British veteran still waiting for PR after 16 years

KEMAMAN: For the past 16 years, veteran soldier Paul Barker has hoped for nothing but permanent residency.

Originally from Driffield, Yorkshire in Britain, the 81-year-old retiree claims to have not received a formal rejection for his application and harbours hope that he will finally get his wish with a new government in place.

“I’m getting on with age and all the back and forth is very tiring for me,” said the decorated soldier when met at his home here.

Barker first arrived in then Malaya in 1957 and served during the Malayan Emergency – first as an aircrew commander supplying troops with essentials.

He later became a driver and even had the privilege of ferrying around the then British High Commissioner to Malaya, Sir Gerald Templer.

Although he returned to England in 1960, he always loved the land he had served as an army officer.

He came back to Malaysia in the 1980s and by this time, he had married a Thai woman.

The couple has four children, who are now in their 20s and 30s.

Barker retired in the mid-2000s after working for a catering company to oil and gas industry players.

For his services during the Emergency, he was awarded the Pingat Jasa Malaysia in 2007.

Other than his love for Malaysia, Barker said he would like to stay put as he no longer has any family or friends in Britain.

However, the process, which started in 2002, has been an arduous one for him.

“Every time I call to follow up, they would tell me to wait and not give me a proper answer,” he said.

Although relatively healthy, Barker said his eyesight was deteriorating and he could no longer drive long distances.

With his PR-status application dragging on, Barker hopes that it will not be too late for him.

He laments the story of the late Sir Norman Frank Sisson who was reportedly granted PR on his deathbed in 2006.

“I hope I won’t have to suffer the same fate,” he said.