In the Mood for Merdeka!
In the spirit of Merdeka, which falls on August the 31st for the absent-minded, I've decided to take a peek at the past. Today's entry takes place during the time of the Emergency, a time when all was not well, with the citizens of Malaya placed in a highly dangerous situation -- who knew when the Communists would hit?

The Emergency wasn't really a war in the real sense of a declared war, but it felt like one to Malayans on either side (Communists and normal law-abiding citizens). It was a state of prolonged anxiety; a state of siege with no end in sight. Imagine what it was like, being under a dark cloud all the time, never knowing when the light might shine through (no, not about *her*-lah).

On the surface, except for the security measures in place, everything was business as usual...

The first Emergency began in June of 1948 with the cold-blooded murder of a European planter in Sungai Siput and didn't end until 1960. It started under the British colonial rule, and ended when Malaya became independent. Our independence can be seen as the main factor that ended the Communist Party of Malaya(CPM)'s attempt to subvert democracy. After all, the CPM's tagline was that they wanted to free Malaya from British rule and then turn it into a Communist country. Thankfully, we gained our independence through diplomatic means. This is in contrast to other countries like USA that were born out of fire. Some parties say that is the main reason why kids nowadays have forgotten all about Merdeka, but I say, it's the way we are taught history that makes us lack the ideal zeal for Merdeka (unlike the 4th of July fireworking Americans). We students are made to learn history to PASS EXAMS; we are not shown how to appreciate history for its own sake. And there lies the folly of our exam-orientated education system, but I digress.

Like the Chechen rebels and the al-Qaeda terrorists of today, the CPM had its unpardonable share of attacks that claimed many innocent lives before it finally gave up in the 1980s. But of all these, the CPM's attacks on our symbols of democracy and ordered form of governance in its attempt to topple the government of the day are the most ignoble. Did they think that Malayans would give up just because our leaders were killed? Well, they were proved wrong when the people united against their cowardly attacks and crushed them in the end.

Among their more infamous assassination attempts are:

1. the derailing of the train in which Tunku Abdul Rahman, our Father of Independence, was travelling in
2. the direct attack on our symbol of nationhood when they derailed the train which was carrying our first King/Yang di-Pertuan Agong

Thankfully for the nation, these leaders survived.

Sadly, the CPM was succesful in assassinating:

1. Sir Henry Gurney, before independence
2. Malaysia's Inspector-General of Police
3. the Perak Chief of Police, Koo Choo Kong, on November 13, 1975
4. our National Monument, which is not living I know, but it was partially blown-up!!!

It is from this list that I have decided to do a write-up on the pre-Independence assassination, for Sir Henry Gurney showed the noble and chivalrous spirit of a man who died for love.

In the Name of Love: Sir Henry Lovell Goldsworthy Gurney (1898-1951)
~a romanticised account by nikbinolas~

On October 6, 1951, Sir Henry Gurney, the British High Commissioner, departed by car from Kuala Lumpur with his wife for a weekend trip to Fraser's Hill. It was a trip that they and the top officials of the Federation of Malaya (Malaya in short) had been looking forward to. As it was in the period of the Emergency, they had a police escort comprising a Land Rover, an armoured Scout Car and a wireless (communications) van for their black Rolls-Royce. In the Rolls-Royce With the Gurney couple was their Malay chauffeur and Gurney's private secretary (D.J. Staples, a man who usually goes unnamed in most historical texts).

Gurney had taken over the British administration in Malaya following the tragic death of his predecessor, Sir Edward Gent, in a mid-air collison over England. Gurney was seen as a hard-working and conscientious High Commissioner who was especially dedicated to the well-being of the people for whom he was responsible, the Malayans of all races. Gurney's merits as the High Commissioner did not include a disposition to make extensive tours of Emergency areas. This should not be surprising as pictures of him from school history textbooks show a thin man who didn't quite cut as a brave authority figure. He was respected, but remote; not one who looked the part of a Hollywood hero. But judging a book by its cover is certainly a folly man has always been guilty of, as we shall soon see.

As the small convoy motored up to the Gap, the police wireless van broke down. Continuing without it meant that the police would be unable to call for reinforcements by radio if an emergency occurred. But the convoy decided to push on along the Gap road as Admiral Faulkner, who was British Naval Commander in Malaya, had driven unharmed along the same road and was only ten minutes ahead of them. Anyway, there were no reports of heavy Communist activity in the area.

At around 1.15p.m., two miles from the Gap, the convoy rounded a bend in the road. All was quiet save for the strained sounds emanating from the engines of the Rolls-Royce and Land Rover. A sudden burst of gunfire killed all the sounds of silence. Gurney's chauffeur was killed by this first burst when a bullet found his head. Gurney shouted for his wife to, "Get down!" as he prostrated himself protectively over her. Driverless, and the driver headless, the Rolls-Royce was out of control on a hillside bend. A tangential heading would lead staight over the hillside.

