EXCLUSIVE: THE GONG WAR
May 1 2006
Jungle heroes battle medal ban
By Mark Mcgivern
WAR heroes are fighting a new campaign - for the right to wear a hard-won honour.
Thousands of old soldiers who risked their lives in a jungle war in Borneo were rewarded last year by the Malaysian government.
But Whitehall mandarins say veterans cannot wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia, awarded for service in the late 50s and early 60s.
King's Own Scottish Borderers veterans of the Borneo campaign, who have formed a pressure group Fight 4 the PJM, met at the weekend in Edinburgh.
And they have vowed to defy the Government edict and wear the medal.
Colonel Clive Fairweather, who organised the 40th anniversary get-together of the KOSB jungle veterans, blasted: "These men toiled for their country when Tony Blair was still in short trousers at Fettes.
"They have the right to feel proud of their efforts and have the right to wear any medal earned by their valour.
"What is the point in allowing soldiers to receive a medal then telling them they can't wear it? It's an insult to them and it is an insult to the Malaysian people. "
Other Commonwealth nations whose troops completed tours of duty in Borneo, where they were fighting to secure Malaysia's borders, have been given clearance to wear the medal.
A spokesman for the campaign group said: "The Queen has accepted the medal for wear by other Commonwealth veterans.
"But she has been instructed by the honours and decorations committee to deny British citizens the right to wear their medal.
"That anomaly is clearly unjust and inappropriate."
The committee is made up of senior civil servants who consider recommendations from senior military officers before submitting them to the Queen for approval.
No ministers sit on the committee but the Prime Minister is kept up-to-date on the matters they discuss.
The pressure group have won widespread backing, including from forces sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn.
Victoria Cross holder Lt Cmdr Ian Fraser said: "The award of the PJM medal by the Malaysian government is a timely honour to those who served.
"We are privileged to receive it with good grace and respect and should wear it with the dignity it warrants."
Among the soldiers at the Edinburgh gathering was Colonel Ian Crooke, who rose from being a second lieutenant in Borneo to being third in command of 22 SAS Regiment while Fairweather was No 2.
He managed to attend the reunion, despite suffering terrible injuries in a parachuting display in South Africa, where he has settled.
Fairweather, 61, said: "Many of the rank-and-file soldiers feel the decision is petty and demeans their efforts.
"I would imagine most will stick two fingers up to Whitehall and wear the medal whenever the occasion may arise.
"Crooke is something of a legend in Army circles and he was incredibly well respected and popular among the men. If you made a film about his real-life exploits, it would probably be laughed off for being too far-fetched.
"To tinker around with men of this stature seems to me to serve no useful purpose."
The citation with the PJM reads: "This medal is awarded to the peacekeeping groups ... for distinguished chivalry, gallantry, sacrifice or loyalty in upholding Peninsula of Malaya or Malaysia sovereignty."
In a written statement to the Commons earlier this year, foreign affairs minister Ian Pearson restated Government policy that non-British medals for events dating back more than five years would not be approved.
He also said it was not policy to allow such medals when a soldier had already received a British honour for the same campaign.
Pearson said: "The many thousands of eligible former members of the armed forces/veterans, and others, may receive the PJM.
"This will be in addition to the British General Service Medal many veterans will have been eligible to receive for service in Malaya/Borneo.
"Permission to wear the PJM will not formally be given."
Last night, a spokesman for the Army in Scotland said: "It may be that some soldiers do feel disgruntled that they have been awarded the medal but cannot formally wear it.
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Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka,
from the HD Committee and its decision.
