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5 things you need to know about Operation Opossum during WWII

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In 1945, the Australian Z Special Unit organised a dangerous mission to rescue the Sultan of Ternate, Muhammad Jabir Syah right under the Japanese nose. They called the mission Operation Opossum.

Also known as the Kingdom of Gapi, the Sultanate of Ternate is one of the oldest Muslim kingdoms in Indonesia.

It was established in 1257 by Momole Cico who was the first leader of Ternate.

The kingdom’s Golden Age took place in 1570-1583 during the reign of Sultan Baabullah. During this time, the sultanate encompassed most of the eastern part of Indonesia and a part of southern Philippines.

Fast forward to 1942 during World War II (WWII), the capital of the sultanate Ternate city was occupied by the Japanese.

The sultan and his family were held hostage in his own palace. While imprisoned, the Sultan sent several of his men to Australian Army headquarters on Morotai island asking to be rescued.

General Douglas MacArthur heard the Sultan’s plea and sent a team from the Z Special Unit to rescue him in a raid called Operation Opossum.

So here are five things you need to know about Operation Opossum:

1.The initial plan for Operation Opossum was not to rescue the Sultan

According to Australian War Memorial, the original plan for the Operation Opossum was to attack Ternate Island in order to extract an Australian airman.

However, the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration later informed that the man was later removed.

Since most of the intelligence on which Operation Opossum based came from the Sultan, the plan then changed to extract him as a preliminary move to recover the missing airman.

2.How Operation Opossum went down

The team consisted of eight Australians from Z Special Unit along with three Dutch officers and a Timorese corporal.

After roughly two months of planning, the mission left Morotai on Apr 8, 1945 and landed on Hiri Island, two kilometers north Ternate.

From Hiri, the message that Z Force had arrived was sent up the volcano where the royal family was hiding.

The family then safely descended to the coastal village of Kulaba after a six-hour trek. From there, two perahu took the Sultan along with his two wives, eight children and other relatives to Hiri.

3.The mission almost failed because the locals were too happy to see the Sultan.

When the royal family arrived at the village, the villagers were too happy to see their sultan and greeted him in their traditional way. They squatted down with one raised knee, with hands pressed against their faces in an attitude of prayer and remained so until dismissed by a nod from the Sultan.

Some of the village elders even lined up to kiss his feet.

The sultan was not happy with the greetings from his people. He kept telling them to be careful in case the Japanese would see them.

True enough, word got out that Sultan was escaping. Several boats carrying Japanese soldiers were sent to Hiri to stop the mission at dawn the very next day.

5 things you need to know about Operation Opossum during WWII
TERNATE ISLAND, HALMAHERA ISLANDS. 1945-11-09. ATTENDED BY AUSTRALIAN FORCES THE SULTAN OF ISKANDAR MUHAMMAD DJABIR, SYAH OF TERNATE MAKES A SPEECH AFTER HIS INAUGURATION. (NAVAL HISTORICAL COLLECTION).

4.The heroic death of Lieutenant George Bosworth

When the Japanese soldiers made contact with the Z Forces, they exchanged fire.

The current Sultan of Ternate, Sultan Mudaffah described what happened during the attack to The Sydney Morning Herald in an interview back in 2010. He was 10 when his family was rescued by the Z Forces.

Lieutenant George Bosworth, who was guarding Sultan Jabir, rushed about 500 meters to the landing site.

Speaking of Bosworth, Sultan Mudaffah said, “This man was too brave. According to my father, he was just standing there, shooting. My father said ‘you can’t just stand there’.”

Three of the Japanese soldiers fell on the beach. As Lieutenant Bosworth approached one of them, it turned out the Japanese soldier was still alive as he picked up his rifle and shot Bosworth in the head.

The fight continued between Z Force and the Japanese, forcing the remnants of Japanese tried to swim back to Ternate.

However, the Japanese were all killed by the locals before they reached shore.

From Hiri, the sultan and his family were taken to Moratai. There, Sultan Jabir debriefed General MacArthur on Japanese positions and tactics in the area.

They were then sent to settle in the Queensland town of Wacol until the end of the war.

MacArthur learned from the sultan that the Australian airman had been removed. Therefore the plan for his extraction was not carried out.

5.Operation Opossum loosely inspired a movie which starred Mel Gibson before his Hollywood fame.

Attack Force Z (alternative title The Z Men) is a 1982 Australian-Taiwanese film. Operation Opossum reportedly inspired the film, although the plot was very different from what had actually happened.

The plot circles around Captain P.G. Kelly (Mel Gibson) who leads a team of the Z Special Unit against Japanese during the WW2.

The movie was screened at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 1981. Years later, Gibson called the film “pretty woeful… it’s so bad, it’s funny.”

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The Lun Bawang legend of a giant man named Temueng

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Long time ago, there was a giant man named Temueng and his friend named Pengiran who first lived at Kemaloh in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The Lun Bawang legend of a giant man named Temueng

According to legends, these people were believed to be the ancestors of Lun Bawang people.

Benedict Sandin in his paper The Bisayah and Indigenous Peoples of Limbang, Sandin recorded the life journey of this Lun Bawang legendary hero.

“Temueng and Pengiran were much ashamed that they could not defeat in battle chief enemy named Yada. Therefore Temueng moved from Kemaloh to Punang Trusan, and Pengiran also moved and settled at Illot, now in Indonesian Borneo,” Sandin wrote.

The life of Temueng

Legend has it that owing to the extraordinary size of the body, Temueng could easily eat one whole pig per meal. He was also rumoured to be a very strong man.

Meanwhile, Abdul Karim Abdul Rahman in his paper History of the founding of Brunei Kingdom Based on Oral Tradition (2016) pointed out that Temueng was Upai Semaring’s son.

He is another giant who is a Lundayeh legend from the Krayan Highlands, Kalimantan.

The Lun Bawang legend of a giant man named Temueng
Upai Semaring hill, where he allegedly lived in Krayan Highlands.

When he lived in the Ulu Trusan, he carved a number of rocks and the posts of his house were all made of rocks which are still intact at that location to this day.

According to Sandin, while at Punang Trusan, Temueng lived at the present day Semado Nesab village.

His house there was surrounded by wide and deep drains for protection against invasion by his enemies.

