Corporal Paul Nyopis

Dragged from his house to the Tondong bazaar—about five kilometres from Bau town—they held a “public trial” in the midst of the inhabitants. After torturing Johnny to make a spectacle of the event, they tied the youth to a tree in the fown centre and set him on fire.

Tondong as it is today

 Commander Ng and his men then burnt down the Tondong police station.
The following day and 45 personnel in several vehicles made their way to scene of the incidents unaware that they were heading into an ambush.
 In an interview with the NST in 1990s Paul in Kuching: “I sported the native look and let my hair grow for three months posing as a farmer.

The late Corporal Paul Nyopis being borne to his place of rest

Soon I was able to infiltrate the enemy circle by mixing around with some of communist sympathisers because I was able to speak the Chinese Hakka dialect.  “One day I was approached by a CT bearing an old photograph of myself when I had short hair when I a new recruit. When he asked if I knew the man in the photo, I said I knew him but he had left the district.   “Later I was told that I was on the hit list. The terrorists wanted to assassinate me because I had caused great hardship to the farmers by disrupting their clandestine activities.” 

In a special interview with retired Lt Colonel Syed Othman Syed Omar  in 2005, Nyopis said the CTs had decided to ambush the security forces and kill as many personnel as possible.  The CTs operating at Tondong in at that time were 4th Company of the North Kalimantan Peoples Guerilla Force (NKPGF) a top Communist Terrorist named Ng Nyuk Foh.

On the night of July 14 1972, a group of armed Communist Terrorists approached a young man named Johnny Lee whom they believed was a Police informer. After interrogating him, they dragged from his house to the Tondong bazaar where a where a “public trial” was conducted in front of Chinese villagers. Johnny was tied to a tree and tortured and set on fire. The CTs then burnt down the Tondong police station. 

On receiving the news of the incident the following day, the Bau police under Inspector Anthony Hui called the PFF under Inspector Abdul Razak bin Haji Hassan for assistance.  To get to Tondong bazaar--a small town comprising about to 20 shops and business premises in the communist-infested enclave--.the police convoy had to travel by a winding gravel single lane gravel road with sharp bends where the CTs could easily lay an ambush.

Before leaving Bau, Nyopis armed himself with a 9mm Browning pistol with 4 magazines and a Sterling sub machine gun with four magazines with 30 rounds each. He had a premonition that he was going to do battle with the enemy that morning so he tied two magazines together for quick reloading. Nyopis who was born with a “cawl” (membrane around his head and face) added: “I was told that the membrane was a sign that I was blessed and protected by the Almighty.”

A descendant of the Bidayuh Hero named “Kulow”—who led an expedition against the Skrang head hunters who killed scores of in the Bung Bratak tragedy in the early 1800s— Nyopis wore ancestral charms and talisman whenever he went on an operation against the enemy.

A junior police officer Inspector Tan led the convoy of six vehicles with 45 personnel which left just before 9 a.m. Following behind in the second land rover was Inspector Abdul Razak bin Rahman rover driven by PC Bong Ah Tong with four others.

 Cpl Paul Nyopis was in the third Land Rover driven by PC Tomek with five others--Sgt John Luk, Cpl John Yong and PC Morshidi bin Johari of the Special Branch and Junior Liaison officer Sim as his passengers. Three police trucks carrying more than 30 members of the PFF followed behind.
 Fifteen minutes into the journey, the enemy opened fire as Inspector Tan in the leading armoured vehicle disappeared around a sharp bend along the road.

Paul recalled: “When Inspector Razak’s group in the second vehicle was isolated, the CTs opened fire. PC Bong reacted quickly by turning to the left and stopping the curb as the others bailed out.” Inspector Razak men and his men took cover under the Land Rover and behind the vehicle as the CTs directed their gunfire at the young PFF commander, hoping for an all-important kill.

Lucky for Razak, a pellet only nicked his ear while four others in his vehicle--PC Bong, PC Michael Brand, Cpl Let and the Court Pion--had gunshot wounds. Fortunately, Nyopis’ land rover which was directly behind Razak’s was drawn into the battle. Nyopis said: “It must have been fate because our vehicle stopped directly in front of the enemy ambush!”
 Assessing the situation quickly from his vehicles Nyopis noticed that the uniformed commander of the TNKU giving instructions a second batch of men to direct their aim on his group.

“There was no time to hesitate. I jumped out of the Land Rover and started firing in the direction of the leader with my Browning. If I could kill him it would be a demoralising blow to the CTs.” After emptying his Browning, the sharp-shooter saw the leader fall; later on checking commander Ng was found dead with a bullet wound between his eyes. 

