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Post Re: Letters to Mp's 
'Jock' Fenton wrote:
Follows: the text of a letter ... for further transmission, via 'snail mail', to their respective MP...Feel free to copy the text if you so desire...
(perhaps it might prove useful on the 'Stuck 4 Words' thread Barry?)


Dunnit, Jock.

And thanks for the extra help to our PJM supporters.

PS: Click here to go to the Stock 4 Words page that Jock refers to http://www.fight4thepjm.org/lobby_stuck_4_words.htm


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BarryF, who fought for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia
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Post Re: Letters to Mp's 
'Jock' Fenton wrote:
Follows: the text of a letter

Is this a duplicate post, Jock?

We're into zapping - and we're always looking for any excuse to practise. So just give us the word and we'll fire a warmer into the bank - at it.


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BarryF, who fought for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia
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Must be Barry?!?
....just another demonstration of my technological ineptitude in action I guess?
Fry it! (and this!)


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Post My MP 
Having not had a reply to my email of 20th Feb, I have just sent a snail mail to my MP. It also has a copy of the Ministerial Statement and a brief breakdown of the conflict.

Ms Laura Moffatt MP
6 The Broadway
Crawley
West Sussex
RH10 1DS

13 March 2006

Pingat Jasa Malaysia

Dear Ms Moffatt

Having received no response to my email of 20 February 2006, I have decided to send you a written account of what I believe to be the erroneous decision made by the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (the HD Committee). I have enclosed a brief breakdown of the events surrounding the Malaya Emergency/Borneo Confrontation because, given the lack of publicity at the time and subsequently concerning the extent of the hostilities, a little background might be beneficial.

Baroness Symons, in a statement to the House of Lords, originally announced that HMG had categorically rejected the offer of the PJM to British veterans. With the benefit of hindsight this statement would appear to have been premature and ill-advised.

Following a request from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) the HD Committee considered the matter and made the decision to recommend exceptions to two of the rules governing the acceptance and wear of foreign awards. Thus the British veterans were now to be allowed to accept the PJM from a Malaysian nation wanting to recognise the sacrifices made by all Commonwealth personnel.

If the matter had been allowed to follow its natural course from that point, then all would have been satisfactory. The Australian and New Zealand Governments, who now have their own version of HD Committee, had already recommended to Her Majesty that the PJM be accepted without restriction by their qualifying veterans.

Unfortunately the HD Committee then complicated the matter by adding that permission to wear the PJM will not formally be given, whatever that means. At a stroke the British veterans, who were present throughout the entire 18 years of conflict, were relegated to the status of 2nd class veterans by the signature of the very Monarch they had served so loyally half a century ago. By contrast, and I do not demean the efforts of our Commonwealth comrades in arms, the British were the only forces to be present during the entire “undeclared war” as it has often been called.

This decision means that on Armistice Parades around the World, where a British veteran marches alongside his Commonwealth counterparts, he will be unable to wear his PJM, unlike his comrade. Furthermore, a British veteran who now has dual nationality will be unable to wear his PJM on ANZAC Parades. Clearly a nonsense. Interestingly the newly appointed Governor General of Australia, who qualifies for a PJM by stint of his Army service, may wear it as an Australian, but as Her Majesty’s representative may he wear it as a representative of the British Monarch? Just to rub salt into the wound, he received his medal, along with a representative cross section of Australian veterans and widows of Australian veterans, on the day before it was formally announced that the British veterans were to be denied the right extended to their friends elsewhere.

The PJM is a medal awarded for service to a Commonwealth nation in the face of Communist terrorism, and as such, to forbid its wearing in public reduces it to the status of a mere trinket – an insult to the veterans and a snub to the Agong, government and peoples of Malaysia.

In a letter from the Ceremonial Secretariat of the Cabinet Office (see attached), we are told that “it was not judged appropriate for the medal to be worn”. Yet British lives were lost, many more blighted by injury of sickness – the type of sickness which often afflicts the sufferer for life. Does not such sacrifice and suffering deem the medal appropriate? Not appropriate! Comforting words for those who lost loved ones. They must now question the value to our nation of their sad losses.

