LEST WE FORGET : CPOSM (RTD) AWANG BIN SALLEH

CPOSM (RTD) AWANG BIN SALLEH

• No. MN: 205
• Served with the Malay Navy on December 10, 1940.
• When World War broke out, he served aboard the ship HMS Kelantan as a Radio Operator.
• As a result of the Japanese Air Force attack, HMS Kelantan retreated to Colombo.
• While in Colombo, he joined OSS 404 US Army in Ceylon.

HMS KELANTAN

HMS Kelantan was a vital auxiliary vessel of the Royal Navy (Malay Section) during World War II. Under the command of Captain H.W. Richardson, it served alongside other state-named sister ships like HMS Pangkor, HMS Perak, and HMS Pahang.

Key historical milestones include:

• The Escape from Malaya: Following the initial Japanese landings at Kota Bharu on December 8, 1941, HMS Kelantan became the very first ship to successfully slip out of Malayan waters to evade overwhelming enemy air assaults.
• Retreat to Colombo: The ship safely navigated across the Indian Ocean to reach the British naval station in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).
• The Clandestine Transition: After arriving in Colombo, the remaining 143 Malay Navy and Malayan Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (MRNVR) personnel were redeployed. While many served as telegraphists or harbor security, elite crew members—including Awang Bin Salleh—were selected to join clandestine wartime units like the British Force 136 and the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS 404) to prepare for the eventual liberation of Malaya.

OSS Detachment 404 in Ceylon

OSS Detachment 404 was a specialized, clandestine wing of the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the modern CIA. Headquartered alongside the Allies' Southeast Asia Command (SEAC) under Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten in Kandy, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), it executed vital intelligence operations from 1944 to 1945:

• Clandestine Operations: The detachment managed Secret Intelligence (SI), sabotage, and guerrilla units targeting Japanese forces across Malaya, Thailand, Sumatra, and French Indochina.
• The Malayan Recruitment: Operating alongside the British Force 136, the OSS trained elite Malay personnel who had evacuated to Colombo. Chosen for their local linguistic skills and familiarity with the terrain, operatives like Awang Bin Salleh were trained in espionage, communication, and reconnaissance.
• Wartime Impact: Detachment 404 successfully transmitted over 2,400 critical intelligence reports. They directly infiltrated occupied territory to prepare local resistance groups for the eventual Allied liberation of Malaya in September 1945.

Wartime History of the Malay Navy Section

The Royal Navy (Malay Section)—popularly known as the Malay Navy—was formed in 1939 by the British administration to fortify local coastal defenses against looming Axis aggression:

• Defending the Peninsula: At its peak, the unit comprised hundreds of local Malayan recruits serving on critical patrol craft and auxiliary warships. They guarded tactical shipping lanes across the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea.
• The 1941 Dispersal: When the Japanese Imperial Army invaded Malaya in December 1941, local vessels faced devastating aerial bombardment. In the chaos, several vessels, including HMS Kelantan, managed to successfully slip past enemy naval blockades.
• Rebirth in Exile: Upon safely reaching Colombo, Ceylon, the displaced crews were reorganized. While a majority performed harbor security and telegraphy duties, an elite cadre transitioned directly into highly covert Allied underground operations to fight back against the occupation.

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

27 July 2026: 1.07 p.m