Ex-PPH Personnel Recalls Comrade Stabbed In 1972 Communist Ambush

BACHOK, March 29 (Bernama) -- As the nation marks the 219th Police Day, a former Police Field Force (PPH) personnel has recounted a harrowing ambush by communist insurgents in 1972, in which a fellow personnel was brutally killed.

Mohd Yusof Shaharun, 77, said the incident during Ops Gubir near Pedu Dam on May 16, 1972, remains etched in his memory, particularly the moment a wounded sergeant was repeatedly stabbed in the chest by insurgents.

“The sergeant had already been shot but continued to fight. That angered the communists, who then shot and stabbed him multiple times,” he said when met at his home in Kampung Kubang Kawah, Perupok, here today.

Mohd Yusof, who was then a constable with B Company, Battalion 11, said he sustained three gunshot wounds to the thigh, arm and side of the head during the ambush.

Recalling the incident, he said he had felt uneasy before the attack as the team had to switch vehicles several times during the journey.

“As we passed through a hilly area, the communists suddenly hurled a grenade, followed by a barrage of gunfire. In the chaos, I fell and tried to reach for my weapon, but I could not move after being shot,” he said.

Mohd Yusof added that two other teammates, including a truck driver, were killed in the attack, while insurgents, believing he had died, removed his ammunition.

“The communist group used M13 weapons, while we were armed with SLR rifles,” he said, adding that a bullet remains lodged in his thigh to this day.

He retired in 1987 as a lance corporal at the Pasir Mas district police headquarters (IPD).

The Bachok IPD earlier conducted a ‘Lawatan Prihatin’ visit to Mohd Yusof in conjunction with the 219th Police Day, in recognition of his service and sacrifices.

-- BERNAMA