The heroic deeds of a Gurkha Lance Corporal in 1965 were appropriate enough to award him the Victoria Cross, but apparently not sufficiently appropriate to allow him to wear his PJM.

The ban on wearing might be understandable if applied to personnel still in uniform, but these veterans are now in their 60’s and 70’s. This raises the question of how relevant in a 21st century democracy, can a non-elected Committee decree what medals can be accepted and worn by a person who is no longer bound by military law. And how will the ban be policed? I’m sure that no-one relishes the thought of several hundreds of veterans being barred from the Annual Remembrance Parade in Whitehall because their medal displays offend the Rules laid down by such a Committee. Obviously some rules must exist to prevent unscrupulous individuals from gaining any advantage by wearing medals to which they are not entitled, but the PJM is an entitlement and therefore should not be restricted.

Let us sort out this nonsense immediately and allow the veterans to wear the PJM with justifiable pride on all occasions. At a time when British soldiers are being featured regularly in the news we should remember that today’s soldier is tomorrow’s veteran. I sincerely request that you raise this matter with your colleagues. There is now a very active web site which is co-ordinating a campaign to get this anomaly corrected. Please take a few minutes of your valuable time to visit us at www.fight4thepjm.org, so as to gauge the depth of feeling.

Apart from being granted “formal” permission to wear my PJM, once I have received it, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be able to count on your support in this campaign.

Yours Sincerely



Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo veteran)


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Post Re: My MP 
GerryL wrote:
Having not had a reply to my email of 20th Feb, I have just sent a snail mail to my MP. It also has a copy of the Ministerial Statement and a brief breakdown of the conflict.

EXcellent letter Gerry! It derserves a positive reply and I'd be very surprised if you do not receive one.


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BarryF, who fought for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia
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Post Ken Livingstone 
Attached is a response from Ken Livingstone's office, to an email I sent a couple of weeks ago.

Dear Mr Law

Thank you for your email of 27 February to Mr Livingstone.

Details of the statement which the Mayor made at his press conference on 28 February are available on the Greater London Authority website using the following link: http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/mayor_statement_280206.jsp.

The Mayor thanks you for bringing to his attention your campaign to allow British veterans to wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal. He is however unable to give his support as his remit is limited to the strategic government of London and matters of direct benefit to Londoners.

May I take this opportunity to wish you well in your campaign.

Yours sincerely

Rebecca Webster
GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY
Co-ordinator - International Affairs
tel. +44 (0)20 7983 5780
fax. +44 (0)20 7983 4890
5/W14, City Hall, The Queens Walk, London SE1 2AA


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Post Ken Livingstone 
George
My thoughts entirely.
GerryL


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Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)
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Post Letter to all MP's.... 
Geez...this business of not having a UK MP of my very own to irritate is starting to bother me...let me encourage all and sundry not thus hampered to write often to their's!

In the meantime, not wishing to appear 'Idle on parade' (yet again!) I have just posted this on the 'theyworkforyou' page.

Herewith an open letter to all MP's.
Topic: Pingat Jasa Malaysia.

Dear Member of Parliament,

It would seem self evident, by now, that you would have heard something of the controversy surrounding the disgraceful treatment accorded Britain's Malay/Borneo veterans. A controversy, initiated by the HD Committee's absurd conclusion, which prevents the aforementioned vet's, now all senior citizens, from wearing this medal, an honour conferred upon them by a grateful Malaysian nation.

Despite the fact of their advancing years, let no-one doubt that these veterans have NOT forgotten how to fight. They are currently organized, at http://www.fight4thepjm.org/ with the avowed intention of reversing this flawed decision, which has been reached by clandestine, undemocratic and arbitrary manipulation of an anachronistic, Imperial Honours system.

