George F wrote:

Alfa bravo John for this exellent article in the East Anglia Daily Times.

I'll second that, George. Congrats, John.

I see the FCO always manage to get their oar in last! And that's the bit people remember. So ....

To all readers ... Danielle would love to hear your views. They may produce a page of your letters. Email her now at danielle.nuttall@eadt.co.uk ... just a couple of lines will be fine. Don't forget to include your address.

Go for it! Do not let those suits get away with peddling their myths.


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BarryF, who fought for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia

If any of you PJMers had any connection with East Anglia (especially Essex and Suffolk bases, Army, Navy or RAF) how about showing The East Anglian Daily Times our support as they have shown to our cause. I think this is a first class article written and photographed by The EADT team especially Danielle and Lucy.

As Barry has said if you do respond you need to give your full address, this will not be used but it is in case anyone wishes to contact you with a follow up.



Photograph and article copyrighty of The East Anglian Daily Times


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Brilliant George, thanks a lot, the East Anglian connection to the local newspaper is important, we of course had many bases in EA from all of the Services and still do

I understand from Danielle that she is trying to arrange a whole age of letters, so there is a cue for you.


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HD Committee: Amateurs in a Professional World
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The following sent to Danielle Nuttall.
Dear Ms Nuttall
I have had my attention drawn to your excellent article reference to John Cooper. I spent 2 years stationed at RAF Honington from where I was sent on my first spell of "PJM" service and I still maintain some links with the area. The way that we have been treated in this matter by our own Civil Servants (and I emphasise this word as they obviously serve nobody but themselves) is nothing short of immoral.
In addition to my service in Malaysia with a bomber squadron, I also served on a fighter squadron and then on a helicopter squadron. If the minions who make these decisions had seen just half of what I witnessed in the jungle, they might just rethink their actions.
I applaud the professional way in which you have covered this matter and wish you every success in the future.
Regards
Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo veteran)


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Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)

Herewith my humble addition to the pile building up in the EADT letter's file:
Apologies for the lateness of it ...I've been busy with other stuff.
============================================================

Dear Sir,

The excellent East Anglian Daily Times article regarding the John Cooper's medal for service in the Malayan 'Emergency' touches a very raw nerve.

This piece exposes the effects of the actions of a mean-spirited government, whose HD committee, in advising the Queen on the decision to refuse 'Formal permission to wear' the Pingat Jasa Malaysia, effectively 'hijacked' the generous intentions of a grateful and courteous Malaysian people, to callously deny ageing veterans a little element of pride in their accomplishments.

Such conduct can only be described as spiteful and disgraceful.

The Foreign Office assertion that, "Medals cannot be requested if they are for service more than five years ago, or if a British award for the service has already been received and claims that the PJM contravenes both rules." This is a blatantly shameless distortion of those very 'rules', which (purposely?) serve to confuse 'British' medals with 'Foreign' medals.

And when the Foreign Office opines: "These rules are not policed so if they would like to wear them without the proper authority they can."...it is being patently ridiculous!....the 'rules' are not policed because they CANNOT be policed, since the Foreign Office knows full well that it can exercise no such authority over the actions of civilian recipients of a Foreign award.

Any individual who might wish to gauge the worldwide depth of feeling, regarding this arbitrary and anomalous ruling, which simultaneously insults Veterans, their fallen comrades and the Agong (King) and peoples of Malaysia should access the web site at: http://www.fight4thepjm.org/index.htm

Sincerely,

John 'Jock' Fenton.

(ex-Royal Corps of Signals & 17th Gurkha Division)


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...................'Jock'
Paroi...Rasah...Batu Signals Troop.

To: Danielle.Nuttall@eadt.co.uk

Danielle,

I was interested to read your article about the Pingat Jasa Malaysia. I note that the Foreign Office took the opportunity to reiterate their myths and I would like to comment.

The Campaign for the Fight to Wear the PJM at www.fight4thepjm.org has formally stated in a Rebuttal to the Foreign Office that two or three civil servants have deliberately misled the Honours and Decorations Committee in order that the Malaysian medal may not be worn. We stand by that statement and would be very happy to explain it in a court of law - if only one were available to us.

And there is nothing new in this. Those same civil servants have been misleading the press and parliament for years. See the two articles attached to this email. And in the mid-1990's they deliberately hid information in respect of another medal for Suez veterans! They were found out but it took 10 years. Until they were found out, veterans died and never saw the medal they had honourably earned and which was eventually awarded.

