Brunei revolt

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Brunei revolt
Part of the beginning of
Queen's Own Highlanders on guard in the Seria oilfield.
Date8–17 December 1962
Location
Brunei
Result

Commonwealth victory

Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Units involved
 Royal Air Force
Royal Navy
 British Army
Strength
2,000–6,000 4,000
Casualties and losses
6 dead, unknown civilian casualties 40 dead (3,400 captured)
Part of the
Formation of Malaysia
Events
North Borneo Self-governance
Proclamation of Malaysia
Operation Claret
1964 race riots in Singapore
MacDonald House bombing
PAP–UMNO relations
Proclamation of Singapore
UN Security Council Resolution 213
Singapore Agreement
South Thailand insurgency
Double Six Tragedy
Pedra Branca dispute
2019 failed constitutional amendment
2021 constitutional amendment
flag Malaysia portal
Part of a series on the
History of Brunei
Pre-Sultanate
Old Brunei
1368
to 1888
House of Bolkiah
(15th century – present)
Revolt
1962

The Brunei revolt (

Brunei Town and Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III.[1] The revolt influenced the Sultan's 1963 decision not to join Malaysia. It is seen as one of the first stages of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
.

Background

The northern part of the island of Borneo was composed of three British territories: the colonies of

Dayaks
, the indigenous people of Borneo. Oil was discovered in 1929 near Seria and the Shell Petroleum Company concession provided the Sultanate with a huge income. The capital, then called Brunei Town, was on a river some 10 miles (20 km) from the coast.

In 1959, the Sultan, Sir Omar Ali Saifuddin III, established a legislature with half its members nominated and half elected. Elections were held in September 1962 and all of the contested seats were won by the Brunei People's Party.

Between 1959 and 1962, the

White Rajah of Sarawak, Charles Vyner Brooke
, in 1941.

The North Kalimantan (or Kalimantan Utara) proposal was seen as a post-decolonisation alternative by local opposition against the Malaysian Federation plan. Local opposition throughout the Borneo territories was primarily based on economic, political, historical and cultural differences between the Borneo states and the Malayan peninsula, and an unwillingness to be subjected to peninsular political domination.

However, before the Brunei People's Party electoral success, a military wing had emerged, the North Kalimantan National Army (Malay abbreviation TNKU), which saw itself as an anti-colonialist liberation party. Its sympathies lay with Indonesia which was seen as having better 'liberationist' credentials than Malaya and Singapore. Its 34-year-old leader

A.M. Azahari had lived in Indonesia and was in touch with Indonesian intelligence agents. He had recruited several officers who had been trained in clandestine warfare in Indonesia. By late 1962, they could muster about 4000 men, a few modern weapons and about 1000 shotguns.[2]

Prelude

Hints of brewing trouble came in early November 1962 when the Resident for the 5th Division of Sarawak, Richard Morris (an Australian), who was based in Limbang (sandwiched between the two parts of Brunei) received information. Special Branch police from Kuching visited Limbang but only found some illegal uniforms with TNKU badges. Later in November, Morris heard that an insurrection was planned for Brunei, but not before 19 December. Claude Fenner, the Inspector General of the Malayan Police flew to Sarawak to investigate but found no evidence. However, the Chief of Staff in the British Far East Headquarters in Singapore did review and update the contingency plan, PALE ALE, for Brunei. However, the risk was assessed as low and the British Far East Land, Sea and Air Commanders-in-Chief were away from Singapore as was the operational commander of land forces, Major General Walter Walker.[3]

On 6 December, Morris heard the rebellion would start on the 8th. The next day similar information reached John Fisher, the resident of the 4th Division of Sarawak, who was based in Miri some 20 miles (30 km) west of Brunei. As a result, police were put on full alert through Brunei, North Borneo and Sarawak, and Police Field Force reinforcements were flown from Kuching to Miri.[4]

Battle

First ten days

The rebellion broke out at 2:00 am on 8 December. Signals from Brunei to British Far East Headquarters reported rebel attacks on police stations, the Sultan's Istana (Istana Darul Hana), the Prime Minister's house (Rumah Jerambak) and the power station, and that another rebel force was approaching the capital by water. Far East Headquarters ordered ALE YELLOW, which placed a force of two Gurkha infantry companies on 48 hours notice to move.[4]

Most of the attacks in Brunei town were repulsed although the electricity supply was cut off. At this stage it was not known that rebels had attacked police stations throughout Brunei, in the 5th Division of Sarawak and on the western edge of North Borneo. Miri was still in government hands but Limbang had been taken by the rebels. The situation was most serious in Seria where the rebels had captured the police station and were dominating the oilfields.[4]

Nine hours after ALE YELLOW, ALE RED was ordered and two companies of 1st Battalion,

Seletar in Singapore to fly to Labuan Island in Brunei Bay. The Gurkhas' embarkation went slowly because the RAF was unprepared and following normal peacetime procedures. The troops were in a Bristol Britannia of No. 99 Squadron and three Blackburn Beverleys from the No. 32 Squadron, and the latter were diverted in flight from Labuan to Brunei Airfield when it was learned that this was not in rebel hands.[5]

The Beverleys landed at about 10:00 pm and the Gurkhas advanced into Brunei. They fought a series of actions, suffering six casualties, two fatal. A small group of Gurkhas led by Captain Digby Willoughby rescued the Sultan and took him to police headquarters. An advance to Seria met strong opposition and returned to Brunei to counter a rebel threat to its centre and the airfield.[6]

On 9 December, John Fisher called on the Dayak tribes for help by sending a boat with the traditional Red Feather of War up the Baram River.

