Former soldier shares insight during his time of service

GEORGE TOWN: Despite having lost his comrades and nearly died in the line of duty while fighting against communist terrorists during the Sarawak Communist Insurgency, the spirit of M Karupaiya, a young 20-year- old soldier at that time, had never faded away.

Karupaiya, who came from a low- earning family in Kedah, now 63, recalled the reason why he entered the military as he realised that he needed to stand and fight for the country.

“At that time, it was hard for me to get a job even as a council worker, but one day I saw an opening for the military and decided to join it. It was the best decision that I had ever made in my entire life and without the uniform, I won’t be who I am today,” he said.

Karupaiya had served the nation for 21 years from March 1, 1973 to March 1, 1994 and rose to the rank of Sergeant Major and had led a battalion of bomb disposal unit during the Sarawak Communist Insurgency period. In the line of duty, Karupaiya cheated death after a bomb he thought he had diffused exploded some 10 feet from him causing his helmet to dent.

“I was lucky and my colleagues were surprised that I came out alive. The incident somehow had made my will to fight for the betterment of my country stronger,” he said.

He explained that his unit was the first to enter any dangerous zone to clear any booby traps left by the communist terrorists for the soldier to pass and they were also the last to exit the zone once the mission was completed.

“Nothing was easy and safe for us but for the love of our nation, we were willing to sacrifice ourselves in the line of duty,” he said.

The Sarawak Communist Insurgency was triggered in 1962 by the Brunei Revolt, which was influenced by the left-wing Brunei People’s Party in opposition to the proposed formation of Malaysia and the insurgency was moved by the North Kalimantan Communist Party from December 1962 to Nov 3 1990 which had claimed thousands of lives in the process. However, on Oct 17 1990, the insurgency had formally ended when all the communist insurgents had ceased fire and had signed the peace agreement.

“People nowadays do not feel the struggle, the hard life during the war time where peace was not certain. It is sad to see that many youngsters do not know the sense of patriotism in themselves,” he said.

The former soldier also challenged the youngsters to be part of the military as he believed it could change the mindset of the people as a whole and instill the spirit of patriotism in them.

“Once you wear the uniform, you will automatically feel the need to protect your beloved country from anything at all cost, even at the expense of your own life,” he said.

Earlier, some 50 former soldiers had honoured the fallen heroes who had perished in the line of duty during World War II during Remembrance Day Ceremony at Cenotaph, Esplanade here yesterday. — Bernama