The fact of the matter is that two myths were first set aside to enable British veterans to receive the medal - and then immediately invoked again to stop them wearing it - that was illogical, deceitful and mean-spirited.

The Queen has approved medals from Russia and Malta and many other countries - but not Malaysia. Why?

The Queen has approved the medal to be worn by all other Commonwealth citizens - but not the British. Why?

The Queen has approved the medal to be worn with honour by widows and next of kin of all other Commonwealth countries - but not British families. Why?

That Queen's veto snubs British veterans - as well as the King and peoples of Malaysia. Why?

What happened to this year's initiative to honour British veterans? What happened to integrity amongst our civil servants?

It is a sickening indictment of our Government and our civil service that a few ageing veterans must appear on Remembrance Day with their medal in their pocket while their Commonwealth ex-comrades in arms can proudly display theirs.

Barry Fleming
Hungerford, Berks

http://www.portsmouthtoday.co.uk/mk4custompages/CustomPage.aspx?PageID=43131&sectionID=8708

http://www.portsmouthtoday.co.uk/mk4custompages/CustomPage.aspx?PageID=43167&sectionID=8708



Last edited by BarryF on Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:15 pm; edited 1 time in total
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BarryF, who fought for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia

Hi Danielle.
Firstly let me thank you for giving your time to interview John Cooper
and subsequently publishing your article "Veterans Will Defy Foreign
Office Ban" Hopefully you will follow this story up with others letters
that you may now receive from other Veterans who are somewhat mystified by
this Governments attitute "You Can Have It...But You Can't Wear It". I
like many other Veterans started Our Military Lives off in your "Neck of
the Woods" at H.M.S. Ganges at Shotley, in 1960 I was a boy enterant of
15, 12 months later I was taking a MFV (Motor Fishing Vessel) across the channel
to Belgium with half a dozen other fifteen year olds, two years later I was in the
Malaysian Jungles of Borneo. ( Possibly another unknown fact, there were
lots of Sailors in the Jungle, as well as at sea). We went to war young
then, and we still go to war young today. Hopefully you may print this
letter but without the following slime covered comment fror the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office.

“However, Her Majesty's Government welcome, and believe it is important to
recognise, the generous gesture by the King and Government of Malaysia,
and their wish to acknowledge the service given by veterans and others in
the years immediately after Malaysian independence.”

Which tends to leave readers of the opinion there is no injustice, and
everything in the garden is "Sweet and Rosy".....519 never came back...you
can have it but you can't wear it ... one might ask where do these
mysterious people on the Honours and Decorations Committee get off...

Kind Regards
Terry

Have just emailed this to Danielle at the EADT:

Danielle,

I am writing to give my wholehearted support to John Cooper in his stand against the incomprehensible and totally unacceptable way in which the authorities in Whitehall have treated the award of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) to British veterans.

I note that in their response to your questions, they have re-iterated the nonsense about a so-called 5 year rule, as well as not allowing an award when a British medal has already been granted. What utter rubbish! The 5 year rule has been broken so many times in the past by the same people who now wish to invoke it against the PJM. Similarly, most of the British servicemen and women, myself included, who served in Malaysia during the period mid-1960 to 12 August 1966 (post Malayan Emergency to the end of Confrontation), never received any medal for their service. The PJM covers a period of time, 31 August 1957 - 12 August 1966, which is completely different from that during which any British General Service medals were issued. As such, it should be judged under a different set of criteria.

Having recently retired, I now live in Malaysia and, when speaking to Malaysian friends, they cannot understand why the UK has not shown the same degree of acceptance of the PJM as have other Commonwealth countries. They are not the only ones who are mystified.

Thank you for your paper's support to our cause.

Yours sincerely,

Laurence M Bean
Full contact details supplied.

This email was sent by me earlier today, to the East Anglia newspaper.



G'day Sir,

My attention has been drawn to your article in your newspaper about the Malaysian Medal.

I am an ex-RAF veteran of the campaign in Borneo and Malaysia during the early 1960's.

I am being told various stories by the UK Government.

1. Because I now hold dual citizenship, UK and Australia, I can wear my medal in Australia but I can't wear it in the UK.

2. If I wear it in Australia I would be being discourteous to HM The Queen.

3. No one will bother me if I do wear it.

4. HM The Queen has said that I can't wear it.

They tell me of sorts of different rules which tell me that I can't wear it - but - the fact remains that Australian and New Zealand veterans can wear their medal.

What have the UK veterans done to deserve this outrageous treatment by their own Government? And, what a slap in the face for the Government and peoples of Malaysia who offered this generous award.