While Temueng was living at Long Lopeng, hundreds of Kayan came to attack him. Also known as Luping, Long Lopeng is a settlement in the Lawas division.

When the enemy came, he was reportedly at ease smoking his pipe.

But when they came, he knocked each one of them on the head with his pipe and killed them all.

A giant bigger than Temueng?

Another story circles around Temueng; one day Temueng went out hunting animals in the forest.

He found a huge coil of rattan which could be used in a fish trap.

Thinking that the coiled rattan cane was a leg ornament, he put his leg into it.

But the coil was bigger than Temueng’s leg, and this frightened him. Temueng immediately thought there was a giant bigger than him living in the area.

While Temueng was not afraid of those who were smaller than him, he was afraid of people bigger than him.

Terrified, he fled from Long Lopeng and down the Trusan river to live at the foot of a mountain near Long Merarap. It is believed that is where he stayed until he died.

The Lun Bawang people after the death of Temueng

It is unsure how Temueng died but the Lun Bawang people still remember him even many years on after his death.

In memory of his settlements on the upper Trusan river, the Lun Bawang people from Kemaloh moved to the lands between the headwaters of Trusan and Limbang rivers.

They moved there in small groups, each group gradually followed by others.

Expanding their territory, they moved down the Trusan till they were attacked by the Kayans.

According to Sandin, the Lun Bawang successfully repulsed the Kayans, driving them away.

To this day, the Lun Bawang still settle in various areas of Lawas and Limbang regions.

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The forgotten Javanese forced labourers of Sandakan during WWII

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The forgotten Javanese forced labourers or romusha of Sandakan during WWII

The Allied Prisoners of Wars (POWs) who were taken to Sandakan during World War II (WWII) had one job, to build an airstrip for the Japanese.

The site of the Sandakan airstrip was selected during WWII for a United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) airfield.

However by the time the Japanese had occupied Borneo, the British only managed to clear the area of vegetation.

When the Japanese arrived in Sandakan, they decided to complete the airstrip to use it as a refueling stop between peninsular Malaya and the Philippines.

In order to do that, the Japanese military needed manpower. They then transferred some 1,500 British and Australian POWs from Singapore to work on it.

Before they arrived, the Javanese forced labourers, also known as romusha, were already there breaking their backs working on the 1.4 km runway by hand.

These Javanese forced labourers were WWII’s version of human trafficking victims. While the Allied POWs were soldiers, the romushas were civilians.

Some were children that were taken from their homes in Java to work in a foreign land as Japanese slave labourers.

How the Javanese were taken from their homes to Sandakan

One of the rare insights on what it was like for the Javanese forced labourers in Sandakan can be found Richard Wallace Braithwaite’s Fighting Monsters: An Intimate History of the Sandakan Tragedy.

In 2013, Braithwaite managed to interview Haji Losah bin Sondikormah, a former romusha still living in Sandakan.

Losah was only 12 when he was picked up by Japanese soldiers as he was walking home from school in Sragen in Central Java.

He was imprisoned in a camp in Solo for three months while more Javanese forced labourers were brought in. At first the Japanese sent them to Jakarta. Then, 6,000 of them were put on a ship for Sandakan.

Most of them were boys around the same age as Losah but some were men in their 50s.

According to Losah, they arrived in Sandakan in 1942 before the Allied POWs.

Besides working on the airstrip, they were also working on the roads in the town area.

Life in Sandakan

Losah recalled that the Allied bombing started in 1944 as they were put to work on the airstrip at night. In one raid that he remembered, 300 Javanese forced labourers were killed.

Braithwaite wrote, “The Japanese only provided them with rice. They made salt from seawater and occasionally were able to collect wild fruit and tapioca. They were not allowed to develop gardens but secretly grew the green vegetable, kang kong.”

While the Allied POWs were able to trade some vegetables or other food with whatever possession they had, the Javanese forced labourers did not engage in trading as they had nothing to trade in the first place.

During the first year of Sandakan POW camp, the prisoners were given some medical treatment while the Javanese had no medicine at all.

Making things worse for them, they did not know what kind of disease or sickness that they were suffering from.

Many of them eventually died in large numbers due to disease.

The Japanese did not guard them like the Allied POWS but some of them were given arms and responsibilities to guard the rice store.

The forgotten Javanese forced labourers of Sandakan during WWII
The ruins of huts in the prisoner of war camp, Sandakan, North Borneo, October 1945. Those who were too ill for the march were eventually murdered here. Courtesy Australian War Memorial: 120457

Working under the Japanese

“They were organised into groups of 24 under a Javanese hancho who did not have to do manual work. Everyone had to go to work each day, irrespective of the health. No one was paid,” Braithwaite stated.

Besides working on construction, the romushas were the coolies of the Japanese. One of the things they had to endure was becoming the Japanese undertaker. Records and testimonies had showed that they were the ones tasked to bury dead prisoners especially after execution.

Overall, the Javanese forced labourers were treated as equally brutally as the Allied POWs.

Losah shared to Braithwaite that he once saw a friend have his ear sliced off by a Japanese soldier with a shovel.

With the Allied POWs, the Japanese had an English interpreter for them to communicate. One of the commanders of Sandakan POW camp, Captain Susumi Hoshijima could speak fluent English (though he often chose to have his interpreter translate his speech).

As for the Javanese, the Japanese gave them orders in a mixture of Japanese and Malay, neither of which they understood.

In order to survive, the Javanese tried to cooperate with the Japanese and no one tried to escape.

They were under threat of death not to communicate with the Allied POWs and were all kept away from the them.

The forgotten Javanese forced labourers of Sandakan during WWII

“There were too many deaths”

Some of the Javanese forced labourers tried to report to the Japanese when they saw the POWs outside the wire.

As it turned out, being an informant was a dangerous thing to do.

If the Japanese failed to find the ‘escaped’ prisoners, the Javanese could be arrested and even beheaded for giving ‘false information’.

Losah himself saw a POW outside the wire on two occasions but turned a blind eye.

Braithwaite wrote, “Haji Losah did not pray to Allah and could not remember ever seeing anyone else do so. When I asked why, he simply replied that there were too many deaths.

Arguably, the poor Javanese labourers had a worse camp life than the Australians at Sandakan.

