Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
v
Glossary of Terms
ix
Abbreviations
xiii
Part I: Young "Col" 1
1. Introduction
2
2. Families
5
3. The Good Life
14
4. War Looms on the Horizon
18
5. War Begins
27
6. Cornwall
34
7. Kent
41
8. England Hath Need of Your Son 49
Notes: Part I
56
Part II: Call-Up to National Service 59
9. "Buried Under Fifty Foot of Shit"
and Other
Unpleasantness 60
10. Suez
73
11. Prelude to Malaya
90
Notes: Part II
101
Part III: Déjà Promis à la Mort 105
12. British Malaya
106
13. Recruitment
112
14. Pas de Prisonniers,
Pas de Quartier, Pas de Grace
120
Notes: Part III
127
Part IV: Residual Legate 131
15. Limbo in Kuala Nal
132
16. Kulim
137
17. The Pace Picks UP
142
18. Chinese Language Training
148
19. The Special Operations
Volunteer Force (SOVF)
155
Notes: Part IV
161
Maps and Photos, Follow Page 164
Maps
United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland
Suez Canal, Egypt
Northern Malaya Jungle Region
Peninsular Malaya
Photograph Groups
Landscape of War
Colin, Friends and Foes
Ruslan, Senoi Praaq Troopers and
Sundry Senoi Praaq and Orang Asli
Leaders
Ruslan and the Second Emergency
Ruslan and Friends, the Later Years
The Senoi Praaq, 2000
Part V: The Department of Aborigines (DOA)
20. Rufus Cole
166
21. Posting to Bertam
175
22. Kelantan, Colin Wins Over
Tribal Chiefs
185
23. Kelantan: Colin Takes on
Towkay Log Merchants
191
Notes: Part V
199
Part VI: Fragrance of Lemons 203
24. Colin’s Last Leave
204
25. The Senoi Praaq: A New Combat
Force Takes Shape
210
26. The Department Evolves
219
27. Colin Takes the Plunge:
Converts to Islam
224
28. The Exodus Begins: Friends
Say Goodby
230
Notes: Part VI
234
Part VII: Then We’re Laughing
237
29. Return to the Department
238
30. Johore
241
31. Borneo
247
32. The Penan
251
Notes: Part VII
255
Part VIII: Ruslan Takes Command of
the Senoi Praaq
257
33. Norman’s Mess
258
34. Cleaning Up Norman’s Mess
262
35. Leading the Senoi Praaq
269
36. Pontian and Labis
273
37. Ruslan Casts a Wary Eye on Perak 277
38. Finishing Cleaning Norman’s Mess 282
39. Ruslan Ties the Nuptial Knot
284
40. Jim Thompson Affair
287
41. Charles Ley Departs Malaysia
292
42. Ruslan’s Raids into Thailand
294
43. Ruslan Meets Claude
301
44. Sabre Rattling
306
45. Ruslan Stands Down
310
Notes: Part VIII
313
Part IX: Time to Kill 317
46. Ruslan Surfaces in the DOA
318
47. A New Director Takes Over
323
48. Ruslan Shapes Up the DOA
328
49. Phantom Senoi Praaq II
336
50. The Second Emergency
344
51. The Tide Turns
352
52. Ruslan Swaps His Guns
for Plowshares
357
53. Target Orang Asli
362
54. Resettlement
367
55. An Orang Asli Political Movement
Takes Root
372
56. Ruslan Steps Down
375
Notes: Part IX
380
Epilogue 387
Appendix 391
Ruslan’s Authorization
392
Datuk Baharun’s Tribute to Ruslan
393
Ruslan’s Gibbs/Dewsnup Geneology Chart 394
Selected Bibliography
395
Index 403
Preface and Acknowledgments
Malaya for the British parallels both in time and scope French and American experiences in Vietnam. Just a few hundred miles south of Saigon more than 300,000 Commonwealth troops fought a long and bloody guerilla war, dubbed the Malayan Emergency, to suppress their very own lesser known Marxist-Leninist bête noire. The primary but seldom noticed difference between these closely related conflicts: Great Britain won her fight against communism whereas France and the United States failed theirs.
She achieved this remarkable feat of arms and moreover made the results stick thanks in large part to the fantastic exploits of an eccentric Englishman who went native and became a warlord in Malaya's remote jungles. Upon conversion to Islam he chose the name Mohamed Ruslan bin Abdullah lskandar, dropping forever his birth name, Edmund Colin Ritson Dewsnup. In keeping with the tradition of the Islamic warrior he would, among friends, family and associates, go thereafter by one name only – Ruslan.
Ruslan compares to the likes of Chinese Gordon, T. E. Lawrence, Raja Brook, R.O.D. Noone and a number of lesser, albeit equally illustrious figures, such as Fitzroy Maclean and Spencer Chapman. Yet, precious little in the published record exists to identify properly this man and his many accomplishments among Malaysia's indigenous non-Malay people, the Orang Asli. Only sketchy, sparse and isolated references to him are to be found, thus confusing his identity with that of two different individuals.