Since 105 MP's have already indicated their firm support for this cause, my question is to the remaining 541, to date, silent on the issue. Couldn't you take a moment of your valuable time to browse this site and gauge for yourself the validity of the cause and the depth of feeling therein expressed? No matter from where your voter support emanates, it would be safe to assume that there are affected citizens within the boundaries of your constituency.

You'll be hearing more on this, I guarantee!

John 'Jock' Fenton
(ex Royal Corps of Signals & 17th Gurkha Division, Malaya)


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Post Shoot from the Hip 
That's the way to tell it Jock, shooting straight from the hip!! Great letter.
Also on the subject of Ken Livingstone, I sent him an email which has been unanswered.
Any London resident veterans out there who would like to tell Ken Livingstone, The Mayor of London, and Rebecca Webster, Greater London Authority, Co-Ordinator - International Affairs, that as British Citizens they are being discriminated against?
Also, if the Greater London Authority and Mayor, only deal with matters affecting London why 'in the name o' the wee men' do they need a Co-Ordinator INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS.
Perhaps we could suggest a financial solution to give their hard pressed constituents a tax decrease.

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Post Letters to Ministers 
I have just sent off the attached letter to Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Jack Straw and John Reid. It is a variation on the generic to MP's letter that Barry wrote.

Subject: Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM)

I am sure you will be aware of the recent recommendation of the Honours and Decorations Committee that denies British Malaya and Borneo veterans the right to wear the PJM that has been graciously offered to them by the King and Government of Malaysia for their part in successfully protecting newly independent Malaysia from aggression.

Please accept this letter as an expression of my extreme disappointment at that recent decision reached by Her Majesty's advisors, who comprise the HD Committee, regarding the restricted acceptance of the PJM announced in the FCO Ministerial Statement on the 31st January 2006.

I am writing to you to ask if you will use your office to have this shameful recommendation amended so that I, and others like me, have formal permission to wear our PJM with pride. That is all we are seeking. The medal has been accepted by The Queen - we just want to be able to wear it.

To tell 35,000 loyal military ex-servicemen and women, and civilians, that they may accept a medal which they will not be permitted to wear, defies all logic. On one hand, we are told that two rules (double-medalling and events over 5 years ago) are waived to permit acceptance and then, paradoxically, are immediately resurrected as reasons for the medal not to be ‘formally’ worn. To make matters worse, the double-medalling objection is wrong not only because thousands of veterans eligible for the PJM have no British medal, but also because the 5 year rule is spurious when applied to the scope of the Malaysian medal which was offered to the British in 2005.

This decision denigrates the loyalty and service of the affected veterans. In addition, it demeans the sacrifice made by those who fell during the course of those conflicts. It also offers an unwarranted insult to the Agong, Government and People of Malaysia.

The restricted recommendation places Her Majesty the Queen in the invidious position of having told her British citizens that they must accept rights inferior to those which she has previously conferred upon her Australian and New Zealand citizens, their Commonwealth comrades, despite the British being the only ones to serve in all parts of Malaysia throughout the period.

Furthermore, in a letter from the Cabinet Office (copy attached) to one of my comrades it is stated that “it was not judged appropriate for the medal to be worn”. I wonder how the relatives of those who never returned feel that the sacrifice made by their loved ones is not judged appropriate? Certainly the conduct of the Gurkha Lance Corporal in 1965, which was deemed appropriate to see him awarded the Victoria Cross, should also be appropriate to be allowed to wear the PJM.

The letter goes on to say that the HD Committee considered that allowing full acceptance (i.e. wearing) the PJM would compromise previous awards and the integrity of the system. I fail for the life of me to see any justification for this comment. In the first place, there are no previous awards that could be compromised. As for acknowledging the service given by a veteran by allowing the wearing of a medal granted in good faith by a grateful member of the Commonwealth being a compromise to anyone’s integrity, well that beggars belief. We had no idea when we swore Allegiance to Her Majesty, that having our service recognized would be an act lacking in integrity. All veterans must conclude that the years they spent in Her Majesty’s service would have been more honourably spent in other pursuits. Not only are we now second class citizens within the Commonwealth, but wearing the outward display of our service is deemed to be dishonourable in the eyes of the Cabinet Office.

