I do apologise for the delay in sending these documents. It took me awhile to compile them as I wanted to include the story of my good friend a forgotten , "Malaysian Hero", and a (pukka) jungle fighter of whom little is known today. The story of Police Inspector/Army Captain Mukhtiar Singh s/o Sodagar Singh is well documented in the many photos, news papers reports, testimonials and letters of commendations that I have enclosed.

Image (click to enlarge) : The British High Commissioner to Malaya, Sir Donald MacGillvary presenting the Colonial Police Medal for Gallantry in action to TI Mukhtiar Singh on behalf of Queen Elizabeth

It tells the story of a young lad from Punjab, who at the tender age of sixteen, in 1948 donned the uniform of a special constable and went on to become one of our most successful jungle fighters in the country. I will not go onto the details of his many jungle adventures least it takes away the thrill of reading into the action packed blow by blow account of the first hand reports of all his actions.

Suffice to say Mukhtiar has to his credit five kills and eight surrenders. Not a mean feat by any standards. Whilst I applaud the heroic actions of every soldier and policeman who is awarded the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (SP) and the Panglima Gagah Berani (PGB) , I dare say that their actions may pale in comparison to the raw courage of Mukhtiar. Other than the occassional pat on the back, he received little recognition from the authorities. After serving the Police Force for thirteen years, Mukhtiar joined the Army as a Sergeant and rose to the rank of a Captain and served until his retirement in 1978.

By then Mukhtiar had put in a combined service of twenty eight years to his beloved nation. With all his outstanding contributions to the nation it pains me that the Army did not consider him for a pension, rightly due to him for the silly bureaucratic rule that he had not attended the "Platoon Weapons" and the "Young Officers Tactics Course". This I am told was due to an error by the Territorial Branch in not nominating him earlier, as by then he was already due to be discharged from the service, in six months time and had to attend a resettlement course.

Anyway at this stage of his life, what would some junior instructors teach this jungle veteran and warrior, about tactics and weapons? He has since made several appeals to the authorities to be considered for a pension but to no avail. I would appreciate it greatly if you could highlight this grave injustice done to an old warrior. Lt Col(Rtd)Mohd Idris Hassan

The newspaper clipping dated 12th March 1959 screams "Terrorists fear Shy Mokhtiar" He Killed Five Of Them By Kay Spuran (click on image to enlarge)

The residents of Kuala Kubu Bharu and the other villages will always remember the first morning of the "Pig Year". It was the first morning of the Chinese New Year BUT it also had a special significance for the non-Chinese. The reason was that news had got around that morning Feb, 8, 1959 that three of the four remaining hard core terrorists in Selangor had been eliminated."This sucess - the biggest this year -took place in the dense jungle of Bukit Beruntong, about 32 miles from the State capital, Kuala Lumpur" thus described the local press.

The man behind the whole operation was - twentysix year -old Temporary Inspector Mokhtiar Singh of Batu Arang. Few in Kuala Kubu Bharu have seen or heard of him for Mokhtiar is a shy unassuming police officer. Holder of the Colonial Police Medal for gallantry in action has five kills and eight surrenders to his credit. Of these, the last two 'kills' and one 'surrender' were his 'ang pow' to the residents of Ulu Selangor to herald the 'Pig Year'. Of the two killed, one was the leader of the group, state committee member, Hoong Poh, who had a reward of $20,000 on his head and the other was his deputy, Loke Fui, a district committee member.

Wong Mooi, the other woman terrorist was wounded and captured. Wong Mooi is said to have pleaded with Mokhtiar Singh of 'finish' her as there was no use in her living but Mokhtiar instead gave first aid and sent her out of the jungle for treatment. Asked how he felt after having killed a bandit the inspector said that faced by a bandit, it was a matter of one killing the other. 'Be killed or kill' he said. He admitted he would not kill a wounded or surrendered bandit in cold blood.

During the 11 years of service with the Special Constabulary Mokhtiar Singh has spent most of his time on operations in the jungles of Selangor. Most of his service was in the Kepong area and he refused to speak of the dangerous times he went through. It was thrilling he said, but the main thing in going out on operations is the confidence that you have in your men and the confidence they have in you. He said that having worked with his Special Squad Group for some time, he knew each and everyone of them well. He knew their capabilities and weaknesses. They were good men he proudly said.

Mokhtiar Singh a temporary police inspector has been with the force for about 11 years. He has another year or so to do with the Department. He looks forward to being posted to another area where there are still bandits to be 'hounded' for he says Selangor now has't much use for him. He hopes to get married shortly.

Source: Lt Col(Rtd)Mohd Idris Hassan. More to follow-edit.