1952: FIJI INFANTRY REGIMENT AT MALAYA

These two photos are from a forgotten chapter of the Malayan Emergency here in Malaysia.

What you're looking at is the 1st Battalion, Fiji Infantry Regiment during their tour in Malaya from **1952 - 1956**.

What happened?

When the British declared the Emergency against communist insurgents (1948-1960), they called on Commonwealth forces. Fiji answered.

• On 1 January 1952, the 1st Battalion Fiji Infantry Regiment left Suva for Malaya - specially detailed for service against what papers at the time called the "Red terrorists".
• In total, about 1,600 Fijian troops served during the four years of involvement from 1952 to 1956. Some sources put it as approximately 1,600 troops.
• They operated in the deep jungle, mainly in Johor and Perak. The battalion was famous for its jungle tracking skills - Fijians were natural jungle fighters. This photo of them waiting for an airdrop in 1952 is actually one of the most iconic images of the Emergency.
• The battalion was led by New Zealander Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Tinker. About 40 New Zealand officers and NCOs served with the battalion between 1951 and 1956 to provide experience.

Your first image is the classic commemorative portrait used for the campaign - "MALAYAN CAMPAIGN 1st Battalion Fiji Infantry Regiment 1952-1956".

Your second image - "Fiji Infantry Regiment @ Malaya" - shows a platoon in the jungle with a British/New Zealand officer in the middle (light shirt, no hat). Note the rifles, the bush hats, and the packs on the ground - that's an airdrop resupply, how they survived for weeks in the jungle. The second photo is often confused for wild boar, but those bundles are their equipment/airdrop bundles.

They spent 4 and a half years fighting in South East Asia and wrote a detailed account of their operations between 1952 and 1956. The Battalion had earlier spent 17 months overseas in WW2 before returning to Fiji in 1944, and was reformed in 1978 for UN peacekeeping.

There is still a strong bond - Fijian veterans like Manu Korovulavula later wrote books Vala mai Maleya and Malayan Campaign about the 1,600 troops who left Fiji.

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

3 September 2026: 2.33 a.m