Soldiers of the Sarawak Rangers (1953 - 1963). Part 1.No. 1 Platoon.

Following the successes of the para-military Iban Trackers in the insurgency war in Malaya from 1948 till 1952, it was felt there was a need to reform them into a full-pledge military unit So at the end of 1952, they were reorganised into two experimental platoons. In March 1953, they officially became the Sarawak Rangers, which like all other military units was subjected to the Military Laws. They didn't disappoint. Almost immediately, in their first operation, they made their first contact with the CTs and had their first success. All these while I had been talking about the faceless Sarawak Rangers. We had heard of their exploits, the many bravery awards they had been bestowed with. Twenty one of them were killed during the 12 years of fighting from 1948 to 1960. Amazingly small numbers, bearing in mind that they were at the front most of any operations. They were just names only. Here I'm trying to give them the faces but sadly, most are nameless. There are no records available in Malaysia that I could use to identify each and everyone of them. I am hoping for the surviving members to help me identify their comrades.

NO. 1 PLATOON

THE SARAWAK RANGERS 1953

Rgr Sengalang ak Uyang

9001145 LCpl Makam Barieng

Kpl Adrian ak Tandang

 

Rgr Kriding

Cpl Anyau

Rgr Salleh

LCpl Nyanau

Rgr Sridu

LCpl Bujang

Rgr Bejong

Rgr Yangka

Rgr Yuni

Rgr Klipan

( TO BE CONTINUED WITH NO. 2 PLATOON)

"Kecepak" plant - a cure for athritis and general body pain?

A "kecepak" plant

A month or so ago I had posted this picture in my facebook. A friend, Chang Yi mentioned this kecepak plant is good for the digestive system. Just boil the whole plant - roots and all and drink the juice twice or thrice a day. But be warned. The juice is very bitter. I decided to try it out as I have ample supply of this plant at my backyard. I love the ripen fruits - a passion I had as a kid in the long house. I uprooted a plant, cleaned and boiled it well. I managed to make a bottle of the juice which could last me about 4/5 days (2 cups a day). I couldn't see any effect it had on my digestive system but my nagging athritis and body aches disappeared within the hour! I was surprised. Was it due to the kecepak juice? I decided to experiment. I stopped taking the juice for about 2 weeks. After a couple of days my athritis pain came back. I waited for the pain to become unbearable before boiling another plant and started taking the juice again. Again, the pain disappeared within the hour. Could any one out there try this out and let's compare notes?

My Black Saturday

A BLACK SATURDAY We have heard of a Black Monday but have you heard of a Black Saturday? I did last Saturday 4 Dec 10. I and Mrs drove to KL from Taiping, Perak at 4 a.m to attend a Hai-O seminar scheduled at 9 a.m on the same day. It was a very long and tiring day for us. The seminar was over at about 12 p.m. followed by a Hai-O 18th anniversary and presentation of awards for the new Crown Diamond Managers which lasted till 9 p.m. We decided to go back to Taiping right away. On the way we stopped by the Jejantas R&R (near Sg Buloh) for a bath to refresh ourselves and then performed the solat. The Mrs decided to drive first. I was to take a nap so that I could take over the driving when she became too tired. Half way, she realised she was sleeping on the steering wheel for a fraction of a section but that was enough to attract the car behind us to give her a honk. She had apparently veered towards the divider. From then on I took over the driving. All was well until we reached Taiping. By then it was 1 a.m and I was dead tired. My eyes was heavy and my concentration was at its lowest. About a kilometer from our house I tried to overtake a car without giving the overtaking signal and almost ram a motorbike who was trying to overtake me. Then 200m from my house I reached a T junction. I stopped as I saw a car coming from my left. Another car coming from my right wanted to go into my road but couldn't as the road was not wide enough. To make matters worse, the car coming from the left also wanted to turn into my road. Seeing the situation we were in, that car stopped, giving me enough room to move out. As I was about to drive through the gap, a couple of pedestrians crossed infront of my car. I braked in time to avoid running over them. My God!!! What a day!!! As soon as I reached home, I hit the bed and tried to forget what had happen. That was my Black Saturday.