OUR DAD - MAAMOR BIN SUDIN OF 7 TH BATTALION ROYAL MALAY REGIMENT

BY NORAJELAN BIN MAAMOR

I was too young to understand what was going on in my family.

My Dad went missing from home for days, weeks and even a month. My Mom was silence about it, maybe because I didn't asked her. Maybe Mom feels that it is better for me not to know, I was too young then.

But one thing that I remembered very well was, each time my Dad came back , we were so happy to see him, and not only that, he brought back lots of goodies. Out of his haversacks were bars of Mars, packets of Orange juice powder and canned corned Beef, which in no time me and siblings finished it, of course not without a fight.

Well kids being kids, Dad just watched and smile.

That was wayback in the late 50s and early 60s. Yes, Dad was in the army, in the Royal Malay Regiment to be exact, and the time was the most crucial post independence period , the Emergency ( 1948 - 1960).

Before joining the army, he was a Teacher. He left the Teaching profession , to pursue his love for the Army life. He was always proud of it. He served the country since the beginning of the Emergency, carried the national flag while serving as the UN Peacekeeping Force during the Republic of Congo crisis, help to maintain order during the 1964 - 65 Trade Union Hartal riot when it went out of control and the army was called in, and retired in 1967 just after the end of Indonesia's Konfrantasi , and his last posting was in Tawau , ironically which was also happened to be the birthplace of the Konfrantasi. ( remember the Kalabakan incident ?)

He didn't talk much about his army life and experiences , unless and until some of his buddies or rather Band of Brothers paid a visit , and they will talk for hours about their Tour of Duty.

All I can gather from what they relate, it was definitely no Hollywood stuffs, it was brute and scary. War is no acting matter , neither was it melodramatic. Only those involved knows it very well.

To tell the truth , with all that , yet I was never afraid or worried about him, being missing , being under attack or on the offensive. For all I know, he came back and kept his cool and silence ,not even to Mom. I don't know why. Maybe because I always have the confidence that somehow or rather, he will be back for sure, no worry, and I too got the feeling that he knows his stuffs well and he is well equipped for survival. That also goes for his Band of Brothers too.

Alhamdullilah , my praise to the almighty Allah.

I am truly proud of him. He is one of those unsung heroes ,( Army, Police, Home Guard, the Senoi Praaq, the Gurkhas, the Anzacs, and all others in uniforms),their undying loyalty to their profession and to the nation , pave the way towards our peace, progress and development.

He really lived to his Regimental

insignia " Taat dan Setia", Taat kepada Raja, Setia kepada Negara.

Al-Fatihah. Allahyarham Maamor bin Sudin.

C&P: 28/5/2021 @ 17 SYAWAL 1442H: 10.27 PM