Discovery of a Ferret Scout Car in the Heart of Africa Lieutenant Colonel Tan Siew Soo

The first ever Malaysian(Malayan Special Force) contribution to UN Peacekeeping operations was in the Congo from 1960 to 1963. The Malaysian Army of that era consisted of only three Federal Infantry Brigades. HQ 1 Bde was located in Kuala Lumpur( Imphal Camp), HQ 2 Bde in Ipoh(Ashby Road ) and HQ 3 Bde in Alor Star(Kepala Batas). Towards the end of 1959 HQ3 Bde was mothballed but reactivated as HQ MSF Bde Congo(Bukavu)in March 1961.

The units that participated in the Congo Mission in chronological order were: 4R Malay plus C Squadron 2 Reece, HQ MSF Bde and 2 Reece, 6 R Malay, 1 Recce, 7 R Malay and finally 2R Malay and C Squadron 2 Reece. Over that period of time several thousands soldiers were deployed to serve the UN. On departure we left nothing behind except thousands of footprints and perhaps a sprinkling of Malaysian Congolese. Nothing noteworthy to show until June 2016 with the discovery of this Ferret Scout Car (FSC) in Kalemie( Albertville).

By A quirk of fate, this FSC has now become a symbol and tangible proof of our presence in the Congo during the early 1960s. Befittingly, it has been honoured and inaugurated as a memorial to our first UN Mission in the Congo jointly by the Governor and UN.When I first received this FSC picture, I was utterly baffled as to its origin. Our involvement with Kalemie(Albertville) dated to May 1961 when 4 R Malay and C Squadron 2 Reece first arrived there from Nyunzu. 4R Malay remained in Albertville until July 61 before departure for home. C Squadron 2 Reece departed Albertville for Bukavu in June 61.

The journey from Albertville I Bukavu was interesting.It entailed a voyage of 2 days and 1 night on Lake Tanganyika and a long road drive on the mountainous road into Bukavu. I experienced three such trips. The first one was most memorable, traveling on a proper ship with stopover at Kigoma, Tanzania before arriving at Usumbura, Burundi the next day. A night stopover at a nice hotel before driving up to Bukavu on a splendid tarmac road in Burundi.

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