Toward the end of the war

After the Allied POWs were sent in phases for the infamous Sandakan Death Marches, the Japanese set the camp area on fire sometime in May 1945.

Yuki Tanaka in his book Hidden Horrors: Japanese War Crimes in World War II wrote that most of the POWs left at the camp were too weak to have undertaken the march.

“Because the camp buildings had been burned down, the prisoners were forced to improvise huts from whatever materials were at hand. These huts were without walls, and the roofs made of leaves and blankets, offered little protection from the often heavy rains.”

According to Tanaka by this time, apart from the prisoners, there remained one Japanese soldier, Sergeant Hisao Murozumi, 16 Formosan guards, a few Javanese labourers and five Chinese kitchen staff.”

If there were only a few Javanese labourers left, what happened to the rest of thousands of them?

They most probably had died due to diseases, bomb raiding and hopefully managed to escape for their lives.

What happened to these Javanese forced labourers after the war?

Hungry, sick and malnourished, those who survived the war were left abandoned by the Japanese.

Writing for Daily Express, Tan Sri Herman Luping stated, “Sure enough, soon after the war these Javanese labourers were roving the villages crying and begging for food as they were so hungry.”

After the war, the Allied POWs were honoured and remembered though memorials and writing.

Befittingly, some were given recognition and awards posthumously for their bravery and sacrifices.

While these Javanese forced labourers were working on the same airstrip with the Allied POWs, there are no commemorations to remember those who had perished.

Among those who survived, it is estimated only a thousand from the whole British Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak) returned home to Java.

Some like Losah, assimilated with the local communities and callSabah home.

According to Braithwaite, the romusha were seen as nobody’s responsibility.

He wrote, “It is clear that when Australian War Graves units discovered mass graves that were not Australian or British, the bodies were ignored.”

While most of the bodies of Allied POWs that were found after liberation were exhumed and reburied at Labuan War Cemetery, the bodies of Javanese forced labourers are most probably still lying somewhere in unmarked graves in Sandakan.

Although there could have been up to 6,000 of them working on the Sandakan airstrip during WWII, hardly anybody remembers them now, as if they were never there in the first place.

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How Dayak peacemaking ceremonies were carried out during the 19th century?

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Modern day peacemaking usually has some hand-shaking gesture and official announcement in front of the media if it has gathered public interest.

In 19th century Sarawak, peacemaking ceremonies back then were somehow more interesting.

It usually involved some kind of tajau (jar) being exchanged and sometimes even human sacrifice.

Here, KajoMag looks back at how Dayak peacemaking ceremonies were carried out in the olden days of Sarawak:
1.They rip each others’ harvests to the core.

This Dayak peacemaking method was reportedly practiced by people living along the Sadong river.

The first White Rajah James Brooke stated in his personal journal, “When peace is made between them, one tribe visits the other, in order to feast together; and on these occasions, whatever the number or visitors may be, they are at liberty to use the fruits of their hosts without hindrance. At their pleasure they strip the coconuts off the trees, devour and carry away as much as they can, without offence. Of course the hosts in turn become visitors, and pay in the same coin.

“All the Dayaks are remarkably tenacious of their fruit trees; but on the occasion of the feast, beside taking the fruit, the visitors fell one tree, as a symbol of good understanding; of course it is only once that such liberties are taken or allowed. At other times it would be an affront sufficient to occasion a war.”

A Dayak peacemaking ceremony that could cause another war did not exactly served its purpose. Perhaps that is the reason why the second White Rajah Charles Brooke put an end to this tradition during his reign.

2.They sacrificed a slave as a sign of peacemaking

Well, this is a Dayak peacemaking ceremony that you definitely will never see again.

Resident O.F. Ricketts once described a Murut peacemaking ceremony where a human sacrifice involved.

He wrote, “Occasionally feuds have been settled between two tribes, the aggressors having made full compensation in payment of jars, brassware, and two slaves. It was custom to kill one of these slaves to make up for the relative lost.”

3.They sacrificed some pigs

Charles witnessed many peacemaking ceremonies during his reign. One of them took place between the Ibans from Undup and from Dutch Borneo (Kalimantan).

During the ceremony, both sides agreed that the first to draw their weapon on another in the future must be fined eight jars.

Then they sacrificed some pigs with the blood sprinkled around the ceremony. Some even took the blood home to sprinkle at their houses. This was to wash away any evil tendencies there might be hanging in the atmosphere and to appease the spirits.

4.They exchanged weapons between themselves

Just like the Iban, the Kanowit people also sacrificed a pig during their peacemaking ceremonies.

Spenser St. John recorded, “A pig was placed between the representatives of two tribes who after calling down the vengeance of the spirits on those who broke the treaty, plunged their spears into the animal and then exchanged weapons.”

The representatives then bit each other’s blades to complete the ceremony.

5.They poured the blood of fowl on themselves

St. John also witnessed a ceremony where two men who were feuding would never look at each other even when they were in the same house.

He wrote, “They refused to cast their eyes upon each other till a fowl has been kill and the blood sprinkled over them.”

The second White Rajah recorded in his book Ten Years in Sarawak that although fowl was involved in the Dayak peacemaking ceremony, no blood was sprinkled over those who were present.

They waved fowls over the heads of the guests for those who came to the ceremony “to conduce to good and friendly feeling and to prevent either party from quarreling and fighting.”

How Dayak peacemaking ceremonies were carried out during the 19th century?
Dayak Festival in a traditional Longhouse, 1846, Dutch Borneo. Illustration by C.A.L.M. Schwaner. Credits: Public Domain.

Regardless of how the signs of peacemaking were made, the ceremony usually ended with festivities.

Do you know any other ways how Sarawakians hold their peacemaking ceremony in the olden days? Let us know in the comment box.

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10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo

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The Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo is an enchanting place located at an altitude between 760 and 1200 meters.

Unlike the lowlands of Borneo which is known for its hot and humid climate, this place offers cool weather and chilly winds, especially at night.

Located in North Kalimantan, Indonesia, the highlands lie right along the border with Sarawak and Sabah of Malaysia.

Administrative-wise, the highlands are divided into five-sub-districts in the Nunukan District.

Long Bawan works as its centre with connecting flights from Indonesian towns of Nunukan, Tarakan and Malinau.

Visitors can also visit the highlands by road from Ba Kelalan, Sarawak.

