Sarawakian gallantry award recipient breaks years of silence

THE sole surviving recipient of the nation’s highest gallantry award Seri Pahlawah Gagah Perkasa (SP), Etin Bijam, had just been discharged from Miri Hospital when he agreed to an interview with thesundaypost.

The retired corporal smiled upon seeing me.

“I’m suffering from shortness of breath. I cannot hear much,” he said when met at his house in Spring Riam.

At 83, Etin must be attended to constantly. Covid-19 had, among other things, weakened him.

Most days, he would sit in front of his small television. His son-in-law Tamin Emperang, the husband of his eldest daughter Linda, would take care of him in the morning, and Linda’s sister Lily would come and take over in the afternoon.

Still, Etin retained his sense of humour.

“You don’t need to show or shout to the communists about your school certificate before any fight – they’d just ambush you. It’s not the certificate that counts, but the spirit, bravery and fortitude.”

‘Keeping it inside’

However, there was sorrow in Etin’s eyes.

“Nobody has ever come to interview me personally, to talk about that gunfight 51 years ago.

“Yes, there were interviews before, but they were always with others, and with my hearing problem, my side of the story was not told.

“When the interviews got aired or printed, my stories did not come through.

“Still, I just remained silent.

“I’m illiterate, so any publication there is, it has to be read aloud to me by my family members. Others who were interviewed could read and write, so they got more space in the publications.

“Probably, I was sidelined because I was not a high-ranking officer.

“Certain points that were published, I disagreed with them. I’m glad now that I can tell my side of the story.”

‘The story’

On April 27, 1972, Etin’s team led by Sgt Ngalinuh Bala was ambushed by a large group from the communist guerrillas while escorting several Public Works Department (JKR) personnel, who were sending explosives, on board a lorry, to a quarry at Jalan Ulu Oya in Sibu.

It was the Insurgency period, and their attackers were intent on killing the transporting team and taking hold of the explosives.

As his comrades provided cover fire, Etin charged forward to shoot dead one communist and injured many enemies.

Ngalinuh was shot in the right thigh in the battle, which ended only after the reinforcements had arrived and forced the enemy to retreat.

In honouring their bravery, Ngalinuh and Etin were later conferred the SP honour by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong in July 1972.

The SP is the highest award accorded by the government of Malaysia for supreme gallantry in extraordinary and highly dangerous situations. It is said that it ranks higher than Order of the Royal Family of Malaysia (DKM) awarded to Malaysian royalty, and also those carrying the honorific titles of ‘Tun’ and ‘Tan Sri’.

That said, the SP does not carry any title and is not listed in the ‘Federal Order of Importance’.

There have only been 30 recipients of SP over the past five decades and currently, Etin is the sole surviving honouree.

His comrade Ngalinuh passed away on June 23, 2020, at the age of 79.

‘His recount’

Etin said that day in 1972 began around 10.30am.

“I was among those instructed to get ready for a patrol, at our temporary PFF (now-defunct Police Field Force) camp at Mile 14 of Oya Road in Sibu.

“I got into my uniform, prepared my rifle and ammunition, and fastened my ‘pengaroh’ (a kind of amulet) around my waist.

“Then there it was, out of the blue, the ‘hujan nyala’ (sunshower). To many of us Iban members of the force, it was a weird occurrence – ominous even.

“The departure time was around 11am. We were scheduled to go to Mile 10, where the JKR depot was. We were instructed to escort a truck laden with dynamites, to be used for blasting soft rocks at the Mubal quarry for the construction of the Borneo trunk road at Mile 54.

“Ahead was the Land Rover driven by Constable Ambau together with Corporal Ngalinuh Bala, our petrol leader and several JKR staff members. I was in the JKR Bedford truck, holding to the front side of the load section. Inside the cab, there were the JKR staff and the driver.

“Together with me were Andrew Siam, Mat Sapong and Corporal Saban – and, of course, the dynamites.

“Upon reaching a road passing the hillslopes between Balingian and Selangau – it was around 1pm – our vehicles stopped abruptly.

“Gunshots were heard. It was an ambush! Everybody jumped out of the vehicles, taking cover from the spraying bullets.

“I was the last to disembark from the truck, puzzled amidst hearing gunshots from higher ground on the right side of the road. Next, I saw smoke right before a big explosion.

“I got dizzy, but when I opened my eyes, I was able to focus on an electrical wire hanging vertically down the slope. Guided by it, I steadily made my way up to the higher ground.

“My assumption was that the guerrillas did not have enough time to ignite the explosives at the road when our convoy reached the spot, so they left the wire there.

“Then as we moved forward, I saw Corporal Ngalinuh behind me, about five… maybe eight yards from my left side. He opened fire first, before signalling to me to move forward.

“We were on the receiving end of the spraying bullets, but somehow, none hit me.

“Instead, Ngalinuh was shot and I saw him falling and after that, he was incapacitated.”

It was when Etin reached this part of the story that his face showed utter sadness.

“It pained me to see that my friend was injured – later, we were officially told that Corporal Ngalinuh was injured on his right thigh.”

Etin said soon after that, a grenade exploded a few yards in front of him.

“Again, miraculously no shrapnel or fragment struck me, but the impact did throw me back, and I landed on my right ankle. I felt the sharp pain, but I realised that my ankle was not fractured.

“There was so much going on at that very moment. Shots kept coming from the guerrillas’ side.

