Image of the PJM Medal
Banner Text = Fight For the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia Medal
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Spot the Difference- How Australians Approach Foreign Awards
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Post The PJM on uniform 
With the honourable exception of the Chelsea Pensioners it is a little difficult to spot a uniform sporting the gong. Of course by the time it came out it would be pretty-much only those on the retired list who would have qualified (or a few officers on the General Staff at most). Fortunately, former GG of Australia Michael Jeffery comes to the rescue, here's him on the occasion of his farewell parade with the Federation Guard, 27 August 2008 (only ribbons, but there it is, second from the end) .



There are others too (actual medals worn), in the uniform of Honorary Colonel of the SASR, in "whites" (whatever they're called) at RMC Duntroon, etc. but the above is the full deal, uniform of a General Staff officer (albeit retired but constitutional Commander in Chief of "naval and military forces" at the same time).

Mostly going by Wikipedia for the detail (a risk, I know): He was awarded the GSM 1962 clasp "Borneo" for service with the British SASR during Confrontation. Ironically, that may be the source of his entitlement to the PJM. His Australian Active Service Medal 1945-75 has clasps "Malaya" and "Thai-Malay" (and "Vietnam") and, without matching GSMs/bars ("Malaysia" is AASM bar one that matches the GSM "Borneo", in Australian service) it is hard to see otherwise. He was posted to Malaya in 1962 but those AASM bars require only one day's service - presumably there was nothing reaching the 30 days on strength in a designated zone to draw a GSM or bar - far less the 90 days for the PJM.

Incidentally, Australian acceptance of the PJM was not the same as that of NZ. The Kiwis (through the Queen) gave full, unrestricted permission to wear whereas in Australia the DoD undertook to "facilitate the approval to wear the award in accordance with guidelines for foreign awards," as applicable to uniformed applicants - normally a matter for individual application (and yet another form).

All a bit mind-numbingly tedious to relate but it is good to see an Aussie in uniform wearing the PJM. Believe it or not there are still some who mumble about "approval to wear" in Australia. A snap of the GG with it mounted (especially when in uniform) should put that to bed, most comprehensively. If not, they're being utterly unreasonable. It is the GG, after all, who approves the wearing of "foreign medals" on ADF uniform.

Glad I got that off my chest ...


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Former 'nasho', RAE Borneo (Confrontation)
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