The Heart of Borneo is an initiative of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia to preserve and maintain the sustainability of Borneo’s last remaining rainforest.

Part of the conservation done for the initiative is to improve the conservation management in the area and documenting traditional ecological knowledge.

Here are 10 reasons why you should visit the Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo:
1.For the biodiversity at the Heart of Borneo Highlands
10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
A pitcher plant.

Most parts of the Krayan Highlands are covered by heath forest. The locals call it tana’ payeh.

There you can find unique flora and fauna including pitcher plants and various kinds of wild orchids.

10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
The black orchid.
2.Learn about the culture of Lundayeh people
10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
The Krayan Highlands are home to mostly Lundayeh people.

The highlands are the homeland of several thousand Dayak community especially the Lundayeh. Besides them, there are also the Kelabit, Sa’ban and Penan people living there.

The best place to learn about Lundayeh culture is at Cultural Field School near Trang Baru village.

It is a space for cultural celebrations as well as where you can learn about traditional music and dances.

The school is initiated by Formadat (Forum of the Indigenous People of the Highlands of Borneo) in collaboration with WWF-Indonesia.

There you can also learn traditional wood carving and rattan weaving.

3.Visit ancient burial sites called “perupun”
10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
The ruins of a perupun.

Forget about the pyramids, “perupun” are ancient Lundayeh burial sites that can be found in the Krayan Highlands.

Villages including Pa Rupai, Terang Baru, Long Umung, Pa Raye, Long Layu, Long Api and Pa Kebuan all have perupun of their own.

These ancient graves were built by piling up dozens of huge stones on the burial ground.

However, nobody really knows how the olden communities of Krayan Highlands were able to do that.

4.Visit the mysterious crocodile mounds

10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
A crocodile mound which is now covered in vegetation.

Here is another mysterious archaeological site of the Krayan Highlands; the crocodile mounds.

The ancestors of Lundayeh people built them as a sign of bravery especially after returning from a successful headhunting trip.

These crocodile mounds can be found in places like Long Midang, Tang Payeh, Terang Baru and Long Layu.

Most of the heads of these crocodiles were built facing the river. This was to protect the community who built them from enemies coming from the river.

The unexplainable part of these mounds is that, there are no crocodiles in Krayan Highlands.

5.Watch how mountain salt is processed

10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
Natural salt brine being boiled in a salt production house in Long Midang.

Mountain salt is one of the most important sources of livelihood of the Krayan Highlands.

Salt production occurs all-year round but is more intensive when the locals are not working on their rice fields.

Most of production houses where this salt is processed are a humble building made from wooden planks with zinc roof.

There, the brine from salt springs are boiled for at least 24 hours before the crystallised salt is dried and packaged for marketing.

Make sure you buy some as souvenirs before you go home.

6.Enjoy the scenic view of paddy farms
10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
The view of Krayan Highlands paddy fields from a plane.

The main source of income for the locals Krayan Highlands is paddy farming.

These paddy farms offer scenic view of the highlands regardless of the season. The local farmers start to prepare the rice seedlings in July and then they begin to plant. The harvesting period is usually starts late December until February.

While buffaloes are commonly found in the highlands, they are only used to trample the paddy field and eating the weeds.

The rice from Krayan Highlands has the certificate of Geographic Indication (GI), thanks to the unique characteristics of this rice.

Known as adan rice, it comes in red, white and black colours.

10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
A black adan rice.
7.Take a look at rock art
10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
A Batu Narit in Pa Rupai village of Krayan Highlands.

Batu Narit is a form of rock art found in several places in the Krayan Highlands including Pa Rupai village.

The one in Pa Rupai have several motives including a snake and some geometrical shapes.

Nobody knows who exactly carved these rocks and the meanings behind these motives.

8.Take a sip of Krayan’s ‘Fountain of Youth’
10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
Wash your face at the Fountain of Youth of Borneo.

Locally known as Air Bunga, the small stream named Ba’ Sarang is the Krayan version of Fountain of Youth.

Locals believe the water flows from the stream has anti-aging properties as well as healing powers.

The stream is located five-minute walk from the town hall of Tang Payeh village.

Even if you do not believed in the water’s miraculous power, a walk to the stream passing through paddy field is therapeutic enough.

9.Have a gastronomic adventure of Lundayeh food
10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
Some of Lundayeh delicacies.

The Lundayeh people have their own unique culinary food which are made from their own farms and jungle produce.

Their desserts and pastries are mostly made from rice flour, which is widely available.

One of their must-try dishes is biter, a type of rice porridge cooked with different vegetables such as cassava leaves and ginger flower.

Additionally, there are so many fruits to choose from and all of them are locally sourced.

10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
Terap or tarap fruit.
10.Hike up the hill of legendary hero Yuvai Semaring
10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo
How the top of Yuvai Semaring hill looks like from afar.

If trekking is your thing then you cannot miss a visit up the hill of Yuvai Semaring.

The hill stands about 1,100 meters offering hikers the beautiful view of Krayan Highlands settlements.

On the top of the hill, hikers can also explore the mountain ranges which border the highlands to Sarawak and Sabah.

It takes only less than an hour to climb. A trip to the Krayan Highlands is definitely incomplete without looking at the highlands from the top of Yuvai Semaring.

10 reasons you should visit Krayan Highlands in the Heart of Borneo

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12 Indonesia-Malaysia combats during Konfrontasi you should know

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Also known as Konfrontasi, the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation was an undeclared war with most of the battles happening between Kalimantan (Indonesia) and East Malaysia.

The confrontation was a result from Indonesia’s opposition to the creation of Malaysia.

Initially, Indonesian attacks on East Malaysia comprised of local volunteers trained by the Indonesian Army.

Over a period of time, the intrusions became more organised with involvement of Indonesian forces.

On the Malaysian side, the British provided help to Malaysian forces with periodic contributions from Australian and New Zealand forces.

The intensity of the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation eventually subsided after the 30 September Movement when six Indonesian Army generals were assassinated.

Indonesia formally recognised Malaysia when a final peace agreement was signed on Aug 11, 1966.

Still, many lives were lost on both sides with combats happening in small-sized operations.

