SCORPIO – THE COMMUNIST ERASER
By LEONG CHEE WOH
RASCOM HQ was housed in a temporary one storey building of plank walls and flooring with a zinc roof. it was situated next to the Divisional Police HQ in Sibu and was constructed like an army barrack with rooms lined on either side with an empty space in between the two rows of rooms. The facilities provided were not in the least conducive for producing the best work, but at the time it was the only available accommodation. Except for the SB most of the departments were located inside this building. The CEO who had an office there was usually in Kuching as he held another Federal appointment there. Without air-conditioning the humidity was uncomfortable during the hot seasons and when it rained, the noise created by the rain falling on the roof was irritating. During the rainy season the whole complex was flooded. The discomforts of the office were further compounded by the noise from the tramp of army boots when armed forces personnel made their way from one room to the other. The SB personnel were more fortunate as they were housed in a normal brick government building which they took over from some other government department on the grounds of security.
Finance was the NKCP's main asset in sustaining the insurgency. For a long time, it was suspected that the CTs were well supplied with money but not from the rural folks as they would have to travel far and wide to collect their finance and, in the process, risk running into the SF. We surmised, therefore, that there must be other sources from which they obtained money, and that these sources were the wealthy and the businessmen from the towns. News also filtered through from the rural people that there was a disparity of treatment of the rich and the poor. The former category were spared no matter what they did, even if it was to the extent of supporting the enemy, but the poor were arrested and detained even if they contributed a mere dollar. When more camps were attacked and more documents were recovered and there were more surrenders, a clearer picture was obtained regarding the CTs sources of finance. It was most startling that doctors, timber tycoons, bankers, and wealthy businessmen were all contributing to the SCO's coffers, and that they had been doing so for a long time. When sufficient evidence was available, a mass arrest of the big time financial supporters was planned to allay suspicions of the rural folk that the Government or the authorities were biased against the rural folk.
Operation "JUDAS" was then launched and over thirty prominent people in the RASCOM area, but mostly from the town of Sibu itself, were arrested. Before this took place, an opportunity was given to those involved to come forward voluntarily to clear their cases but this call was ignored. Before they were arrested, those involved must have felt that they would be intentionally bypassed as the majority of them were of high social standing and had contributed generously to welfare schemes launched by the government. I was responsible for preparing the case files against these people and presenting them to the Director of Operations for his scrutiny and approval. Operations of such a big nature usually involved very detailed planning and many personnel. However in this case all the paper work was carried out in utmost secrecy and known only to a few officers who were specially sworn in. At this juncture, "That Fellow" suffered his second mild heart attack and was sent off on holiday leaving me to hold the fort. Although I was Deputy Head of SB, RASCOM, compared to the Head who was constantly exposed and rubbing shoulders with the prominent people, who included those to be arrested under JUDAS, I was unknown and ignored by the prominent people. To ensure that the news of the arrest did not leak out prematurely and alert the arrestees, all those who took part in the operation were only briefed immediately before it was launched and until "D" time, no one was allowed out of the briefing room or to use the telephone. Transport and manpower all stood by with no one knowing the nature of the impending operation. The team leaders were given the list of their targets and all available addresses where they could be located. The secrecy was so tight that only two in the target list were not accounted for when the operation concluded. One was out of the country whilst another was on business in the Republic of Singapore. This latter person was the elder brother of the one who demanded special privileges of police escorts when he visited
the interior on business whilst I was on my first tour of duty in Sarawak.
During, and after the arrests were made, there were many protests from the arrestees. They demanded to know the reasons and on whose authority they were arrested. The officers and men who were detailed for the operation were briefed to say that they would find out in time. In this operation, the Army provided the transport and all arrestees were taken direct to the prison where they were finger-printed and photographed and put into cells. Whether it was designed or otherwise, the arrests coincided with the visit of the Director of Operations, Sarawak, the Director of SB, and some other important dignitaries, to the State of Sabah, to celebrate its anniversary of joining Malaysia. As there were no senior officials left in Sarawak for the arrestees to complain to I was accused of having exceeded my powers and taken the law into my own hands in ordering their arrests.
They were termed as detainees under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the normal term of detention is two years. Subject to recommendation by the Board of Review, headed by a Judge, and which sat every six months, release could be much earlier depending on the behaviour of the detainee and the recommendation of the interviewing officer. Many of these detainees had been born with silver spoons in their mouths and had never been subjected to any manual labour. In common with other prisoners and detainees, they were subjected to prison rules and regulations and had to earn their keep. It was quite a sight to see them fumbling with a brush when asked to clean their own toilets. They were subjected to regimentation, told when to wake up, when to have their baths, to eat, to sleep, work and play games. By the time they were released, some were probably thankful that, at least for a short while, they experienced and appreciated the difficulties and sufferings of the working class. The one who was in Singapore when Operation JUDAS was launched, was subsequently detained when he returned. He was placed under custody at Kuching and escorted to Sibu where he was formally arrested. He was the wealthiest of the lot and the most influential. As soon as he alighted from the aircraft he demanded to know from the arresting officer who was in command Pointing to me, standing nearby, the officer told him that it did not matter but he insisted on speaking to me and very arrogantly demanded that he be allowed to use his own car to wherever he would be taken. I refused him. In turn, I advised him to take off his jacket and hand his valuables to his brother who was present. I told him that police transport, which was not air-conditioned but almost just as comfortable, would take him to the prison. Upon arrival, like the rest, he was finger printed and photographed. Whilst in prison, he tested the authorities by requesting special food on the pretext that he was under medical treatment and was on a special diet. When the matter was referred to me, he was provided with a simple answer. As the Government had always been accused of showing favour to the rich and famous, it was not desirable that he should be on a special diet, but it could be considered if he agreed to provide and pay for the same food for all the other detainees in the camp.
Not long after Operation JUDAS concluded, "That Fellow" returned from leave. He spoke to various people, including relatives of the detainees, and came to the conclusion that I. had mishandled the Operation JUDAS detainees when the operation was launched. I was supposed to have been too harsh towards the detainees during their arrest by unceremoniously snatching them from their homes and carting them away in military vehicles in full view of the public. Thus my approach was wrong. Subsequently, when he broached the subject, I refused to accept his double standards. To me, an arrestee is an arrestee no matter who he may be and all should be treated alike. There should be no distinction between the rich and the poor.
With pressure brought about by the SF and their financial resources depleted with the JUDAS arrests, after about a year, the security situation was reversed and the CTs were on the run. The only obvious place they could go to was West Kalimantan in Indonesia. During the Confrontation days between Malaysia and Indonesia, the Communists
RASCOM Rajang Security Command – a special command created in the 3rd. and 4th. Divisions of Sarawak to fight the Sarawak communists
NKCP – North Kalimantan Communist Party
“That Fellow” Head of Special Branch, Sarawak – a person greatly disliked by the author
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