Colonel Tajri Alwi presents a medal to a veteran

VETERANS who fought to prevent Malaysia falling to communism from 1957 to 1966 were presented with special medals.

About 200 men from east Kent received their Pingat Jasa Malaysia Medal during an emotional ceremony in Folkestone.

Colonel Tajri Alwi, from the Malaysian High Commission in London, individually thanked the men on behalf of his country's king and people before giving them their awards.

Rab Perry, 66, from Hythe, was a soldier in the King's Own Scottish Borderers regiment, stationed in Singapore, Malaya and Borneo.

He said the two-hour event at the East Cliff Pavilion in Folkestone was a great success. "Every time someone's name was shouted out they were applauded."

Each veteran received a full-sized medal, a miniature and a ribbon on a bar. Medals were also given to the families of dead servicemen.

However, a ruling by the Government means the men are not permitted to wear the medals at official functions. Ministers say that non-British medals are not allowed for service that took place so long ago and that many of the men already have British clasps to wear.

A former brigadier stood up after Thursday's ceremony in Folkestone and told the veterans to disobey protocol and "wear the medal with pride".

Terry Hall, 70, from Lydd-on-Sea, served aboard the frigate HMS Crane from 1957 to 1959 along the coast of Malaya, which became Malaysia in 1963.

Mr Hall, who was an able seaman on the ship, said: "I was most impressed with the way the Malaysian government has treated us. It's a shame the British government don't treat ex-servicemen the same."

The citation for the Pingat Jasa Malaysia Medal praises British and Commonwealth soldiers for their help in quelling the "ferocious and extensive guerrilla campaign" waged by the Communist Party of Malaya.

It adds: "In appreciation of the meritorious acts and supreme sacrifices made by the security forces and civilian staff from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Nepal to Malaysia for one decade, The Supreme Head of the Federation of Malaysia wishes to award medals to all those who distinguished themselves in chivalry, gallantry and loyalty while performing their services."

Around the UK, the medal is being given to 16,000 veterans who served in Malaya or Borneo from August 1957 to December 1966 and Singapore from August 1957 to August 1965.

The National Malaya and Borneo Veterans Association is planning a similar medal-giving event in Petts Wood in the near future, but is yet to decide on a date.

Many veterans of the jungle war contacted Kent on Sunday following last week's article, including many from pre-1957.

Colin Wilson, 64, from Canterbury, was a RAF aircraft electrician based in Singapore from 1962 to 1964. He slammed the Government's decision not to allow veterans to wear their Pingat Jasa Malaysia Medal.

"I think it's disgraceful. They've earned it, the Malaysian government has been kind enough to cast that medal and offer it to us. I don't see why we shouldn't be allowed to wear it - I will."

He said that British and Commonwealth troops carried out a vital mission.

"It was a very important job that we did out there. The big fear was the fall of Malaya and Singapore to the Chinese communists."

Western governments were worried about the possibility that Asian countries could fall to communism one by one, under the so-called Domino Theory.

Mr Wilson said: "That was what we were there to stop. There was quite a lot of hearts and minds work done out there to try and prove to the local population that our system, the democratic system, was better than the communist system."

He said the campaign's success could be measured against America's disastrous involvement in Vietnam. "If we'd had gone in the way the Americans had the whole lot would have fallen."

Geoffrey Richards, 68, from Cliffe, was with the RAF in Singapore from 1958-59.

"If we hadn't been there - the British and Commonwealth - it could have gone like North Korea," he said.

"I think we did a better job than the Americans did in Vietnam. We kept the communists out and you've only got to look at Malaya and Singapore now. They're both very prosperous.

"Singapore is one of the richest places in the world."

Ronald Armes, 76, from Cliftonville, was in the Durham Light Infantry hospital corps from 1948-50 in Malaya, including a spell in Hong Kong. He was sent out as an 18-year-old.

"As young boys it was a great adventure," he said. "We didn't have any real idea of what to expect or indeed what could have happened out there. They gave us some guns and we were out there"

But he remembers the poignancy of patrols returning with one or two soldiers missing - and the resulting empty bed spaces.

"It really brought it home to us."

Ted Smith, 74, from Faversham, was a National Service soldier who served in the Far East campaign with the Royal West Kent Regiment from 1950-52, in the motor transport section.

"We weren't pampered at all," he said. "We got given 50 cigarettes each week. That was about it."