Here are at least 12 Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation combats you should know about:
12 Indonesia-Malaysia combats during Konfrontasi you should know
While operating in Borneo during the Indonesian Confrontation, a soldier is winched up to a Westland Wessex HAS3 of 845 Naval Air Squadron, during operations in the jungle. Another soldier is kneeling on the edge of the extraction zone. Credit: Public Domain.
1.Attack on Tebedu police station

The first infiltration and attack as part of Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation was recorded in April 1963.

On Apr 12, 1963, an Indonesian force attacked and seized Tebedu police station. Although Malaysia was not formed yet, the Malaysian government considered this as the first military attack on the-then future East Malaysia.

The raid, which happened on Good Friday that year, caused the death of a corporal and two wounded soldiers.

12 Indonesia-Malaysia combats during Konfrontasi you should know
Tebedu
2.Battle of Long Jawai

On Sept 28, 1963, a large number of Indonesian troops crossed the Sarawak-Kalimantan border and attacked the outpost at Long Jawai.

After exchanging fires for several hours, one Gurkha was killed and ten Malaysian border scouts were captured and later executed.

3.The Kalabakan Incident

The locals of Kalabakan, Tawau unfortunately witnessed one attack by the Indonesian forces on Dec 29, 1963.

Nonetheless, the attack successfully brought different groups of Malaysians to fight together for one sole cause.

A battalion from the 3rd Royal Malay Regiment (RMR) from Peninsular Malaysia, the Police Field Force, Sabah Home Guard and even Kalabakan villagers united to fight off the Indonesian forces.

The Kalabakan Incident resulted in the deaths of eight men from RMR and 18 others injured.

4.Landing at Pontian

On Aug 17, 1964, Indonesian troops made an amphibious landing at the Pontian district of Johor.

The troops landed in three different locations along Pontian coast according to plan. However, Malaysians security forces were quick to respond with half of the raiders captured immediately upon landing.

5.Landing at Kesang river

Located on the border between the Malaysian states of Malacca and Johor, Kesang river witnessed an amphibious raid conducted by a small force of Indonesian volunteers on Oct 29, 1964.

52 of these volunteers sailed across the Straits of Malacca in fishing vessels on each side of the mouth of the Kesang river.

Their action plan was to blend in with the locals and to launch guerrilla raids against Malaysian infrastructure.

However, Malaysian fishermen spotted the raiders and quickly informed the authorities.

The British troops, assisted by the Australians immediately arrived to the scene where they killed and captured all but two of the invaders.

6.Landing at Labis

About a month later after the landing at Kesang river, the Indonesians made another landing on Sept 2, 1964 near Labis, Johor and this time via air.

Three Indonesian Air Force aircraft set off from Jakarta but only two landed as the third aircraft crashed into the Straits of Malacca.

Under the command of 4th Malaysian Infantry Brigade, the operation took about a month to round up all the 98 paratroopers.

32 of the intruders were killed while the rest were captured.

7.Action of Dec 13, 1964

The Action of Dec 13, 1964 was a naval action between the Australian minesweeper HMAS Teal and two Indonesian vessels.

It took place in the Singapore Strait where HMAS Teal was conduction patrols at night. The two Indonesian vessels fired automatic weapons upon HMAS Teal. The Australian ship killed three and captured four other during the combat.

8.Battle of Plaman Mapu

The Battle of Plaman Mapu was one of the largest battles of the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation.

In the early hours of Apr 27, 1965, a battalion of Indonesian soldiers launched a surprise attack on B Company, 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in their base at Plaman Mapu.

The British was outnumbered by at least five to one but they still managed to cause significant damage on the Indonesians.

In the end, the battle took the lives of 30 Indonesians and two British troops.

9.Battle of Sungei Koemba

The Battle of Sungei Koemba was part of the wider Operation Claret that took place along the Sungai Koemba in Kalimantan.

The battle consisted of two ambushes conducted by two platoons from the Australian forces.

B Company ambushed Indonesian troops on May 27, 1965 resulting in significant Indonesian casualties and no loss for the Australians.

Meanwhile, the second ambush happened a little further downstream from the last one by a platoon from C Company. Occurred on June 12, 1965, the second ambush again resulted in heavy Indonesian casualties for no loss to the Australians.

12 Indonesia-Malaysia combats during Konfrontasi you should know
British Royal Marines Commando unit armed with machine gun and Sten gun patrolling using a boat in the river on Serudong, Sabah between 1963 until 1966. Credit: Malaysian Archive [Public domain]
10.Battle of Kindau

Three days after the last ambush at Sungei Koemba, a platoon from A Company successfully ambushed another large Indonesian force at Kindau, Kalimantan.

The ambush resulted in about 25 to 50 Indonesian casualties and two Australians wounded.

Unlike other engagements under Operation Claret which remained under wraps, Battle of Kindau was caught by the media after a journalist interviewed one of the wounded Australians.

However, the news was reported under the pretence the battle took place within Malaysian authority.

11.Battle of Babang

This was the last in a series of successful ambushes conducted between May and July 1965 by Australian troops from 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR).

The battle took place on July 12, 1965 at Babang, Kalimantan as part of the wider British-Commonwealth Operation Claret.

On that day, 7 Platoon C was in an ambush position along a track near the Indonesian base at Babang. Around noon time, a force of about 30 Indonesians approached along the track. The Australians ambushed the Indonesian troops subsequently killing at least 13 of them and wounded five.

The cross-border attack was to provide warning to the Indonesian troops not to incur into Sarawak territory.

12.Battle of Bau or Battle of Gunung Tepoi

On Nov 21, 1965, 16 members of the British Army Gurkhas launched an attack on about 100 Indonesian troops.

The Gurkhas were then supported by the 104 men resulting the Indonesians to withdraw.

After the battle, the Indonesians reported at least 24 men killed in action and the British lost three men.

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The migration of Indonesian romusha to Malaysian Borneo during WWII

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‘Romusha’ is actually a Japanese word for labourer. However during World War II (WWII), it specifically referred to forced labourers during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia.

According to the US Library of Congress, it was estimated in Java between 4 to 10 million romusha were forced to work by the Japanese military.

Indonesia during Japanese occupation

The experience in Indonesia during World War II varied depending on where one lived and one’s social status.

Those who lived in areas considered important to the war effort such as Balikpapan or Tarakan (for their oilfields) experienced torture, sex slavery, execution and war crimes.