It was a Commonwealth Force after all that fought his campaign, and won.

Fair suck of the sauce bottle mate.

John Feltham
North Queensland
Australia


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Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka,
from the HD Committee and its decision.

I have had Anglia TV on the phone, they are coming to my home next Monday for an interview, they will also be in attendance at The Colchester Park Presentation Ceremony and dedication to the laying of The new NMBVA stone


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All right, John !!!


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...................'Jock'
Paroi...Rasah...Batu Signals Troop.

Just sent the following, which is rather long but was very therapeutic!!!
Dear editor
Congratulations to Danielle Nuttall ("Veteran will defy Foreign Office ban", 18 September 2006) for her accurate portrayal of the current stoush between thousands of aggrieved ex-servicemen and women and various entities of HM Gov't including the Cabinet Office, Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the so-called Honours and Decorations Committee.
It beggars belief that the HD Committee claims credit for waiving two archaic rules (each of which has been bent, broken and/or waived on numerous earlier occasions) to allow the Malaysian people to express their thanks to British personnel who served in the Malayan emergency and/or subsequent Indonesian confrontation (the only victories against terrorism in history), and then invoke those very same rules to justify their decision not to formally approve the wearing of that same expression of appreciation, the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian service medal), thus reducing its value to that of a keepsake.
Scandalous as that behaviour was, the HD committee outdid itself with an unmitigated act of bastardry by claiming that those eligible for the PJM have already received an award for the same service from HM Gov't; hence, in their jaundiced view, the PJM is a case of the outlawed "double medalling" (another archaic rule that's been bent or broken several times already) - but they are absolutely wrong! It has been proven that many, many servicepeople and civilians have never received any recognition whatsoever for their willingness to serve, without complaint, in the hot, steaming jungles of the Malayan peninsula back in the 1950s and 60s.
It is the contention of thousands of servicemen and women and eligible civilians, many now living in far-flung countries around the world, that misinformation given to HM The Queen by the bunch of mealy-mouthed "Yes Minister" civil servants in the HD Committee has caused her to unwittingly approve a decision that is a direct affront to the Agong and people of Malaysia, as well as those eligible to receive the PJM award.
Like John Cooper, the subject of Danielle's splendid article, I and I'm sure thousands of others like me will also wear the PJM with pride at every opportunity. And I'll leave no stone unturned to ensure my many family, friends and colleagues around the world understand precisely what a bunch of lily-livered morons are "advising" HM The Queen and HM Gov't behind closed doors!
Yours faithfully
Martin Ratia
Nha Trang, Vietnam (formerly British Army, Royal Signals)
<<contact details deleted>>

Martin

Thats a cracker and from Vietnam too!

I have just sent this off

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 14:21:20 +0100 (BST)
From: "JOHN COOPER" View Contact Details
Subject: The Pingat Jasa Malaysia
To: chris.edge@fco.gov.uk, Ian.Keith798@mod.uk, Caron.Mason-Mahon@fco.gov.uk, Richard.Coney506@mod.uk, Paul.Edwards3@fco.gov.uk

- --- - .... . -.-. -....- .. -. -....- -.-. .... --- -- . ..-. .-.. . . - ... -.-. ..- - - .-.. . .- .-.. .-.. -... --- .- - ... .-.-.- - .- -.- . - --- - .... . .-.. .. ..-. . .-. .- ..-. - ... -.-- --- ..- .-. - .. -- . .. ... ..- .--. .-.-.-


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John, can you resend this as your broken up

John

Martin

Thats a cracker and from Vietnam too!

I have just sent this off

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 14:21:20 +0100 (BST)
From: "JOHN COOPER" View Contact Details
Subject: The Pingat Jasa Malaysia
To: chris.edge@fco.gov.uk, Ian.Keith798@mod.uk, Caron.Mason-Mahon@fco.gov.uk, Richard.Coney506@mod.uk, Paul.Edwards3@fco.gov.uk

- --- - .... . -.-. -....- .. -. -....- -.-. .... --- -- . ..-. .-.. . . - ... -.-. ..- - - .-.. . .- .-.. .-.. -... --- .- - ... .-.-.- - .- -.- . - --- - .... . .-.. .. ..-. . .-. .- ..-. - ... -.-- --- ..- .-. - .. -- . .. ... ..- .--. .-.-.-



Last edited by jireland on Tue Sep 19, 2006 2:31 pm; edited 2 times in total

John

It is in Morse Code, if the suits want to read it they will convert it, I expect one of these Naval Types will be along shortly to 'bale me out'


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