LEST WE FORGET : CPOSM (B) JOHARI BIN MOHD AMIN

CPOSM (B) JOHARI BIN MOHD AMIN

• Malay Navy No.: 1430
• Joined the Malay Navy on December 9, 1941.
• Served aboard the ship HMS Pangkor when war broke out in Malaya.
• HMS Pangkor retreated to Colombo after being heavily attacked by the Japanese Army.
• On May 9, 1944, he joined OSS 404 US Army and was involved in Operation Zipper in Malaya.
• After the war, he served aboard the ship HMS Derby Haven until 1946.
• He joined the Malayan Naval Force which was established in 1949.
• In 1963, he was assigned to bring the ship KD Ledang back from England to Malaya.
• Medals received: Defence Medal, War Medal, Pacific Star, and Naval General Service with Clasp Malaya.

ABOUT OPERATION ZIPPER

Operation Zipper was a massive British military plan during World War II. It aimed to capture Port Swettenham (now Port Klang) or Port Dickson to secure staging airfields. This invasion was intended as the first step to liberate Malaya and recapture Singapore from the Japanese Imperial Army.

Conceived in early 1945 by the Allied South East Asia Command under Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, the operation was scheduled for September 9, 1945. It planned to deploy over 100,000 Commonwealth troops—primarily from Indian divisions alongside British commandos.

However, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to Japan's abrupt surrender on August 15, 1945. Because the war ended weeks before the scheduled assault, the contested invasion was altered. The landings still went ahead on September 9 at beaches like Morib and Port Dickson, but they transitioned into a peaceful, unopposed reoccupation to round up remaining Japanese forces and re-establish administration.

AMERICAN OSS DETACHMENT 404

The specific involvement of American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) units in Japanese-occupied Malaya primarily operated through OSS Detachment 404. This regional headquarters was established in Kandy, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) following a meeting between General William J. Donovan and Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten to run intelligence and paramilitary operations across Southeast Asia.

The creation of OSS Detachment 404 in Kandy, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), which shared a headquarters base with Force 136. Under this command structure:

• Malaya and Sumatra: Designated as primary British SOE zones. The OSS was permitted to assist or embed small teams (such as the involvement of CPO Johari Bin Mohd Amin's unit in Malaya) but only in direct coordination with Force 136. 
• Thailand (Siam): Officially fell under SEAC, but became a hotly contested ground. Because the U.S. did not recognize the Thai government's declaration of war, the OSS independently backed the Free Thai Movement. This created an overlapping zone where both the OSS and Force 136 ran separate, highly competitive intelligence pipelines into Bangkok. 
• French Indochina: Nominally split along the 16th parallel. The northern half fell under the China Theater (OSS focus), while the southern half fell under SEAC (SOE/French focus). 

Key Operations & Strategic Involvement

• Liaison with Force 136: The OSS closely coordinated and integrated with British Special Operations Executive (SOE) units under Force 136. While the British initially tried to limit American unilateral reach in Malaya, they eventually established a joint panel to coordinate plans.
• Operation CAIRNGORM: In November 1944, a small team of American OSS agents alongside Chinese operatives parachuted into the Malayan jungle. Their mission was to establish communication networks and embed with local anti-Japanese guerillas (mainly the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army, or MPAJA) to gather intelligence and harass Japanese communication lines.
• Economic Sabotage & Intelligence: OSS Detachment 404 agents infiltrated networks to map Japanese defenses ahead of Operation Zipper. They also engaged in economic warfare; the OSS printed counterfeit Japanese-issued $10 currency notes to fuel hyperinflation and disrupt the occupation economy.
• Coast-Watching & Maritime Units: The OSS utilized specialized maritime units to set up hidden coastal watching stations. These operatives monitored Japanese naval transit routes through the vital Strait of Malacca, supplying critical targeting telemetry to Allied command centers.

ABOUT HMS PANGKOR

An Auxiliary naval vesel, originally an requisitioned merchant ship converted for military service, that operated as part of the British Royal Navy's local forces defending British Malaya. 

The ship was under the command of Captain T.Sutherland, RNR. The crew was staffed by a mix of British Officers, local volunteers from Malayan Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (MRNVR) and regular sailors of the Malay Navy including CPOSM Johari bin Mohd Amin. 

During World War II, HMS Pangkor was subjected to intense enemy aerial attacks. Instead of being destroyed or captured, the ship successfully evacuated personnel and fled Malaya just before the fall of Singapore. The ship reach Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in early 1942. 

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

26 July 2026: 10.57 p.m