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Post Liam Fox 
Carol has just noticed a piece on Ceefax which states that Liam Fox is calling for a permanent memorial to all those who have died in Service since WWII. He was speaking at a "Veteran's Summit" today. I know that in the early days of this campaign, it was declared that the Opposition were onside - do we know how that is progressing? Is it worth a letter to Dr Fox? If so, I'll get one started.


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Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)
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Post Re: Liam Fox 
GerryL wrote:
Carol has just noticed a piece on Ceefax which states that Liam Fox is calling for a permanent memorial to all those who have died in Service since WWII. He was speaking at a "Veteran's Summit" today. I know that in the early days of this campaign, it was declared that the Opposition were onside - do we know how that is progressing? Is it worth a letter to Dr Fox? If so, I'll get one started.


Gerry,

The opposition has not come out of the closet ... yet. Last year Liam Fox (now the Shadow Defence Minister) was onside for the PJM. This year Mr Harper (Shadow Defence Minister) came out with the most appallinglycofused letter defending the most appallingly confused Ministerial Statement - neither made sense.

One of our number is trying to contact Dr Fox, but we all need to write.

Barry


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BarryF, who fought for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia
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Post New Defence Minister 
This sent to Mr Des Browne today.

Pingat Jasa Malaysia

Dear Mr Browne

I am writing to you in your newly appointed position. Hopefully your predecessor in this office has furnished you with the details behind the current campaign to put right the shameful anomaly that has been created. I say hopefully, as he not done me the courtesy of responding to any of the communications that I have sent him.

Briefly, the Malaysian King, government and people wish to award the PJM to all of those Commonwealth personnel who served in Malaysia between Merdeka (Independ-ence) in 1957 and the end of Confrontation in 1966.

The Australian and New Zealand governments, who have opted out of the Impe-rial Honours system, promptly recommended to Her Majesty that she approve unre-stricted acceptance for their veterans.

The British government, having first rejected the offer outright (Baroness Symons in the House of Lords, October 2005), then passed the matter to the Honours and Decora-tions Committee for review. Their decision was to recommend that Her Majesty approve acceptance of the medal but that permission to wear it will be withheld.

The 35 000 qualifying British veterans are now in their 60’s and 70’s, so whose sensibilities will be offended by the sight of these people wearing the PJM on Remem-brance Parades? It has been admitted by MP’s and Ministers that no legislation exists that can enforce the ban on wearing the medal. So what is the logic in imposing the restric-tion? I can understand this in the case of serving personnel, where the rigours of military discipline must needs be preserved, but the veterans in question are all now retired from uniformed service.

The medal has been referred to as a keepsake. This is an insult to all those who experienced the conflict in one of the most hostile environments on Earth. It is a gross insult to the 519 personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice, and to their next of kin. It smacks of something picked up in a cheap arcade at the seaside, and I can assure you that life in the Malaysian jungle was anything but a gentle stroll along the Promenade.

I remind you of something said by Winston Churchill:
'A medal glitters, but it also casts a shadow. The task of drawing up regulations for such awards is one which does not admit of a perfect solution. It is not possi-ble to satisfy everybody without running the risk of satisfying nobody. All that is possible is to give the greatest satisfaction to the greatest number and to hurt the feelings of the fewest.' WS Churchill, House of Commons, 22 August 1944.

I would suggest that the sentiments quoted here are as valid today as they were in 1944. By approving unrestricted acceptance and wearing of the PJM, the Committee stand to give the greatest satisfaction to upwards of 35 000 veterans and their next of kin, whilst the feelings of very few, if any, will be hurt.
To date, our requests for assistance in resolving this matter have revealed that we are being subjected to a proverbial “pass the parcel” in our dealings with officialdom. The MoD denies any involvement as it is a Foreign and Commonwealth Office mat-ter. The FCO deny that it is their responsibility as it is a matter for the Cabinet Office. They in turn are above the wishes of the Electorate, being accountable to no body other than themselves.
I wish to offer a solution that will lead to no loss of face or changes to existing rules. In June 2006 we see the first of what have been feted as annual National Vet-eran’s Days, the objective of which is to recognize the debt owed by the Nation to its Veterans.
August 12th 2006 sees the 40th Anniversary of the end of the Confrontation, ad with it, the end of the conflict in Malaysia. August 31st 2007 is the 50th Anniversary of Malaysian Independence (Merdeka).
The significance and juxtaposition of these key events present an ideal environ-ment in which to review the decision. If our elected representatives in parliament really believe in honouring British veterans, then now is the time to take decisive ac-tion
Please use you position to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion


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Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)
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Post New Veterans Minister 
And a variant of Des Browne's letter sent to Mr Tom Watson.

