THE GRAVE THAT LAUNCHED OP MAI PULAI (OP BRINGING HOME)

[RobertRizalAbdullah1948]

Twenty one Iban Trackers and Sarawak Rangers were KIA during the 1st phase of the Malayan Insurgency 1948 - 1960. Their graves were scattered all over Malaya including two in Singapore. It was easy for me to locate and identify their graves as there was a record kept by the British Army and available in the internet.

I was shocked when I was shown a roadside grave of LCpl Ungkok anak Jugam in Alor Setar, Kedah. When LCpl Ungkok was KIA on 13 February 1955, he was buried in situ. That location was probably a dense jungle at that time. Within 35 years Alor Setar had developed by leaps and bounds and LCpl Ungkok's grave was smack in the middle of a highway. It was moved and placed by the side of the highway. But why allow the grave of a soldier who gave his life for the Country to remain by the roadside? That was the point that didn't make sense to me. So I decided to make a plan to bring all the remains of the 21 Iban Trackers and Sarawak Rangers back to their homeland Sarawak. I formed my own ad-hoc committee. A year later the State Govt saw my effort and decided to take over which was what I was after as I did not have the resources to undertake the herculean tasks.

Anyway, I brought Ungkok's issue to the relevant Authority in early 2009 and within a couple of months, it was shifted to a nearby Christian Cemetery in full Iban customary rites, to give it a more respectable resting place.

RRA