The migration of Indonesian romusha to Malaysian Borneo during WWII
Pantai Amal, where the Japanese landed at Tarakan in North Kalimantan.

The romusha’s services were supposed to be voluntary but in reality many were recruited against their will.

Some were taken from their homes while others were even seized in the middle of a movie in theaters.

Most of them were put to work through threats and violence.

If they were lucky, they were put to work on Java island itself. The unfortunate ones were those who werw sent to work outside Java.

These locations included New Guinea, Malaya, Singapore, Thailand, Burma, British Borneo (current day Sabah and Sarawak), Indochina and Hong Kong.

Regardless of the locations, these romusha were forced to work under harsh conditions with insufficient food, shelter or medical care.

They were often treated worse than Prisoners of War (POWs) from Allied countries.

The migration of Indonesian romusha to Malaysian Borneo during WWII
Japanese invastion of Java. Credits: Creative commons.
Romusha in British Borneo

There is no exact number on how many romusha were sent to Borneo island during WWII. It is understood that they came here to work on oilfields and build facilities such as airstrips.

Richard Wallace Braithwaite in his book Fighting Monsters: An Intimate History of the Sandakan Tragedy gave one rough number.

“One estimate is that 31,700 Javanese were sent to North Borneo and another 48,700 to South Borneo. This occurred mainly in 1944. They constructed airfields in British Borneo, worked in the oilfields at Miri, and were used elsewhere in Borneo hacking tunnels and storage facilities out of rock.”

It was also reported there were about 3,000 Javanese romusha working in Sandakan airstrip alone during WWII.

Braithwaite further noted,

“Many romusha died in the transport ships before they reached their destination. While the Japanese kept good records, most records were destroyed after capitulation. The mortality rate for those who were sent outside was 74.3 per cent. However, only 5,000 survived of those who went to British Borneo, a much higher mortality rate of 85 per cent.”

Shigeru Sato in War, Nationalism and Peasants: Java Under the Japanese Occupation, 1942-1945 gave a different estimate number for North Borneo.

He wrote,

“Sending of Javanese labourers overseas was done mostly within the 1944 fiscal year. Like other commodities, the supply of labourers from Java fell below the levels set in the initial plan due to shipping difficulties. In the case of North Borneo, for which 17,000 men were approved for the year 1944, the total number of romusha who arrived from Java during the entire occupation period was 9,000 according to one estimate between 12,000 and 13,000 according to another.”

So did the romusha in Borneo return to Java after WWII?

After the end of WWII in September 1945, the Dutch Indies government established the Nederlandsh Bureau voor Documentatie en Repatrieering van Indonesiers (Netherlands Bureau for Documentation and Repatriation of Indonesians, or NEBUDORI).

This was to register, care for, and repatriate displaced Indonesians, most of whom were Javanese romusha.

The Japanese on the other hand did not make much effort to repatriate Indonesian romusha.

According to Shigeru, the repatriation of romusha by the Dutch began in May 1946, and by April 1947, a total of 52,117 Javanese romusha had been repatriated from Singapore, Malaya, Thailand, Indochina, Borneo, Celebes, New Guinea, the Moluccas and the Lesser Sunda Islands.

However, the repatriation of Indonesian romusha was not an easy job.

According to Braithwaite, when it came to repatriation back to Java, the romusha were the lowest priorities of the Allies.

“Some refused to go on Dutch ships as the Indonesian revolution was well underway and they did not trust the Dutch. Some presumably thought that going into a revolutionary zone in Java was likely to be worse than their situation in Borneo. In the end, only about a thousand returned from British Borneo. It was 1947 before authorities made ships available to them. By then, most had found employment and many were married to local women and had children.”

A thousand reportedly only managed to return home to Java out of the estimated number of 5,000 to 13,000 that were sent here.

This meant many had either decided to call Sabah and Sarawak home after the war or died working as romushas.

Nobody knows the fate of every romusha

There is no way to confirm these. The Japanese did not keep proper records of the romusha system and those who died were often buried in unmarked graves.

Historians believed the brutality of the romusha is one of the main reasons for the mass death rates among Indonesians under the Japanese occupation.

With no proper records documenting their arrivals or departures and no tombstones to mark their graves, the lives and sufferings of romusha outside of Indonesia, particularly in Malaysian Borneo, can be easily lost amongst the current and future generations.

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Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan

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Food has always been the best way to become familiar with a place, culture and its people, so I tried to sample every dish during the Traditional Food Festival held in Lanjak, West Kalimantan.

Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan

From 14 to 15 September, an Indonesian community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) NGO, Riak Bumi organised a traditional food festival in Lanjak.

Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan

This year marked the sixth year the food festival had been organised for the community of Lanjak by Riak Bumi.  

The two-day festival saw 23 groups participating in the cooking competition as they competed to prepare the best traditional dishes on the first day.

Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan

During the cooking competition, the participants were required to cook traditional food without using artificial flavouring. This included commercial sugar and even regular cooking oil.

Instead, they used natural flavouring and ingredients such as palm sugar and tengkawang oil for their cooking.

As Lanjak is located about 40 minutes drive from the Lubok Antu border, some of the dishes in our neighboring country bore some similarities to Sarawakian cuisine as well.

With a smorgasbord of food laid out, here are some of the dishes that I managed to sample that everyone should try when visiting Lanjak.

Wajit
Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
This sweet sticky rice snack seems too pretty to be eaten.

Wajit is a popular traditional Indonesian sticky sweet rice snack. It is made of glutinous rice, regular rice, palm sugar, coconut milk and pandan leaves. Typically, after wajit is cooked, it will be spread onto a baking tray and cut into diamond shapes. However, wajit can be molded into any shape that you fancy!

Grilled venison
Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
Grilled venison

In Lanjak, the local communities still hunt for food. This includes fish, toads and even deer. During the traditional food festival, I had the opportunity to try venison straight off the grill. Yum!

Ants
Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
‘Kesa’ is the local name for these ants.

In Southeast Asian countries, eating insects is a norm and Borneo is no exception. At the traditional food festival in Lanjak, one of the most fascinating dishes to be served were fried fire ants (kesa). For those who have never had them before, fried ants have a sour and tangy taste and not surprisingly, a crunchy texture.