Other than casual mention of him as a young man by John Slimming in Temiar Jungle no more than a sprinkling of fleeting nods to Ruslan are known to exist. John Cloake, Field Marshall Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer's biographer, cites Lieutenant Dewsnup for sterling work performed early in the war while Anthony Short, in his seminal study of the Malayan Emergency, mentions him briefly in the context of later paramilitary accomplishments as Ruslan Abdullah, the Senoi Praaq commander. More recently, even John Leary, of Violence and the Dream People fame, simply cites in passing their conversations. Chin Peng himself disclosed in My Side of History he feared "special troops" most of all, yet he failed to mention the very individual who led the best of these fighters and blocked application in Malaysia of the much heralded (and probably valid) domino theory of international politics.
The Malayan Emergency, however, was not the focus of my own work when this brave soldier first came to my attention. Rather my research aimed to isolate and evaluate Orang Asli political and military activity over time. Though historians and social anthropologists alike generally agree the Orang Asli possess a rudimentary form of social organizational structure common to most tribal peoples there has been scant acknowledgment of the political and military nature of these arrangements. In three books I have attempted in some small manner to fill this void: Power and Politics: The Story of Malaysia's Orang Asli, 1997; Orang Asli Now: The Orang Asli in the Malaysian Political World, l999, and Death Waits in the Dark: The Senoi Praaq, Malaysia's "Killer Elite," 2001.
In the course of my work on the death-dealing Senoi Praaq various sources kept telling me it would be a good idea to get in touch with someone called Ruslan. Once we finally met, this person turned out, much to my surprise, to be none other than Edmund Colin Ritson Dewsnup.
When Ruslan first introduced me to his world I knew absolutely nothing of such things. So he took pity and channeled my energies into what became the definitive treatment of a well kept secret, my study of the Senoi Praaq. His friends and associates also made every effort to support the project and it could not have been executed without immense collective effort. The deep sense of gratitude which I thus feel towards these unusual men cannot easily be expressed. Our work together left me with a great debt to repay. This responsibility compelled me to turn my attention to Ruslan the man.
He eventually agreed to my writing his biography. What follows is his story as told to me by Ruslan and company. It is an up-gunned interpretation of his life and times for which I make no apologies. Ruslan didn't want a blood and guts biography and I have, in that respect, more or less honored his wish. If there are skeletons in his closet that door remains closed.
Many people were helpful in the preparation of this work. First and foremost I wish to acknowledge the considerable assistance provided by the redoubtable Alun Jones, Rufus Cole, Lance Lyman and Gus Fletcher. Other Ruslan friends and associates were also most helpful. A special thank you is in order to Haji Ahmed bin Khamis, Datuk Dr. Baharun Azhar b. Raffiai, Sambut Anak, Ellen Wali, Hassan Nam, Mat Nor, Arbi bin Salleh, Charles Henry Ley, Johan Abdullah Bagley, John Hodges, Dr. Malcolm Bolton, Chua Ling Key, Viscount John Slim, Desmond Lawrence, and Steven Gonzago. Some of these men are dead and shall be rewarded in heaven for their kindness but for those still living I wish a more temporal reward.
I must also thank still other individuals whom I interviewed or corresponded with and am indebted to for supporting my research, namely Jenny Barlow, Andrew Bryant, Mrs. Robert Bruce, Bernard Chong, Colonel John P. Cross, General Vasit Dejkunjorn, Jack Derksen, Julian Duffus, Roy Follows, Paddy Giles, Tun Mohammed Hanif bin Omar, Wayne Holah, Captain Tony Jerram, Major Mike Jones, Charles Layton, Dr. John D. Leary, Dr. Hans Liechtenstein, William G. Lidster, Derrick Moore, Greg Murphy, A. Navaratnam, Alan Nicol, Ramli Nor, Thean Pheh, Sgt. Suzanne E. Raker, Dr. John Rogans, and Richard Schaloner.
A further host of well meaning individuals favorably disposed towards my work too numerable for all to be named individually are, by the same token, not to be ignored. I would especially like to thank my many friends at the Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli, Persatuan Orang Asli Semenanjung Malaysia, Institute Technologie Mara and of course the Royal Malaysia Police. You all know who you are but lkram Jamaluddin, Dr. Wan Said, Mohammed Jiwa, Rashid bin Ka, Romli Dollah, Dr. Razmi Chik, Professor Dr. Hassan Yusoff, Senior Assistant Commissioner Kamalul Azmi Darus bin Bakar, Dato Halim, Thambipillay Rajasingam, Superintendent Jamshah Mustafa and Deputy Superintendent Chong Kit Sim stand out among the crowd. Members of Ruslan’s family, too, were helpful in various ways.
Finally, as we wrap this thing up l must tip my cap, once again, to Professor Clint Thomas. By now we've covered an awful lot of ground together and his resourcefulness – drawn from experience in Somalia, Swaziland and Ecuador as well as Malaysia – never ceases to impress me. To say I couldn't have done it without him seems a terrible understatement.
Roy Davis Linville Jumper
London, 2007