Nyopis continue to lead the charge, jumping onto the bonnet of his Land rover and opening fire with his sterling sub-machine gun when he noticed that one ambush party hiding behind an ant hill directly in front of him.
 Suddenly, Nyopis was hit by gunshots aimed at his stomach. Fortunately, pellets from a shotgun were stopped by his army buckle. A third pellet penetrated his shirt and but not his body.

 Urging the men on, the CTs retreated with the knowledge that 30 armed PFF personnel in three trucks were close behind. After the short but epic battle Nyopis decided against going after the enemy. Instead, he attended to five of the wounded with the medical kit he had brought with him. Cpl Paul Nyopis’ extraordinary feat was praised by his superiors.  A witness report said “Without due regard for his safety he stood up to fire at the enemy, displaying of rare courage instilled fear amongst the enemy.

“That action convinced them to flee for their lives, even though they had the
advantage of surprse, location, good cover and good fields of fire.” “If not for Paul’s gallantry, the Police would have suffered a greater number of casualties.” For his bravery Paul was bestowed the “Pingat Gagah Berani” by the Yang Dipertuan Agung of Malaysia on the March 22, 1975. He left the security forces a year later.

NOTE: A special child, Nyopis was born with a covering of membrane around him called a “caul”. A birth caul is a piece of the amniotic sac still attached to a newly born baby's head or face. In extremely rare cases – called an "en caul birth" — a baby emerges fully inside the amniotic sac, which looks like a thin and filmy membrane. Some call this condition "born with a veil.”  Many cultures consider a baby born with a caul a sign of good luck.
 
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Excerpt of Paul’s interview with Lt Colonel Syed on ambush and the final moments of the gun-battle at Jalan Sebatu on July 15, 1972:
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“After 15 minutes of driving time, leaving the Bau Police station, barely one and a half miles from Bau, as the convoy was struggling uphill, the enemy sprung an ambush on the convoy. They sprung the ambush when the leading armored vehicle disappeared around a sharp bend on the road.

“Their fire was directed at the Land Rover driven by PC Bong Ah Tong whose passenger was Inspector Abdul Razak. They were fired upon from the right of the road. PC Bong reacted by going to the left of the road and stopping. They rapidly debussed to take cover from the enemy’s fire.

“The Land Rover in which Nyopis was in, stopped a few feet behind the Land Rover that was being fired upon. As luck would have it, the Land Rover that Cpl Nyopis was in, stopped directly in front of the enemy ambush!

“He jumped out of the Land Rover and started firing at the enemy. He fired at them standing up without any cover, on the open road.’ With the enemy hardly a meter away from the edge of the road Paul spotted the leader of the group giving directions to his men shoot in the direction his group.

He fired with his Browning pistol continuously at the enemy, he saw the Leader of the ambush party fall. He continued firing at the enemy until he exhausted all the ammunition in his four magazines. He then whipped out his Sterling sub machine gun , jumped onto the front hood of the Land rover, to spot the enemy, who were actually hiding behind an ant hill in front of him.
“He yelled, “A Company to the right! B Company to the left! This was a feint to frighten the enemy. After this particular yell he was hit by the enemy’s bullets.

“Two rounds of the enemy were stopped by the buckle on his belt, one more round entered into his shirt and stayed there. He commenced firing after being hit. As he did not fall after being hit, the enemy started fleeing in panic. This happening is one of the unexplainable.”

The report continued: 

“The rest of the Police had taken cover under the Land Rover and some of them behind the tires of the vehicles. Some of them found cover in the ditch beside the road.  The leading armoured vehicle did turn around realizing that there was an ambush behind them. It managed to return fire on the already fleeing enemy. It did not hit anyone.

“Once the all clear was sounded, Cpl Nypis attended to the wounded. He used the field dressing that he had on him to aid the wounded. The wounded were PC Bong Ah Tong, Inspector Abdul Razak, Michael Brand, Cpl Let and Court Pion.

“A total of 45 policemen were wounded. Theycarried by a single Land Rover to Clinic Bau to be given emergency treatment. Cpl Nyopis was at the location until all the vehicles that were damaged during the ambush were extricated at 1700 hours.

“The Leader of the group of enemy was a Chinese from West Kalimantan, his life was ended by Cpl Nyopis. The leader was armed with a rifle. The bravery displayed by Cpl Nyopis was out of the ordinary, without due regard for his safety he stood up to fire at the enemy, this display of rare courage instilled fear amongst the enemy.

“That action convinced them to flee for their lives, even though they had the advantage of surprise, location, good cover and good fields of fire.  “Inspector Anthony acknowledges by stating this, “I am very grateful to Cpl Nyopis for his actions that day. I was responsible for the convoy”. “His action, of total disregard for his own safety was rewarded.