“Nonetheless, I felt that I was unstoppable. I chanted ‘Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban’ (‘We Fight As Long As We Live’ – the battle cry of Sarawak Rangers).

“I felt a certain strength, or power – a kind of transformation. I believed that it was my ‘pangaroh’. When I charged towards the guerrillas, it felt like I was flying!”

Etin said as he ran forward holding his rifle, he entered a scrubland that was actually a route used by padi planters. He continued to chase after the guerrillas towards the padi field before reaching a large fallen tree trunk.

“There, I saw five communist soldiers running for their lives.

“Soon, I came across a peat swamp, but I continued on even though my feet sank into the ground up to the knees.

“Again, it might have been the power of the ‘pangaroh’ that had helped me reach the higher ground on the opposite side.

“I set my aim from a distance of about 15 to 20 yards – and then, I pulled the trigger.

“The target fell to the ground. ‘Oh udah kena iya’ (loosely translates to ‘I got him’ in Iban), I said to myself.

“Again, I ran after the guerrillas for quite a distance before taking another shot.”

It was at this point that Etin suddenly sat up straight to demonstrate how he took aim at the target.

“He fell,” he continued. “I had shot two men!”

He then said that he ran as fast as he could to catch up.

“For the third time, I took another aim at one target, and pulled the trigger. I saw the target losing his balance, tripping and limping as he moved.

“I made a few more attempts but alas, I lost sight of the target.

“Then, as I pursued further, I saw a trail of blood. The wounded enemy was either hiding somewhere, or managed to flee.

“I knew at the time that I must save myself and stop the pursuit.

“One hour had passed before I went over to see the two that I had shot dead.”

‘Arrival of reinforcement’

Etin said almost two hours after the attack, the reinforcement unit led by Insp Reggie arrived. They scoured the area and found some armaments and documents from the makeshift hideout, but found no dead soldiers.

“Then I called them to help me retrieve the two that I had shot dead. It was an arduous task to carry the bodies out to the road.

“I did look for the wounded Corporal Ngalinuh. I was happy to know that he had been sent to Sibu for treatment. In his official report and later in the media, Ngalinuh claimed that he killed one communist.”

The Malaysian Ranger Regiment later came for a thorough follow-up.

“By night-time, we had no choice but to sleep by the road side with the bodies.

“However, I stayed awake, thinking about all the things that happened that day.”

‘Pengaroh’

“The next day, I was called by our company commander ASP Ampan and JKR engineer to give my statement. Before the interview took place at the JKR depot, I heard everyone was calling my name ‘Etin, Bujang Berani’ (‘Etin The Brave’).

“It was later confirmed that there was no arrest of communist troops. We only recovered a cache of weapons and documents from the communists’ makeshift hideout place, plus the two dead men.

“My patrol team members were brave, fearless warriors, but they missed the direction of communists.

“For me, I was lucky to hit the targets. At that time, I believed strongly in the ‘pangaroh’, which seemed to have given me some vigour during the firefight. I acknowledged its magnificent presence then.”

When met, Etin’s comrade retired sergeant Andrew Siam, had said: “Etin is someone who has a strong sense of self, understands his worth, and treats others with kindness and respect.

“During the recruit-training, Etin proved to everyone that he’s a sharpshooter.

“Etin is a man of few words – he’d rather be in the background.

“I was glad that Etin was honoured with the gallantry award.

“In 1972, Etin embraced Christianity (Anglican). His eldest daughter Linda became a Sunday school teacher, first at St John’s Chapel in the PFF Camp and later, at St Columba’s Church in Miri, where the family still goes for their Sunday service.

“The following year, Etin surrendered the ‘pangaroh’, his family heirloom, to his brother Sirai in Engkilili.”

‘Reminiscence’

Etin joined the force on Feb 27, 1963, and retired in 1996.

“I was accepted back then, based on my good physical features – my tattoos were ‘my certificate’,” he laughed, again showing his sense of humour.

“The then-recruitment policy was to look for able-bodied Iban men.”

Etin and his good friend Achak, from Rumah Liam (longhouse) in Bakong, got recruited in Marudi. Before that, both had worked as labourers in Kuala Belait in Brunei.

“During the interview, I used my Brunei identity card, which stated that I was born on Dec 31 Dec, 1931, and residing in Ulu Belait, and that I was a padi planter.

“Today, my Malaysian identity card states my birth date as Dec 31, 1940.”

Etin’s wife Singgah Ingat, who hailed from Sungai Keroh in his homeland Engkilili, passed away in 2017.

His eldest child Linda is the wife of Tamin Emperang, a retired police deputy superintendent.

Linda graduated from Institut Teknologi Mara (now university) in 1989, and later received her Degree in Business Administration from Open University Malaysia in 2007. Currently, she works at a freight forwarder company, but every week, she teaches Sunday school at the St Columba’s Church in Miri.

Etin’s second daughter Mila is a teacher, and is married to Zulkipli Yusop, a Telekom Malaysia employee in Miri.

Next is Julia, also a teacher. Her husband Luat Samet passed away in April this year.

Etin’s youngest, Lily, is a kindergarten headmistress and married to Ngumbang Jampang, an oil palm planter.

His children have blessed him with nine grandchildren.

“I just want to tell my story – that’s all,” said Etin.

“We could never know what would happen next.

“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for coming to meet me, and to listen.”