● In 1948, Mukhtiar Singh Saudagar Singh, a young 16-year-old lad from Punjab, joined the police force and was appointed a Special Constable. He spent more than a dozen years conducting anti-Communist operations in the jungles of Selangor. Most of his operations centred in Kepong, then a hotbed for Communist activities.
● On Feb 8, 1959, Mukhtiar, 26, now a temporary police inspector, led his five-man foot patrol in an operation in the dense jungle of Kuala Kubu, which had been plagued by Communist terrorist (CT) presence. The patrol encountered several CTs and one CT was killed, another injured and a third captured. The decision to capture instead of killing the third was made by Mukhtiar. A fourth CT surrendered the following day at the Kerling police station. For his astute planning, courage and initiative, TI Mukhtiar was awarded the Colonial Police Medal for Gallantry in Action on the occasion of the birthday of Queen Elizabeth.
● On Jan 2, 1958, a close encounter in the jungle of Rawang saw Mukhtiar shooting and wounding Yap Keow Sin, a State committee member of the outlawed Communist Party of Malaya. Yap, who then had a $20,000 bounty on his head, retreated to his camp closely pursued by Mukhtiar. The police surrounded the camp and one of them shouted to Yap to surrender. To reassure Yap that he would not be harmed if he surrendered, Mukhtiar placed down his own gun and walked unarmed into the armed terrorist's camp. Yap gave himself up and told Mukhtiar: Lu menang, saya kalah (You've won, I've lost).
● Mukhtiar became a household name during the Emergency and when it finally ended in 1960, he had 18 “kills” to his credit, placing him among the elite of the Malayan “jungle fighters”. ● In 1966, he was commissioned Second Lieutenant. He retired as Captain in 1978 after serving 29 years in the security forces.
● Disappointment greets Mukhtiar as he rudely discovers that he isn't eligible for pension. This is due to an administrative error from the Territorial Branch, which had neglected to enrol him for the compulsory “Platoon Weapons” and the “Young Officers Tactics Course”, both of which were held just prior to his retirement.
● Mukhtiar and his friend of over 40 years, Lt-Col (Rtd) Mohd Idris Hassan, have written letters and approached the Veteran Affairs Department at the Ministry of Defence to appeal for Mukhtiar's pension. More than 30 years on, Mukhtiar, now 76, is still waiting for a favourable answer.
The Malay Mail 