Lakum
  • Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
    This deep purple beverage mixed with honey has a sweet taste
  • Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
    Lakum fruits

This sweet purple beverage is made up of lakum fruit mixed with honey. Lakum fruits looks like exactly like a blueberry.

Rice cooked in pitcher plant
  • Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
    Rice cooked in pitcher plant
  • Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
    The rice is stuff inside the pitcher plant before steamed

Nasi pok yok is rice cooked in pitcher plants. When steaming the rice, no artificial flavouring is added as natural flavour from the pitcher plant will seep to the rice. This dish is prepared by stuffing rice and some water into the pitcher plant and steaming it until the rice is fluffy.

Kolak
Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
Sweet and milky tapioca pearls kolak dessert

Tapioca kolak (kolak ubi) is a type of Indonesian dessert made with coconut milk, palm sugar and pandan leaf. Generally, kolak comes in different variations such as banana, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and jackfruits. It is said that kolak is a popular sweet during Ramadan.

Lulun Kucai
Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
Chives cooked in bamboo

In Sarawak, kucai (or chives) is usually cooked with egg or chopped garlic. However, during the traditional food festival in Lanjak, I discovered an interesting way of cooking them – inside a bamboo.

Dishes cooked in bamboo
  • Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
    Pansoh ikan seladang
  • Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
    Pansoh ayam kampong
  • Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
    Pansoh kancil

Speaking of bamboo, the traditional food festival in Lanjak would not be complete without “pansuh”. “Pansuh” means cooked in bamboo. From chicken to fish and even deer, any type of meat will taste great cooked in bamboo.

Fish umai
  • Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
    Umai made from raw fish, citrus fruit and bunga kecala
  • Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
    Buah kandi is used instead of lime

The fish umai in West Kalimantan is also similar to those enjoyed in Sarawak. Generally, the ingredients used for this dish are mostly similar, only instead of lime, they substitute it witha a citrus fruit called ‘buah kandi’ for its acidic and sour taste.

Jarete
  • Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
    This cookie like snack has a light rice scent and hard texture
  • Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
    Jarete that has been heated in pan are mold into cylindrical shape

This rice dish is a mixture of glutinous rice with regular rice. To prepare this dish, the rice is mixed and soaked in water. They are then ground with palm sugar and fry in a pan until they turn reddish brown. After that, the rice can easily be shaped into a cylindrical form using hand. It has a mild roasted rice scent to it and a hard, brittle texture.

Labu srikaya  
Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
Labu srikaya is a sweet and savoury dish

This Instagram-worthy dish has a savoury, sweet and milky taste. This dish is prepared by cutting a hole on top of a whole pumpkin and scoop out the flesh. To prepare this dish, a mixture of coconut milk, pandan leaves, palm sugar and eggs are poured into the pumpkin mould and steamed.

Selukung
Enjoying the Traditional Food Festival in Lanjak, West Kalimantan
Selukung is prepared by inserting rice into palm leaves shaped into triangle

This dish is a traditional Kenyah dish. It is basically glutinous rice cooked in wild palm leaves and folded into triangles.

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Tengkawang Oil, the Butter from Nature

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During a traditional food festival in Lanjak in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, no preservative or artificial flavouring such as MSG was used in any of the dishes. This also includes the oil they used for cooking which was substituted with tengkawang oil.

  • The traditional food festival was held at Lanjak, West Kalimantan from September 14-15 and was organised by Indonesian community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) NGO, Riak Bumi
    The traditional food festival was held at Lanjak, West Kalimantan from September 14-15 and was organised by Indonesian community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) NGO, Riak Bumi
  • The traditional food festival was held at Lanjak, West Kalimantan from September 14-15 and was organised by Indonesian Indonesian community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) NGO, Riak Bumi
    The traditional food festival was held at Lanjak, West Kalimantan from September 14-15 and was organised by Indonesian community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) NGO, Riak Bumi
  • The traditional food festival was held at Lanjak, West Kalimantan from September 14-15 and was organised by Indonesian community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) NGO, Riak Bumi
    The traditional food festival was held at Lanjak, West Kalimantan from September 14-15 and was organised by Indonesian community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) NGO, Riak Bumi
  • The traditional food festival was held at Lanjak, West Kalimantan from September 14-15 and was organised by Indonesian Indonesian community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) NGO, Riak Bumi
    The traditional food festival was held at Lanjak, West Kalimantan from September 14-15 and was organised by Indonesian community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) NGO, Riak Bumi

Known to many as the butter from nature or green butter, tengkawang oil is extracted from the fruit of tengkawang trees.

Tengkawang fruit or the Borneo shallow nut is a native fruit species that can be found in the jungles of Borneo.

However, West Kalimantan, Indonesia is particularly known for its tengkawang oil as it is still widely used by the locals.

Tengkawang Oil, the Butter from Nature
Tengkawang oil, also known as green butter, is made from the fruit of the tengkawang tree which can be commonly found in the tropical jungles of Borneo.

In both Sarawak and Kalimantan, tengkawang fruits are collected by the locals where it will then be processed into oil.

While tengkawang can be found in the jungle, there are some people who actually grow the trees at their farm.

Tengkawang is known as “engkabang” among the Iban people, and “kakawang” among the Embaloh people.

The tree will usually bear fruit once every five years, although there are places in Kalimantan that bear fruits once a year.

In Lanjak, the locals will usually collect tengkawang fruit sometime around February.

According to the locals, the trees will usually bear fruits at the beginning of the year during the rainy season. The trees are typically found near water sources such as the river.  

Usually locals will collect and process it for their own household consumption, although now most have began to commercialize the oil.

However, when picking these fruits, those that have fallen off the tree and started sprouting should not be used.

This is because when processed, they will taste differently. Apart from that, the oil will also be green instead of the usual bright yellow hue.

To process the fruits into oil, the fruits are first separated from the shell and dried under the sun.

Tengkawang Oil, the Butter from Nature
The dried tengkawang fruits before being ground into powder

This process might take up to a few days to a week before they are ground into powder.

  • Dried tengkawang fruit being ground into powder.
    Dried tengkawang fruit being ground into powder.
  • The ground tengkawang fruit.
    The ground tengkawang fruit.

After that, the powder is then placed in a steamer filled with water for about an hour.

However, the time may vary, depending on the amount of tengkawang powder being steamed at a time.

The lesser the amount of tengkawang powder being steamed at a time, the less time is spent steaming it.

