the deputy High Commissioner and
the Mentri Besar Selangor to Fraser Hill. On this occasion security forces learned about the plan and
were able to disperse the guerrillas before they could carry it out.
In Sumpang Rengam several hundred labourers on a pineapple estate were held up on their way to
work. Twenty seven lorries were burned and the damage was estimated as $90,000.
In another ambush in Negri Sembilan, Lieutenant Colonel Alan Forester Walker of the 17th Gurka
Rifles was killed as he returned in his jeep to Seremban. An empty terrorist camp for 30 men was
found 100 metres from the road and had apparently been occupied for 3 nights prior to the attack.
At the anniversary of the formation of the Malayan Liberation Army, the guerrillas blew up the pilot
train of the Singapore to Kuala Lumpur night train. A mine blew a hole four feet deep in the
permanent way. Sir Gerald did not hesitate. He went immediately to the village of Layang Layang
in Johore which had a bad reputation as a supply centre for some time. He called the village
councillors together and ordered the immediate closing of 21 provision stores in the village. In
future, villagers would be allowed to buy food at two stores only. When the councillors protested
that business would be brought to a standstill, his only comment was “You should have thought of
that before. You know as well as I do how much help the terrorists have received from Layang
Layang in the past. Food control is the strongest weapon we have. If it is properly used, the
terrorists will be starved out of the jungle and the Emergency will be over.” Sir Gerald had very
quickly learned that it was not the usual type of warfare that was going to win the victory.
In another Johore village, Rengam, the young British security guard for the oil palm estate was
ambushed and shot dead by 10 bandits while on his routine check. They took his gun and
ammunition. Not far away on another estate, a young British plantation manager was killed and two
constables injured when they drove over a land mine which had been planted by terrorists. And so
it went on. These men were used to living “rough” but what they needed most was food and
ammunition, and they would stop at nothing in order to get either
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31
them early in the morning when they were rubber tapping as most of them were.
In Perak five guerrillas stopped a lorry carrying 30 labourers to a tin mine. They picked out two of
them, one a man and the other a woman, both Chinese, and stabbed them to death in front of the
others. Then they burned the lorry, took two of the labourers back with them into the jungle and let
the others go free.
The Government had tightened up the conditions for convoys going to the Cameron Highlands or
Frasers Hill since Sir Henry Gurney, the previous Head Commissioner had been ambushed and
killed on the Frasers Hill Road. All convoys were protected both in the front and rear by the military
or the police. In spite of that, a band of 30 terrorists held up the convoy in Segri Sembilan, probably
because some of the lorries in the convoy were loaded with food and drink. A few weeks later
another ambush was being planned to attack a convoy taking the deputy High Commissioner and
the Mentri Besar Selangor to Fraser Hill. On this occasion security forces learned about the plan and
were able to disperse the guerrillas before they could carry it out.
In Sumpang Rengam several hundred labourers on a pineapple estate were held up on their way to
work. Twenty seven lorries were burned and the damage was estimated as $90,000.
In another ambush in Negri Sembilan, Lieutenant Colonel Alan Forester Walker of the 17th Gurka
Rifles was killed as he returned in his jeep to Seremban. An empty terrorist camp for 30 men was
found 100 metres from the road and had apparently been occupied for 3 nights prior to the attack.
At the anniversary of the formation of the Malayan Liberation Army, the guerrillas blew up the pilot
train of the Singapore to Kuala Lumpur night train. A mine blew a hole four feet deep in the
permanent way. Sir Gerald did not hesitate. He went immediately to the village of Layang Layang
in Johore which had a bad reputation as a supply centre for some time. He called the village
councillors together and ordered the immediate closing of 21 provision stores in the village. In
future, villagers would be allowed to buy food at two stores only. When the councillors protested
that business would be brought to a standstill, his only comment was “You should have thought of
that before. You know as well as I do how much help the terrorists have received from Layang
Layang in the past. Food control is the strongest weapon we have. If it is properly used, the
terrorists will be starved out of the jungle and the Emergency will be over.” Sir Gerald had very
quickly learned that it was not the usual type of warfare that was going to win the victory.
In another Johore village, Rengam, the young British security guard for the oil palm estate was
ambushed and shot dead by 10 bandits while on his routine check. They took his gun and
ammunition. Not far away on another estate, a young British plantation manager was killed and two
constables injured when they drove over a land mine which had been planted by terrorists. And so
it went on. These men were used to living “rough” but what they needed most was food and
ammunition, and they would stop at nothing in order to get either
Return to Table of Contents
31
