AWARD OF THE PINGAT JASA MALAYSIA FOR AUSTRALIAN SERVICE

DURING THE MALAY EMERGENCY AND INDONESIAN CONFRONTATION BY

THE GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA

INTRODUCTION

 Earlier this year the Government of Malaysia made an offer to confer a special medal of service to eligible current and former Australian Servicemen and women appreciation of their service in Malaysia with the Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve from Independence to the end of Confrontation over the period 31 August 1957 to 31 December 1966 (this is extended by the Malysian Government from 12 August 1966 as a ‘cooling off period’). This will also include around 40 former members of the Australian Army who were recruited by the Government of the Federation of Malaya to serve as Lieutenants in the Malayan Police Force.

 The Malayan Emergency and the Indonesian Confrontation were the two most significant conflicts for Malaysia following the end of World War II. During the period of the Confrontation, however, Australian troops also carried out operations on and around the Malay/Thai Border region in the pursuit of smugglers and bandits.

Australia and Malaysia enjoy a long-standing and valuable defence relationship.

Acknowledgment of the contribution made by Australian men and women to the security

of Malaysia and the region is valued highly by the Malaysian Government.

As the PJM is a foreign award, the Department of Defence will be acting as an agent for the Malaysian Government. In all possible circumstances, senior representatives from the Malaysian Government will present medals personally to recipients, including next of kin in cases of posthumous awards. For this to occur, names and addresses of applicants will need to be supplied to the Malaysian Government. In accordance with Australian privacy regulations, provision is made on the application form for an applicant to elect not to have this information passed on. Arrangements will be made for these to be separately dispatched to the recipient by Australian Defence officials.

The Australian Government has developed the eligibility provisions below to accord with the criteria for the medal as set out by the Malaysian Government. Any representations made directly to the Malaysian Government from ex-Service groups or individuals to vary the criteria will be referred to the Australian Government for response.

The Directorate of Honours and Awards will receive applications, verify the service and eligibility and facilitate the approval of the award. A specially designed application is available for this purpose.

ELIGIBILITY

There are two categories of eligibility that will be assessed by the Department of Defence and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet for eligibility for the Pingat Jasa Malaysia.

These are as follows.

Category One:

a. Those members of the Australian Defence Force who were on the posted strength of a unit or formation and served in the prescribed operational area of Malaysia and Singapore, in direct support of operations in Malaysia for 90 days or more, in the

aggregate, as follows:

(1) Malaysia during the period 31 August 1957 and 31 December 1966 inclusive;

or

(2) Singapore during the period 31 August 1957 and 9 August 1965 inclusive. Qualifying service between 12 August 1966 and 31 December 1966 may only apply if a member was posted for operations to Malaysia on or before 12 August 1966.

The prescribed operational of Malaysia and Singapore is the landmass of East Malaysia (that is: the States of Sabah and Sarawak on the Island of Borneo), the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore extending to 12 nautical miles seaward from the coast of these areas.

b. Those members of the Australian Defence Force who were on the posted strength of a unit or formation outside of the prescribed operational area above, but served in a secondary role in indirect support of operations in Malaysia for 180 days or more, in the aggregate, during the period 31 August 1957 and 31 December 1966 inclusive.

The secondary role is seagoing service with HMA Ships patrolling outside of the operational area whilst allotted to Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve.

c. Those Australian citizens who served in a civilian law enforcement capacity (police, home guard or security services) in the prescribed operational area of Malaysia only, in direct support of operations in Malaysia for 90 days or more, in the aggregate, during the period 31 August 1957 to 31 December 1966 inclusive.

Notes:

1. Sorties from bases outside of the operational area as prescribed at a. above will not qualify. Only service by those on the posted strength of bases in Malaysia and Singapore, and in cases where the sorties have been mounted from those bases, will qualify.

 2. Service may be aggregated in relation to a. and b. above. This is calculated on the basis that service of one day in the operational area is one day towards qualification for the medal and service of two days in the secondary role is calculated as one day, all towards an aggregate of 90 days. For example, a person who has 10 days service in the operational area and 160 days service in the secondary role, will qualify for the medal on the basis of 10 + (160 / 2) = 90.

Category 2:

Qualifying service during the period 31 August 1957 and 31 December 1966 inclusive, as described in Category One, may be deemed to have been established notwithstanding a member of the Australian Defence Force has not met the qualifying period described if service was terminated due to the death, evacuation due to illness or injury or other disability due to service.

General:

·        There will only be one award of the medal to a person unless otherwise advised. Should the medal be lost or destroyed, it will not be replaced at public expense.

·    Individual applications made directly to the Malaysian Government for an award of the medal will be referred back to the Australian Department of Defence for an assessment and verification of service.