Pingat Jasa Malaysia

Dear Mr Watson

I am writing to you in your newly appointed position. Hopefully your predecessor in this office has furnished you with the details behind the current campaign to put right the shameful anomaly that has been created. We enjoyed a meaningful dialogue prior to his leaving the post of Veteran’s Minister, and he had promised to pursue our matter further. As the Minister with responsibility for Veteran’s affairs, I feel that this is an issue that should be high on your office’s agenda as it affects some 35 000 British veterans.

Briefly, the Malaysian King, government and people wish to award the PJM to all of those Commonwealth personnel who served in Malaysia between Merdeka (Independ-ence) in 1957 and the end of Confrontation in 1966.

The Australian and New Zealand governments, who have opted out of the Impe-rial Honours system, promptly recommended to Her Majesty that she approve unre-stricted acceptance for their veterans.

The British government, having first rejected the offer outright (Baroness Symons in the House of Lords, October 2005), then passed the matter to the Honours and Decora-tions Committee for review. Their decision was to recommend that Her Majesty approve acceptance of the medal but that permission to wear it will be withheld.

The 35 000 qualifying British veterans are now in their 60’s and 70’s, so whose sensibilities will be offended by the sight of these people wearing the PJM on Remem-brance Parades? It has been admitted by MP’s and Ministers that no legislation exists that can enforce the ban on wearing the medal. So what is the logic in imposing the restric-tion? I can understand this in the case of serving personnel, where the rigours of military discipline must needs be preserved, but the veterans in question are all now retired from uniformed service.

The medal has been referred to as a keepsake. This is an insult to all those who experienced the conflict in one of the most hostile environments on Earth. It is a gross insult to the 519 personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice, and to their next of kin. It smacks of something picked up in a cheap arcade at the seaside, and I can assure you that life in the Malaysian jungle was anything but a gentle stroll along the Promenade.

I remind you of something said by Winston Churchill:
'A medal glitters, but it also casts a shadow. The task of drawing up regulations for such awards is one which does not admit of a perfect solution. It is not possi-ble to satisfy everybody without running the risk of satisfying nobody. All that is possible is to give the greatest satisfaction to the greatest number and to hurt the feelings of the fewest.' WS Churchill, House of Commons, 22 August 1944.

I would suggest that the sentiments quoted here are as valid today as they were in 1944. By approving unrestricted acceptance and wearing of the PJM, the Committee stand to give the greatest satisfaction to upwards of 35 000 veterans and their next of kin, whilst the feelings of very few, if any, will be hurt.
To date, our requests for assistance in resolving this matter have revealed that we are being subjected to a proverbial “pass the parcel” in our dealings with officialdom. The MoD denies any involvement as it is a Foreign and Commonwealth Office mat-ter. The FCO deny that it is their responsibility as it is a matter for the Cabinet Office. They in turn are above the wishes of the Electorate, being accountable to no body other than themselves.
I wish to offer a solution that will lead to no loss of face or changes to existing rules. In June 2006 we see the first of what have been feted as annual National Vet-eran’s Days, the objective of which is to recognize the debt owed by the Nation to its Veterans.
August 12th 2006 sees the 40th Anniversary of the end of the Confrontation, ad with it, the end of the conflict in Malaysia. August 31st 2007 is the 50th Anniversary of Malaysian Independence (Merdeka).
The significance and juxtaposition of these key events present an ideal environ-ment in which to review the decision. If our elected representatives in parliament really believe in honouring British veterans, then now is the time to take decisive ac-tion
Please use you position to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion


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Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)
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All good stuff Gerry!


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Post Latest to Don Touhig 
I have today sent the attached to Mr Touhig as a snail mail and also as an email.
Dear Mr Touhig

The PJM is now being distributed throughout the land, either at specially arranged local ceremonies or by post and the recipients are recording their pride at being so honoured by the Malaysians. But still our own Civil Servants remain aloof from all exhortations to “do the decent thing”. A golden opportunity was missed last week when the Nation gathered together to commemorate those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Today I learn that Her Majesty is reported to be concerned that the apparent evidence gathered in the “cash for honours” allegations will cause irreparable harm to the integrity of the Honours System. But we are led to believe that it was HM, fully cognizant of her actions, who denied her British Veterans approval to wear the PJM. In the eyes of those Veterans, the Honours System has already been compromised by double standards and a seemingly terminal desire to stick to the trappings of Empire.