All of the veterans swore an Oath of Allegiance to Her Majesty, her heirs and successors when they began their military service half a century ago, and most of them have held that Oath to be binding even though they no longer wear Her Majesty’s uniform. Is it too much to ask that 40-50 years of loyalty be repaid by the relatively simple action of allowing us to wear what we have rightfully, and often painfully, earned?

The recent announcement to hold a National Veteran’s Day on June 27th would seem little more than hollow words given the treatment that has been meted out to the Malaya/Borneo veterans. A series of events across the country, with veterans having their Pingat Jasa Malaysia pinned on to their proud chests, would be a fine way to honour the service and sacrifice of those veterans. But if those medals are then to be hidden away into the box with their cuff-links and other worthless trinkets, then what should be an honourable initiative will be traduced to one of hypocrisy.

No less a person than President George W. Bush recently cited the success of the Commonwealth armed forces in the Far East, as a classic example of how to fight these terrorist insurrection wars.

Bearing in mind those eligible for the PJM are now ageing civilians who will never wear a uniform again, we cannot understand why we have been denied this little bit of joy for what we did for Malaysia.

Thank you for your help and support.

Gerald Law
(ex Royal Air Force – Borneo veteran)


PS: If I do not hear from you, I shall assume that your support is not being given.

PPS: Please see the WebPages at www.fight4thepjm.org for more information. It is also where we list those MP’s who have indicated their support. MP’s, who do not support Malaya/Borneo veterans’ right to wear their PJM unconditionally, are also shown.


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Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)
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Well said Gerry, I wonder what 'get out clause' reply will be?


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Post Honours and party donations 
I have just posted this on the "TheyWorkForYou" web site. When I have a spare million or two, I shall not ask for a peerage in return for my donation/loan, but I shall use it to allow the rules concerning the wearing of the PJM to be reversed

So it is has been common practice for large loans to be granted by individuals, whose names then miraculously appear on the list of those reommended for a peerage. One of the reasons given by the Cabinet Office for not allowing Malaya/Borneo veterans to wear the PJM, honestly earned and graciously offered, is that to do so would "compromise the integrity of the system". What integrity? It is OK to deprive a group of ageing veterans the right to wear this medal, but at the same time even the Treasurer of the Labour Party is unaware of the large amounts of dosh being "given" to the Party. To paraphrase an earlier Government mantra - Integrity, integrity, integrity? I say Balderdash, balderdash, balderdash.


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Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)
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Post Re: Honours and party donations 
GerryL wrote:
I have just posted this on the "TheyWorkForYou" web site.


Gerry, I can't easily spot your post on TheyWorkForYou - can you give us the URL? Thanks, Barry


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Post Peerages and bungs 
This is the text of an email sent to the leading Government Ministers, David Cameron, Menzies Campbell and the Daily Express


One of the reasons given by the Cabient Office for denying the rights of 35 000 veterans of Malaya/Borneo to wear the PJM is that to do so would "compromise the integrity of the system". Well, recent disclosures concerning loans to party funds and possible links to recommendations for peerages would indicate that the integrity of the system has already been compromised, and not by the 35 000 veterans who served with dignity and loyalty half a century ago. I urge you to endorse the campaign to correct the shameful decision made and to use your efforts to achieve this.


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Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)
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Post My MP 
I have just received an email from my MP saying that today she has written to the Minister (she doesn't say which one, so it could be any one of them). I suspect that this is response to the email that I sent her earlier today. In this morning's snail mail I had a letter from her PA saying that she was out of the office until today - that was in response to last week's snail mail to her constituency office. I don't hold out much hope that she will come on board, but with a majority of 37 at the last General Election, she might think it useful not to antagonise too many people.


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