KUCHING, July 27- The Home Ministry has agreed in principle to award a special medal to recognise the heroism of an estimated 149,000 police pensioners who had fought the communist terrorists during the emergency in the country.
Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said today the medal would be similar to the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) awarded by the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) to personnel from its three services who had served during the emergency.
“The Home Ministry has agreed in principle to a proposal to award the medal. Only one or two matters remain to be fine-tuned before the proposal is brought to the Cabinet and then tabled in Parliament,” he said.
Wan Junaidi spoke to reporters after presenting cheques from the Police Heritage Trust Fund to 90 retired police personnel and widows of police personnel, here.
He said that if the medal proposal could be tabled in Parliament in September and the financial allocation included in Budget 2014, the police pensioners would receive their medals next year.
“The medal is most meaningful for these former policemen who had fought the communist terrorists. The medal will be awarded to those who had served during the emergency from 1969 to 1989 in the peninsula and from 1960 to 1990 in Sarawak,” he said.
Wan Junaidi said he hoped that recognition would also be accorded to the policemen who fought the communist terrorists in Sarawak in 1952 though the emergency was only declared in 1960.
“In 1952, communist terrorists attacked three police stations – Batu Niah, Sebuti and Limbang – and killed four policemen,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wan Junaidi said he would bring up the matter of the 1,000 police pensioners from Sarawak denied the government’s special consolation award after their applications were rejected when the forms did not reach the ministry in time.
– BERNAMA
