KUALA LUMPUR: Commanding officer Mior Rosli Mior Jaafar was looking forward to a calm, relaxing weekend when all hell broke loose after a frantic alert was received by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Kuantan, Pahang.
A light Cessna 206 aeroplane had crashed in a communist-infested area 20 minutes after departing the Royal Selangor Flying Club in Sungai Besi at 8.55am.
The aircraft had encountered thick clouds over Waterworks Gap en route to Kuala Lipis, Pahang.
Rosli, then a captain and commanding officer of the 103rd Paskau Squadron, quickly scrambled the 15 RMAF special forces team members under his charge to undertake a search-and-rescue mission at the mountainous Kampung Janda Baik in Bentong, Pahang.
A calm, relaxing weekend had turned into a frantic search and rescue mission, leaving Sunday, Jan 10, 1982, forever etched in Rosli’s mind.
The mission was top priority as one of the three known to be on board was then foreign minister Ghazali Shafie, also known as “King Ghaz”.
Recounting the incident, Rosli said his team headed for Janda Baik late that Sunday evening immediately after a quick mission briefing.
“After being winched down from a helicopter, Second Lieutenant Ismail Manuri (who went on to retire as a brigadier-general) informed me that the team members had earlier discovered bodies in the plane’s wreckage. The plane’s nose was buried in the ground.
“They were instructed to hunt for Ghazali, as he wasn’t near the wreckage.
“After much combing of the area, Ismail was the first to sight Ghazali.
“Thank God, we found him alive in the thick jungle. It was almost a miracle.
“He was shivering badly, apparently from the cold air and possible trauma, when Ismail spotted him sheltering under a huge rock.
“Ismail told me Ghazali showed no physical injuries and appeared calm.
“We immediately summoned medical aid and prepared to winch Ghazali into a helicopter to be sent to a hospital,” said Rosli, now a retired major, in an interview in conjunction with Malaysia Day on Sept 16, which is also Armed Forces Day.
“However, we had to spend the night in Janda Baik as our Sikorsky S-61A-4 Nuri helicopter (which lacked night navigation avionics) had to return to Kuantan, owing to failing light.
“We stayed on high alert as the Communist Party of Malaya insurgents were active in the area.”
He stressed that contrary to some media reports, no large stash of money was found at the crash site.
Media reports identified two of the dead as instructor pilot Varghese Chacko and Ghazali’s bodyguard, Assistant Superintendent Charoen Daan.
“We were instructed to rescue Ghazali, hand over duties to the police, and move out.
“There was no necessity to cordon the aeroplane as it was a civilian aircraft,” said Rosli.
He said Ghazali was taken to a clinic at Kampung Som Som in Janda Baik at first light the next day, before being sent by helicopter to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for further examination.
Rosli, who had served the RMAF for 22 years, is now on a second mission – championing the rights, welfare and plight of the country’s 300,000-odd military veterans.
“All we are seeking, in recognition of our dedicated services to the nation, is a better pension scheme and perks,” said Rosli, the Malaysian People’s Patriotic Voice Organisation president. - FMT
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