Salina Christmas

A 19th Century kingdom in Southern Thailand that stretched from Pattani to Lenggong in modern-day Perak. Until the Anglo-Siamese Treaty in 1909, this kingdom was under the rule of the King of Siam. The British needed Reman for its tin deposits, crucial for the Industrial Revolution. The last King of Reman and his son, the…

Literally means “a child born of”, referring to people of Chinese and Malay or Javanese descent in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Southern Thai. In Malaysia, it refers to an ethnic group of people with paternal Chinese ancestry who observe Chinese customs and associated belief systems, but speak fluent Malay. They are descendants of the Ming…

The challenge faced by the British during the 1963-1966 confrontation was to guard about 2000 kilometres of border dividing North Kalimantan, Indonesia, and East Malaysia, consisting of Sabah and Sarawak. Air and naval forces guarded the Malaysian territories, but the real worry was the guerrilla insurgency activities. Also, Commonwealth nations such as Australia and New…

Before the Japanese occupation during World War 2, rice in Malaya was of the single-cropping type. For centuries, the type of rice grown and consumed was of the indica varieties. Due to the scarcity of food, the Japanese imported rice of japonica variety, a double-cropping type that is less sensitive to the lack of sunlight,…

The confrontation began in 1963 with Sukarno’s edict of “Crush Malaysia”. It was carried out at a smaller scale, hence the term confrontation, not war, because Indonesia was also wary of dragging the British and the Americans in. It started with incursions into Sabah and Sarawak in North Borneo, before escalating with incursions into Peninsular…

The Kekar Malindo (Keris Kartika Malaysia Indonesia) bilateral military exercise began in 1976 as a result of the Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Border Committee conference in 1972 in Indonesia. Kekar Malindo is organised not only to increase the level of professionalism of the military personnel in the two countries. It is also crucial in strengthening the military…

The Kalabakan incident happened on 29 December 1963 at an outpost in Tawau, Sabah, North Borneo. Members of C Company of the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment (3 RAMD) were ambushed by alleged volunteers of the North Kalimantan Army whilst performing their Maghrib prayer, around 9 pm to 9.30 pm. They repelled the…