BY SARAH HAFIZAH CHANDRA
KUCHING: Senate President Tan Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar wants the government to set up a joint committee to recognise the invaluable contributions of former military and police personnel.
He said the contributions of these unsung heroes sometimes do not get the recognition that they deserve, especially from the younger generations.
“The young generations do not truly understand the struggles that we had to endure to safeguard the safety of our nation and for the life that we have today.
“They do not know what life was like during the communist era when we were in the jungle, waiting for information to be given and directives for operations to be conducted.
“Most of the time, we did not know whether we would return as we were or in a body bag, because there was no guarantee whether we would live or die,” he said.
He made these remarks after paying his last respects to Michael Riman Bugat at Civic Centre here today.
Wan Junaidi said the recognitions for former military and police personnel must come from various quarters, including the state government.
He said the recognition from the state government is crucial especially for former military and police personnel who served during the communist insurgency in Sarawak back in the 1960s.
“For instance, there was a communist attack on a roadblock at Jalan Penrissen and a police officer was shot dead. The communist insurgency in Sarawak continued until 1990, with many miliary and police personnel sacrificing their lives to safeguard the people’s safety.
“As such, recognitions must be given to these fighters like the late Riman who received Pingat Gagah Berani (PGB) in recognition of his service,” he added.
Riman passed away at the age of 71 on Aug 7 after a short illness.