Tengkawang Oil, the Butter from Nature
The tengkawang powder is placed in a steamer for about an hour

Then, after some time, the steamed powder is taken out to be pressed by a manual oil press machine expeller to produce a glossy, pale yellow liquid.

  • The oil is extracted from the powder by hand through an oil press machine expeller.
    The oil is extracted from the powder by hand through an oil press machine expeller.
  • What comes out from the extractor is a glossy, pale yellow fluid.
    What comes out from the extractor is a glossy, pale yellow fluid.

Before the machine, the locals would extract the oil using a wooden device called an “apit”.

The dregs or the remains of the tengkawang powder is not discarded but used as fodder and fertilizer.

Tengkawang Oil, the Butter from Nature
The remains can be used as fodder or fertilizer

At room temperature, it will take about three days for the tengkawang oil to solidify, although it will be much quicker using a refrigerator.

Once solidified, tengkawang oil can be stored in containers and be kept for up to more than a year.

However, according to locals, the oil can also be stored in bamboo to ensure a longer storage period.

Tengkawang Oil, the Butter from Nature
Tengkawang oil is usually stored in bamboo to ensure longer storage period

Local people will usually use tengkawang oil for cooking and baking.  

So instead of the usual cooking vegetable or palm oil that we use for cooking, you might consider substituting it with tengkawang oil. You can even substitute butter with tengkawang oil when baking.

Tengkawang Oil, the Butter from Nature
Tengkawang oil used for cooking

On warm rice, the locals will usually press tengkawang to give the rice an aromatic nutty flavour and scent.

It is said that tengkawang oil is preferred over liquid oil when cooking in the jungle as it is more convenient.

Unlike typical oil, tengkawang oil is easier to carry and you would not have to worry about it spilling.

Tengkawang Oil, the Butter from Nature
Example of commercial products using tengkawang oil

Apart from that, tengkawang oil has also been used in cosmetic products such as lipstick and make up foundation due to it moisturising properties. It has also been used to make chocolate, bar soap, medicine, cream, lotion, hair conditioner, sunscreen and as a margarine substitute.

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The Mandor Affair, the massacres in West Kalimantan during WWII

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On June 28, 1944, a horrendous war crime was committed in a quiet village called Mandor in West Kalimantan, Indonesia during World War II (WWII).

While some historians believed the number of victims were 21,037, other records stated about 1,000 people died during the massacre.

Although the official death toll is still in dispute, nobody can deny that hundreds were killed by Japanese officials on that day.

The Background of The Mandor Affair

The Mandor Affair is in fact part of two massacres called The Pontianak Incidents which took place in West Kalimantan during the Japanese Occupation of the Dutch East Indies.

The whole incident happened in 1943-1944 when the Japanese decided to arrest the Malay elites, Arabs, Javanese, Dayaks, Bugis, Bataks, Menadonese, Dutch, Chinese, Indians and Eurasians in Kalimantan.

Despite the racial differences, those who were arrested had a few things in common. They were mostly community leaders, intellectual and educated people, lawyers, doctors, journalists, politicians, religious leaders and royal members of various Sultanates in Kalimantan.

According to the book Chinese Indonesians: Remembering, Distorting, Forgetting by Tim Lindsey and Helen Pausacker, from January until June in 1944, trucks picked up people by night, either from their homes or from the prisons. They were all taken secretly to Mandor, a quiet village located 95 kilometers northeast of Pontianak.

Many did not know what were the fates of these people until early July 1944. The then local Japanese official newspaper, Borneo Shimbun (Pontianak edition) reported that those who were arrested, were tried and executed on June 28, 1944 in Mandor for plotting to overthrow Japanese rule.

The Japanese reportedly beheaded them one by one before burying them in ten mass graves in the forest near the village.

Meanwhile, other accounts reported they were all buried alive in several large holes. Most were probably weak due to illnesses and diseases after a period of internment and were too weak to fight their way out from being buried alive.

The victims of The Mandor Affair

The question now is how did the number 21,037 come about?

Lindsey and Pausacker wrote that the number 21, 037 was allegedly recorded in war documents kept in the libraries of Japanese universities after WWII.

It is believed that the number was in connection with the kidnapping, torture and massacre by the Japanese troops all over Pontianak, not just in Mandor.

Whatever the real death toll was, what was certain was that the Mandor Affair took the life of up to 25 aristocrats of Pontianak sultanate including its 74-year-old sultan, Sharif Mohamed Alkadri.

The Japanese named him as the one of the ringleaders in the alleged planned rebellion.

They also killed the heir to the Sultan, 31-year-old Pangeran Adipati.

Besides the Sultan of Pontianak, the Japanese also executed the Sultans of Sambas, Ketapang, Soekadana, Simbang, Koeboe, Sanggau, Sekadau, Tajan, Singtan, and Mempawa.

Unfortunately, the timeline of their deaths is still unclear.

Who was responsible for the Mandor Affair?

Indonesian writers Syafaruddin Usman and Isnawita Din wrote in their book Peristiwa Mandor Berdarah claimed Syuutizitiyo Minseibu was responsible for the Mandor Affair.

But there were no records after WWII if he was ever held responsible for the massacre.

Someone, however, did actually pay the price for the Pontianak Incidents.

The Mandor Affair, the massacres in West Kalimantan during WWII
Marquis Tadashige Daigo

After the end of WW2, vice admiral Marquis Tadashige Daigo in the Imperial Japanese Navy was extradited to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies and was found guilty in a closed military tribunal for crimes that occurred during the Pontianak Incidents.

He was executed with a rifle shot to the stomach on Dec 6, 1947.

As the commander of submarine forces, he was based at Balikpapan since late 1943. Hence, whether he was fully aware of the doings of his junior staff thousands of kilometers away in Pontianak, remained unclear due to the secrecy of his trial.

In 2007, the local Indonesian government had declared June 28 as an official mourning day for West Kalimantan Province (Hari Berkabung Daerah Provinsi Kalimantan Barat) to remember those who died in Mandor.

A memorial was elected at the massacre site and it is now known named as Juang Mandor Graves.

The Mandor Affair, the massacres in West Kalimantan during WWII
Makam Juang Mandor or Juang Mandor graves. Credits: Indonesian Tourism Board.

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