Now 79, Pasa spoke of that fateful Sunday when his assistant Cpl Numbu took charge the Ngemah outpost while he was away on duty at the Kanowit on official duty.
Lawrence wrote: “At 7.45 a.m. on August 27, 1970 Corporal Numbu received information that CTs were hanging posters criticizing the government in the upper reaches of the Ngemah River.
“In a hurry, they piled into a longboat equipped with a 40 horse power engine at the jetty in front of the town manned by boatman Anudah.”
On board the ill-fated boat were Cpl Numbu and 14 Iban Border Scouts ran it a “rantau” (fishing drift net) that was laid by the CTS at the Tugam-Sungai Matau junction.
Lawrence continued: “At 2 p.m. 45 CTs all armed with four Thompson sub-machine guns, 13 sten machine guns and 28 Lee Enfield rifles waited at the “killing zone”, which was at one of the river’s narrow junctions.
“When the longboat ran into the net and overturned, the CTs opened fire giving the Border Scouts no chance for a counter-attack.”
However, boatman Anudah and three Border Scouts Dusi, Kelabit and Tukau who were injured, swam with the current before reaching the longhouse of Ulu Ngemah chief Penghulu Ajut.
Inspector Pasa who was arrived immediately after the men left rushed back to their longhouse base and waited.
He lamented: “In their hurry Cpl Numbu had forgotten to bring along the communications set so by noon I felt something was amiss.
“Even though I there was no reinforcements and I was the only officer left standing, I raced up to the scene of the ambush with only a pistol and an outboard driver.”
After Penghulu Ajut brought the bad news, a detachment of Sarawak Rangers was dispatched to the area to help recover the bodies.
Pasa continued: “In Ngemah there was panic because there was no saying that the CTs would come looking for me.
“That night the villagers urged me to sleep at the teachers’ quarters instead of our base at the longhouse,” he added.
Lawrence, who knew the Border Scouts personally, lamented: “It was a day of mourning for the families, colleagues and friends of the dead Border Scouts, whose bodies were sent back to their respective longhouses.
“Had these 16 Border Scouts come back with dead CTs, they all would have been hailed as heroes.”
The 12 victims were Cpl Numbu Ak Keli, Sekudan Ak Dampak, Imba Ak Caring, Senang Ak Baji, Jantuk Ak Jalong, Edward Sli Ak Narok, Pantau Ak Bara, Kanching Ak Licar, Galau Ak Sumpur, Bryen Ak Balet, Luyoh Ak Jaul
and Lat Ak Cancu.
Inspector Pasa said the families of 12 victims received RM3,000 each and nothing more.
“Several years ago, the government promised another RM1,500 in compensations for each family, but until now the have not received anything.”
Lawrence said the Sarawak Communist Organisation (SCO) had adopted the ambush strategy drawing from the experience of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The 1970 Manual read: “All commanding and fighting personnel are expected to study Chairman Mao’s works on military matters diligently and to apply them to their revolutionary work and experiences in battle.
“At present our forces are still small, we must have the resolution and courage to persist in the struggle...in order to increase our weapons and fighting ability.
“We are still not capable of eliminating the enemy in large numbers. So, we must ambush the enemy - this is to be our form of attack. We must endeavour to capture weapons in every battle. We shall gather many minor victories to make a major victory.
It is only through long-term struggle that we can gradually expand our strength.
In 1971 alone Sarawak CTs carried out 41 ambushes against small security force detachments with a view of capturing more weapons.
On March 26, 1972 the CT’s struck another blow when they ambushed and killed 15 members of the Malaysian Ranger Regiment from Peninsular Malaysia and injured four along the Biawak-Lundu Road.
It was an unprecedented massacre that shocked the government. Following the killings, Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak said that the war between the government and the communists was a “battle of life and death.”
He said (Straits Times, March 28, 1972): “There are those who are not prepared to support the government, obviously are not loyal to the country and they have no rights to get benefits from the State.
“The rich people don’t suffer (because) they can go away. It is the poor people, and it is to the poor people that I am appealing now. If they stand by the government, we will protect them.”
ends/jr 5.10.22 End - 10
