LEST WE FORGET : AUSTRALIA'S THREE WARS IN MALAYSIA, 1941-1966

This poster tells the whole 25-year story — it's why Australia's relationship with Malaysia is so deep. What you have in the image is often called the "Three Conflicts":

1. 1941-1945 • WWII: Battle for Malaya & Singapore 

This was Australia's first major fight on what is now Malaysian soil.

• On 8 December 1941 — hours before Pearl Harbor — Japanese forces landed in northern Malaya and Thailand. The RAAF and 8 Australian warships fought from day one.
• The main Australian ground force was the 8th Division, 2nd AIF under Major General Gordon Bennett. After Kuala Lumpur fell on 11 Jan 1942, operations in Johore were entrusted to them. They fought sharp but losing battles at Gemas (14 Jan), Bakri (18-19 Jan) and Jemaluang (27 Jan).
• Forced back to Singapore, the depleted Australian battalions — many at half strength — were given the key north-west sector to defend. On 15 Feb 1942, over 130,000 Commonwealth troops, including 15,000 Australians, surrendered. 1,789 Australians had been killed since mid-January, and 7,000 of those captured would die as POWs.

It was Australia's worst military disaster, but it's still remembered here — the battle came down the entire peninsula you live on.

2. 1948-1960 : Malayan Emergency: Jungle Patrol

The Panels 2 and 3 are actually the same war, just two sides of it.

After WWII, the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) tried to take power. The British declared an Emergency.

• Australia joined as part of the Far East Strategic Reserve. More than 7,000 Australians served in the Emergency, plus another 2,000 on the Thai-Malay border afterwards.
• Who served: RAAF 38 Squadron and 1 Squadron from 1950, then 2RAR, 3RAR, 1RAR in rotation, plus SAS. They spent six years doing extensive jungle patrols, ambushes, convoy protection and food denial operations alongside Malayan, British, Gurkha and Commonwealth troops.
• The war was slow, hot, close work — living for weeks in the jungle. The panel title "Jungle Patrol" is accurate. The "Band of Brothers" photo in Panel 3 captures the other side — long tours based at places like Sungai Besi, with deep bonds with local trackers. Iban trackers were used with Australians on the mainland and were even wounded with them.
• Malaya became independent in 1957, the Emergency was declared over 31 July 1960, but Australian operations continued on the Thai-Malay border until 1966. Two Australians died in that post-Emergency period.
• Cost: 39 Australians died on combat operations in the Emergency.

This was one of Australia's longest military commitments — 13 years.

3. 1962-1966 • Indonesian Confrontation: Borneo 

Almost immediately after the Emergency ended, a new war started.

Indonesia opposed the creation of the new Federation of Malaysia (Malaya + Sabah + Sarawak + Singapore). President Sukarno launched Konfrontasi — an undeclared war.

• Australia was part of a coalition with Malaysia, Britain, New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei.
• Total commitment: 3,500 Australian military personnel including infantry, SASR, artillery, engineers, RAN ships and RAAF squadrons.

The main infantry effort was in Borneo:

• 3 RAR arrived March 1965 in Sarawak at Bau, conducting operations on both sides of the Kalimantan border, including four major contacts
• 4 RAR replaced them April-August 1966, operating from fortified bases around Bau and also crossing the border
• SASR squadrons did secretive deep-jungle cross-border patrols — they were officially not in Kalimantan because Australia still had diplomatic links with Indonesia, so it wasn't an "operational area" on paper.

Peace treaty signed in Bangkok, August 1966. 23 Australians died during Confrontation.

Why it's remembered as one story

For Australia, it's one continuous presence: from Butterworth air base to the jungles of Perlis and Borneo. For Malaysia, veterans say these shared trying times since WWII helped build a closer bond.

That's why Malaya & Borneo Veterans Day specifically honours these 39 + 23 Australian dead alongside Malaysian and Commonwealth troops.

If you visit the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, all three are listed together on the National Malaya & Borneo Veterans Association memorial: WWII Malaya & Borneo Campaigns 1941-1945, Malayan Emergency 1948-1960, Indonesian Confrontation 1962-1966.

References:

1. Australian War Memorial : Battle for Singapore.
2. New Straits Times : Emergency, Confrontation bonded Malaysia and Australia closer. 
3. Anzac Portal:  Army operations during the Malayan Emergency. 

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

3 September 2026: 11.13 p.m