You said in a letter to me in the summer that you were considering tabling an Early Day Motion, and I would like to know if this is still your intention. If so, today would be a good time to table it. My own MP, Laura Moffatt, has stated that she would support you in this action and I’m sure that you will find a large amount of cross party support. The Civil Servants with whom we have been dealing continue to repeat the same mantra. Indeed, several of the Campaigners have been issued with what amounts to an ASBO, whereby they have been informed that they will no longer have any of their correspondence replied to or acknowledged. Such is the mess into which our proud and democratic nation has descended.

What is needed now is a strong show of political will, and your EDM will achieve just that.


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Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)
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Well done Gerry!

Just looking at your post G, I noticed a couple of things here, this is the first post for 6 months on this topic but wwwwwwaaaiiiiitttttt for it there has been 11064 views as at Mon Nov 20, 2006 6:43 pm that is indeed a phenomenal amount of hits.

Perhaps it is the Ministry of Defence looking in, you know the same MoD that is having NOTHING to do with the PJM Wink Although the link was traced from my own website they have used the full www.fight4thepjm.org title in their GOOGLE search

[<<] [>>]
Domain Name public.mod.uk ? (United Kingdom)
IP Address 82.109.66.# (Easynet)
ISP Easynet
Location Continent : Europe
Country : United Kingdom (Facts)
State/Region : Lambeth
City : London
Lat/Long : 51.5, -0.1167 (Map)

Language English (United Kingdom)
en-gb
Operating System Microsoft WinXP
Browser Internet Explorer 6.0
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; InfoPath.1)
Javascript version 1.3
Monitor Resolution : 1024 x 768
Color Depth : 32 bits

Time of Visit Nov 20 2006 11:42:52 am
Last Page View Nov 20 2006 11:42:52 am
Visit Length 0 seconds
Page Views 1
Referring URL http://www.google.co...=Google Search&meta=
Search Engine google.co.uk
Search Words www.fight4thepjm.org

Visit Entry Page http://splashdown2.tripod.com/id25.html
Visit Exit Page http://splashdown2.tripod.com/id25.html
Out Click
Time Zone UTC+0:00
Visitor's Time Nov 20 2006 10:42:52 am
Visit Number 56,407


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HD Committee: Amateurs in a Professional World
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John Cooper wrote:
Although the link was traced from my own website they have used the full www.fight4thepjm.org title in their GOOGLE search


JohnC,

First, I second (?) what you said about Gerry's email to The Don.

Second, I'd be the first (?), but you beat me to it, to say that the MoD, FCO and Cabinet Office are trying to assess whether our claims for the activity on our website are justified.

Third, well, I'll be 'forth'(?)right and say ... as of the time of writing, I have received an auditable 4,357 emails (as opposed to the web site or via the web site) regarding the PJM. And, yes, I have put the comma in the right place.

Also, we really have had over 80,000 visits.

And yes, we do have over (just) 1,500 registered supporters.

And yes - MoD, FCO, Cabinet Office - we do receive over 500 visits a day.

Thank you - MoD, FCO, Cabinet Office - very much for your interest!

Barry


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BarryF, who fought for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia
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Quote:
GerryL Wrote:
What is needed now is a strong show of political will, and your EDM will achieve just that.


This morning I sent the following to Mr Touhig...

Dear Mr Touhig,

It has been some time since I took an opportunity to write to you on the topic of the PJM. (I'm confident you will probably have been grateful for the respite?) and I am aware that my colleague 'Gerry' Law will also be contacting you in similar fashion.

Of course I am cognisant of (and grateful for) your support for this cause and of your Parliamentary statement of 6th July indicating that, in the context of the inaugural National Veterans Day, and in the context that other Commonwealth forces have been given the Queen's approval to wear their PJM, it was incongruous that British veterans should be denied the acknowledgement they had similarly earned and that you saw the manner in which they were denied that honour (rules being first suspended so British veterans could receive the PJM and then immediately re-invoked to prevent them wearing their medal) as being both "confusing and mystifying".

The situation, as you will be aware, has reached an absolutely critical level, as the HD Committee's decision on our 'Rebuttal' document is forecast to be made available by 'the end of November'. Could I prevail upon you to once again 'do the honours' for the 35000 Malaya/Borneo veterans and make an additional statement?....While the Fight4thePJM campaign has produced reams of paper devoted to logical argument against the disgraceful provisions of the Ministerial Statement your opinion is, I feel, the one to which MPs will react most strongly.

Please consider this earnest request?

Sincerely,

'Jock' Fenton


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'Jock' Fenton wrote:
This morning I sent the following to Mr Touhig...


Wonderful stuff, Jock.

Brilliant.

Barery


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