KUCHING: There was never a moment when retired Sergeant Akshah Salleh regretted joining the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) in all his 22 years of service in the military.
As part of the Royal Ranger Regiment (RRD), he had served in the military since 1973 in several states such as Kedah, Perak, Pahang and others.
“That feeling (of regret) has never existed … this career as a soldier suits my soul.
“If there had been no army in the past, we would not have the comfortable life we can live now,” said the Kuching-born veteran.
On Aug 21, Akshah, 71, who is now wheelchair bound, was among 713 veterans who received the Malaysian Service Medal (PJM) for their bravery, courage, sacrifice and loyalty in serving the country during the Emergency period.
The ceremony was officiated by Deputy Minister of Defence Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz at Imperial Hotel here.
Looking back Akshah also has no ill feelings towards the fate that befell him when a booby trap took one of his legs in the 1980s.
Akshah who was then in his 30s, along with 35 other personnel, were carrying out a patrol in Gerik, Perak at the time.
“Stepping on a booby trap is indeed something we cannot expect as it was planted in the ground.
“The person in front of us stepped on the trap but it exploded in the middle thus, causing me and three to four other personnel to be hit by the blast,” he said, adding that some of them who were hit, did not make it.
He was grateful that the services and sacrifices of army veterans have always received recognition from the government.
Married with six children, 20 grandchildren and four great grandchildren, Akshah takes particular pride in the fact that two of his grandsons have followed his footsteps and joined the military.
