In 1964 an air force pilot landed his Twin Pioneer aircraft at the remote village of Long Semadoh in Northern Lawas at the height of the Malaysia-Indonesia Confrontation.
Trained in New Zealand, pilot officer Soon Lian Cheng’s mission was to transport British and Malaysian troops to the border outposts of Sarawak and Sabah.
It was no easy task because the retired Royal Malaysian Air force (RMAF) Brigadier General Dato LC Soon and about a dozen other Malaysian pilots were always in the thick of action and in danger of being downed.
This year on April 16, on the eve of the Indonesian general election — 55 years after his maiden visit to the village — General Soon made a sentimental journey back to border region where he made hundreds of landings.
Now 78, Soon who rose to become commander of the RMAF in Sabah and Sarawak said: “Based in Labuan my daily routine was to fly in troops from one border outpost to another in Northern Sarawak and Sabah”.
“Even though there were in no danger of being shot down by anti-aircraft missiles, there was always the chance of being attacked by Indonesian “Mustang” jets from across the border. However, our planes were always protected by British fighter jets lurking above us just in case”, he mused.
On his journey to Long Semadoh he met an unlikely Lun Bawang former Border Scout officer Yahya Ating who played a role in defending his community.
Now the headman of Long Semadoh — a cluster of 11 villages — Penghulu Yahya Ating recalled the day when he joined the security forces.
A trained Batu Lintang teacher, Yahya, now 78, said that after graduating from college in Kuching, he returned to Lawas in 1957 and was sent to Ba Kelalan primary school where he became the headmaster.
He said: “I taught for several years until the beginning of Confrontation. After that, I resigned to join the Border Scouts because I felt that it was my duty to defend the country”.
“I was sent back to Long Semadoh which was the main base headquarters — stationing at least 2,000 troops comprising British and Malaysian officers — along with their units, Gurkha troops, the Sarawak Police Field Force (PFF) and Malaysian army.
“I never met General Soon and the other RMAF pilots but I remember that Twin Pioneer landings at the Long Semadoh airstrip was a daily affair”.
In one of the first contacts with the enemy which had infiltrated at least 20 miles into Sarawak, one of the Border Scouts was killed as the soldiers were chased back to their country.
But Yahya’s stint with the security forces was short-lived because he was one of a handful of trained teachers and the education of his community was equally important.
Today Long Semadoh is undergoing great changes under Malaysia’s new Minister of Works Baru Bian who has been the assemblyman for the Northern Lawas constituency of Ba Kelalan region for more than a decade.
Today Long Semadoh can take pride that it produced the first Lun Bawang lawyer Michael Labo Buaye and a host of others including Michael’s brother Balang (which means Tiger), Libat Langub and Baru who is an Australian-trained law maker.
Lun Bawang businessman, Singa Buas whose name can be translated as “Lion King” said: “Long Semadoh and villages such as Ba Kelalan and Long Luping have undergone an interesting history since the days of the Brookes right through the Japanese occupation and Confrontation”.
“Baru was the Opposition assemblyman for the Ba Kelalan seat for at least 10 years, but he has been a political stalwart for much of his life as a champion of native issues for at least 30 years”.
Singa who runs a transport company and helps promote agricultural products such as the sweet honey-Pineapples of Long Semadoh, said the region is one of the most fertile valleys in the country.
He added: “I take my hat off to Baru Bian who initiated an annual Long Semadoh pineapple festival to promote the produce”.
Ba Kelalan was once famous for apple farming and the famous Bario Rice comes from the region as it is grown in the Kerayan plateau in Kalimantan as well as the Ba Kelalan-Long Semadoh-Long Sukang valley.
He said: “There is tremendous potential to promote the hill region, but the big problem is that we have poor accessibility. There is great potential in the tourist industry as upper Lawas in a paradise for nature lovers.”
Looking back, Singa said there was a proposal to build an international airport in Lawas to make Northern Sarawak and Southern Sabah a major hub.
Four years ago the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government also proposed to rebuild the abandoned Long Semadoh airport and bring in more revenue by promoting tourism.
However, the project has been put on hold and now that the BN is in the opposition it is up to the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government to see it through.
Penghulu Yahya said that the pioneers of independence such as the first Lun Bawang member of parliament Datuk Racha Umong have laid the foundation for greater development.
“Now it is up to Baru Bian to carry on with the good work and I am sure it is a matter of time before remote Lawas will become the pride and crown jewel of Sarawak”.