Meanwhile, the police escort in the Land Rover steeled their nerves as they faced the steady heavy machine-gunfire that came out from the undergrowth. From the chattering sounds of the enemy's guns, it could be ascertained that the enemy had automatic Bren guns and Sten guns, along with the usual rifles. Coming under such heavy fire, any lesser man would have turned tail. Not so these heroic members of the police force who were nothing more than sitting-ducks with their pitiful armament of carbines and rifles. None had a machine gun. But none wavered as they returned fire in an effort to defend their charge, the High Commissioner. In vain they returned fire, but valiantly did they, as the stream of lead provided by the 11th Regiment, Malayan Races Libertaion Army (what the CPM called their armed wing), ended all their lives save for a sergeant who survived.

By this time, Staples, Gurney's private secretary, had managed to stop the car from falling over the edge of a precipitous slope on the left of the road. The Rolls-Royce was brought to a standstill. The three remaining occupants of the car were safe inside although still coming under heavy fire directed from the right and rear of where it was. Gurney was well aware that there was no more gunfire coming from his side of the ambush. He also knew that his party was safe as long as they stayed inside the Rolls-Royce. But it was only a matter of time before the Commies closed in. And at such a close range, no amount of Rolls-Royce metal could be of any help to their lives. For that matter, they could well be shot through its glass windows.

Lady Gurney was terrified like any sane woman should be. The stories of Communist atrocities were all table talk during tea-time with her friends. What had seemed so distant then was horrifyingly real now. Clutching Sir Henry's hands she looked into his eyes questioningly. Poor Gurney. What could he do? He was unarmed.

Then he realised. Time was THE essence. If he could buy more time, his dear wife would survive, and that was all that mattered. That she survived. Without the extra time, they would all be dead by the time police reinforcements arrived. And without the wireless van, it would take double the amount of time before the police at the Gap could be notified.

So the unheroic-looking Gurney took one last lingering look at his wife, reassured her that all would be well, that she had to stay down all the while to keep from being shot. With a swift gesture he opened the rear door of the Rolls-Royce and stepped out. He had made up his mind. He was going to draw fire away from his wife and buy her all the time she needed. Straight towards the face of the hill he ran. Straight into the mouth spitting gunfire.

The Communists couldn't believe their luck! It was the High Commisioner they had in their sights. Unarmed. Unprotected. Unarmoured. But what in tarnations name was he doing out of the car? There was no time to ponder, and Siew Ma, the leader of the Communist ambush party, ordered his men to concentrate their fire on Gurney.

In the Rolls-Royce, the sound of a bugle call could be heard, pitching melodically through the cacaphonic noise of gunfire. All at once, the gunfire ceased. For a few minutes, Staples and Lady Gurney lay motionless on the floor of the Rolls-Royce. Lady Gurney lay sobbing and wondering, had her husband managed to get their attackers to cease fire by surrendering himself? They finally crawled out of the car and took stock of the situation. Dead policemen lay around and in the Land Rover. A hesitant foray to the ditch on the right side of the road showed them that Gurney had in fact managed to stop the gunfire...

... for Gurney had been cut down in the merciless fusillade of fire, naturally.

And so ends my blandly told story of a man who in one selfless act of love and devotion, gave up his life, so that his wife might live.

Afterthoughts
• the ambush lasted about 15 minutes, leaving the Rolls-Royce riddled with 36 bullet-holes (click on the picture on the left for a larger image)
• the ambush was carefully planned and streched for at least half a mile
• found near the site of the ambush was a campsite where military plans written in Chinese proved that the assailants had been watching the route along Gurney's convoy was to come
• but there was no clear evidence that the attack was aimed particularly at the High Commissionerthey only showed the preparations made for an ambush attack
• Siew Ma, the leader of the ambuscade, was subsequently killed by his own men near Ipoh in March of 1959
• military man, General Gerald Templer, became the next High Commissioner and didn't die in any ambush
• today, this almost insignificant plaque indicates the spot where Gurney was gunned down (see picture on the right)

• let's not forget the selfless deeds of the police and armed forces that helped us through the terrible times of the Emergency

• now we know why we have Gurney Drive and Gurney Plaza &etc.
• my excuse for this worse than normal style of writing being that I had a rather tiresome day in college waiting for Malaysian Studies to end
• am now taking time off to fantasise about heroics that are born of love as I think about *her*  

 

p.s. patriotic phriends, linka this to a-your site, k?