Being brave meant that though you might be frightened, you would face the greatest danger if you knew it was the right thing to do.
– Anne Holm, Danish journalist, and writer
In the early hours of December 8, 1962, the rural shantytown of Limbang underwent an infamous insurrection which shook Colonial Sarawak.
In the long-forgotten ‘Battle of Limbang’, 400 armed Kedayan rebels led by former Sarawak constabulary Sgt Salleh Sambas, captured the police station manned by a handful of personnel.
In the epic shoot-out the brave Sarawakians stood firm and defended their station with their 303 rifles in a fierce five-hour gunbattle before the station finally fell — but not before four policemen and at least 16 rebels ended up dead.
Two police constables — an Iban from Simanggang, Bisop Kunjan and Sanggah Jambang, a Selakau from Lundu — stood out as heroes.
The events unfolded a day after the rebels tried to capture neighbouring Brunei, alerting the police at Limbang.
As a precaution, Inspector Latiff Basah instructed Bisop to place a loaded light machine gun on top of the counter of the charge room in case the station came under attack.
At 2am on that fateful day, Bisop thought he was dreaming when he heard his colleague Wan Jamaluddin Tuanku Alek shouting “musuh … musuh (enemy … enemy).”
From Tabuan Melayu in Kuching, Wan Jamaluddin was a cousin of former de facto law minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
Said Bisop: “I jumped out of my bed, still in my underwear and singlet and quickly hung my amulet and charms around my neck and rushed to the station.
“To my horror, I found Jamaluddin lying dead just outside the police station compound. Next to him was rebel whom Jamaluddin had killed.”
When he saw some rebels trying to enter the charge room, he cocked the machine gun and started firing.
“I realised that rebels who were armed with only shotguns, could see us under the lights of the charge room.
“So, I fired at the florescence light and the whole room went dark,” said Bisop.
In the midst of battle, three other colleagues were also killed — Bidayuh Cpl Kim Huat, PC Insol Chundang and PC Bujang Mohamad, a Malay.
Bisop, who was 22 at that time lamented: “I lost four of my colleagues that day — Kim Huat, Jamaludin, Bujang and Insol.
“The second person to die was Cpl Kim Huat who went to the armoury to get more ammunition for my Bren gun.
“At about 2.50am Cpl Kim Huat, a Bidayuh from Kuching, was shot but died 15 minutes later crying out, ‘mother I’m dying’.”
In the meantime, Insol who was engaging the rebels from outside the police station, tried to re-enter the charge room to assist the others but was shot in the back and died shortly after.
PC Bujang who was armed with a 303 rifle was the fourth person to die when he joined Bisop and Sanggah in the charge room.
“After Bujang killed two rebels, he stood up near me giving the enemy a clear shot,” added Bisop.
Many years later Bujang’s son joined the police and rose to the rank of DSP and worked as the chief bodyguard of Governor Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce.
Continuing with his story, Bisop said as time passed and dawn was breaking, a Kadayan rebel shouted out “Keluar … kami orang sudah pegang perintah … bagus kamu serah (Better surrender because we now have taken over the government).”
“I was furious with the rebel’s arrogance because they had killed my friend Bujang right before my eyes. I replied in Malay-Kadayan dialect saying ‘Kami tidak mau serah diri … kalau berani, lawan tia! (We will not surrender … if you dare, let us fight to the death)’,” said Bisop.
By then only Bisop and Sanggah were left defending the outpost.
“So, I made a pact with Sanggah to fight to the end. He agreed I would shoot him if he tried to leave his post and he agreed to shoot me if I did the same,” Bisop added.
At about 7am Bisop heard the voice of Resident R.H. Morris outside the police station pleading to the duo to give up.
The rebels had threatened to hang Morris and his wife and several other detainees.
“Resident Morris called out to us at least five times but I refused to respond. He was in the hands of four to five armed rebels.
“After considering the possibility that the rebels would kill Morris and his wife if we did not obey, both Sanggah and I agreed to come out.
“As we left the building in daylight, I noticed there were 16 rebels lying injured or dead near the gate of the police compound and the ground of the main entrance. I think a number of them were hit by bullets from my machine gun.”
Sarawak Information officer Alistair Morrison in his “The Gallant story of the Defence of Limbang” described the incident:
“This is the story of heroism — Sarawak heroism — of how a handful of police held out against a violent onslaught by hundreds of rebels. It is a story that must be told to Sarawak in full.
“Those who were able to take part in the actual fighting were representative of a cross-section of Sarawak’s racial makeup.
“These men have written a splendid page in Sarawak’s history and one which will never be forgotten.”
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
