By Sulok Tawie
SIBU: Sarawak Governor Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has called for a more holistic approach to recounting the history of the Rajang Security Command (Rascom).
He said it should thus include the roles of the police and the civil servants in combating the communist insurgency in Sarawak.
He said the history of Rascom from the military’s perspective is “not very accurate” as it does not tell the involvement of the members of the police force and the state government administrative officers.
“Therefore, I gave some information about my experience from the perspective of the police and police field force in the case of the establishment of Rascom 1972,” Wan Junaidi said in a statement posted on his personal Facebook’s account on Friday night.
He issued the statement after he was briefed on the formation of Rascom while on a visit to Rascom gallery at the Army Camp at Oya Road earlier in the day.
He said the establishment of Rascom was not just a military operation, stressing that it was established as a government machinery consisting of the army, police and the state civil servants.
He said these three bodies were the ones who mobilised the government’s initiative to increase pressure from all angles against the communist rebellion at that time.
“It also reflects the joint and integrated efforts of the military, police, and public officials in fighting the communists militarily, psychologically and hearts and minds.”
However, he applauded the efforts of Lieutenant General Datuk Stephen Mundaw, then the Field Commander of the Eastern Region, who inspired the establishment of the Rascom gallery in 2012.
“I hope that the story of sacrifice and involvement of the police and public officers in the Rascom area is shared,” he said.
The governor was briefed by 9th Brigade Commander Brigadier General Ahmad Norzaini Badrun about the history of Rascom.
Wan Junaidi was a police officer who served mostly in the Rascom area in the 1960s and 1970s.
He left the police force to read law, went for private practice and then entered politics.
His last post before being appointed the governor was as the Dewan Negara president.
