VAT 69 commando wives’ anxious moments as their men fought communist terrorists
IPOH: For wives of police force’s commandos, the sound of an approaching police truck or a whirring helicopter, would always send shivers down their spine, especially during the preIndependence and Malayan emergency era. While some will still be able to breathe a sigh of relief that the sound would mean that their husbands have safely returned from the war against the communist insurgents in the jungle, some could only shed emotional tears when their husbands came out of the truck or helicopter, no longer in a perfect physical condition, or worse still, in a coffin.
Sharing her experience of being a wife to a Very Able Troopers (VAT 69) commando, Siti Patimah Harun, 63, said that during that era, whenever her husband was involved in an operation in the jungle, she would spend a lot of sleepless nights worrying about him as communication was limited.
“He wouldn’t tell me how long it would take, he would just say that he has to go on an operation (against the communist insurgents). There was no mobile phone back then, so I just have to wait and pray for his safe return.
“Every time we heard the sound of a police truck or a helicopter approaching the barracks, we, the wives of VAT 69 commandos will rush out to the tarmac because we know our husbands have returned,” she told Bernama here recently. However, she said when the helicopter or ambulance arrived without a siren, the wives would cling to each other with tears in their eyes knowing that the vehicle was carrying the body belonging to one of their husbands.
For her, the most unforgettable moment was when her husband Baharuddin Ahmad Junan, 73, was involved in Operation Bamboo II on the MalaysiaThailand border in 1978 to eradicate the threat of the Malayan Communist Party. She said she was six months’ pregnant with her second child when her husband was called in for the operation.
“He had gone for a week and I was feeding my first child in our barrack in Ipoh when a policeman came and told me that my husband was injured in the line of duty and was receiving treatment at Penang Hospital. “When I got to the hospital, I was shocked to see my husband with 28 stitches on the head and a broken arm. It also crushed me when he appeared to be suffering from memory loss,” she said.
Despite facing several situations which she considered to be tragic in life, Siti Patimah said she never forbade her husband from fighting the communist insurgents because she knew it was for the sake of the country and the future generations. For Siti Hanipah Omar, 59, living as the wife of a VAT 69 commando, especially in the postIndependence communist insurgency era required strength and self-sufficiency to cope with any situation at any time. She said her marriage was just two weeks old when her husband Basrah Jali was called in for a three-week operation in 1982.
“I cried day and night because I have no one here. I hailed from Dengkil, Selangor and after three days of marriage, I followed my husband to live in a barrack in Tanjung Rambutan. “Although my husband said it was a three-week operation, it broke my heart when he told me to learn to take care of myself as he wasn’t sure whether or not he would return,” she said.
Siti Hanipah said even when she had no money left and was unwell during the absence of her husband, never had she thought about asking him to find another job as she was proud of what he was doing. Meanwhile, Mastura Ramly, 66, said her husband Abd Ghani Mahmood, is also a VAT 69 commando and was frequently involved in the operations to flush out the communist insurgents from the country. – Bernama