Sarawak Museum in Kuching and leader of resistance to the Japanese in the Second World War also arrived in Brunei. He summoned the Kelabits from the highlands around Bario in the 5th Division, the centre of his wartime resistance. Hundreds of Dayaks responded, and formed into companies led by British civilians all commanded by Harrisson. This force reached some 2,000 strong, and with excellent knowledge of the tracks through the interior (there were no roads), helped contain the rebels and cut off their escape route to Indonesia.[6]

Meanwhile, reinforcements flowed into Labuan. The 2nd Gurkhas were brought up to battalion strength. On 10 December, the Far East 'spearhead battalion', the

Queen's Own Highlanders began arriving in Brunei. Brigadier Patterson, commander 99th Gurkha Infantry Brigade arrived to take overall command from Brigadier Pat Glennie, normally the Brigadier General Staff at Far East HQ. Both reported to Lieutenant General Sir Nigel Poett, the Far East Land Forces Commander in Singapore. Seria and Limbang remained in rebel hands. Further reinforcements arrived in the following days.[7]
These enabled Seria and Limbang to be recaptured.

By 17 December, the rebellion had been held and broken. Some 40 rebels were dead and 3,400 captured. The remainder had fled and were assumed to be trying to reach Indonesia. Of the leaders, Azahari was in the Philippines and Yassin Affandi was with the fugitives.

Seria

The road route to Seria was judged too vulnerable to ambush and there were no naval resources for a move by sea. Reconnaissance by an Army Air Corps

Twin Pioneers and a Beverley at Brunei. The Twin Pioneers landed west of Seria and the Beverley at Anduki. A police station 2 miles (3 km) from the western landing was recaptured and so was the Telecommunications Centre after a brief fight. Anduki airfield was quickly recaptured. However, the main Seria police station, with 48 hostages, most Shell expatriates, was not secured until the 12th.[8]

Anduki Airfield is today a grass airstrip with a concrete ramp used almost exclusively by Brunei Shell Petroleum aircraft and helicopters servicing Brunei's extensive offshore petroleum production installations. The

Sultan of Brunei and members of the royal family sometimes use it in their helicopters when they wish to visit Seria, especially on State occasions. Regarded as strategically important because of its proximity to the oil town of Seria, its history in the Brunei Revolt and the paucity of other Brunei airstrips usable by fixed-wing military aircraft, Anduki and the adjacent highway to Bandar Seri Begawan is one of the first areas to be secured by Gurkha
and Brunei Army troops when they deploy on contemporary war exercises.

Executions at Temburong

On 8 December 1962, from two till five in the morning, shots could be heard near police stations all over Brunei. According to news received from

District Officer
Pengiran Haji Besar bin Pengiran Haji Kula and a few others from Brunei security forces and a number of civilians were executed for refusing to join in the rebellion.

By five in the morning, TNKU controlled Pekan Besar. News came that a number of civil servants at Pekan Besar had managed to escape capture. Around an hour later at downtown, the Deputy Chief Minister Pengiran Ali was granted an audience by the Sultan. After the meeting, the Sultan made a radio declaration condemning TNKU, the armed wing of the Brunei People's Party, for treason.

Assault on Limbang

Main article:
Limbang raid

In Limbang, rebels attacked the local police station, killing five local policemen. The rebels then obtained the surrender of British official R.H. Morris, his wife, four other Europeans and an American Peace Corps worker, and took the remaining police officers hostage. On the first night of their captivity, they were crowded into the police cells, the second night they were moved to the local hospital where they overheard the rebels planning their hangings the following day.

Eighty-nine Marines of 42 Commando had arrived in Brunei on 11 December, led by Captain Jeremy Moore (who later commanded the British Forces during the Falklands War). After acquiring two landing craft, the Marines were transported to Limbang by Royal Navy crews led by Captain Black (who later commanded HMS Invincible during the Falklands War) and staged their arrival at dawn, 13 December. The landing craft had manually operated ramps which took too long to lower and the senior officer took the decision that the Marines would vault over the sides or over the ramps under covering fire from Vickers machine guns mounted on the bridges. One landing craft's bridge was raked with Bren gun fire, disabling the crew, and the craft rammed into the river bank and quay.

The only map they had was 10 years old at the time.[citation needed] The Marines lost the element of surprise due to the loud noise of their boats, but succeeded nevertheless in suppressing the rebels' machine guns and landed.

The attackers started their search for the hostages who, on hearing shots, began singing the American song "

Lee–Enfield rifles
, but mainly shotguns, muskets and daggers), tried to resist, but were beaten back.

Five Marines were killed and eight wounded in the attack. British sources do not list rebel losses in this incident, but Clodfelter estimates losses in the Brunei Rebellion as 40 rebels and six Marines.

There is a memorial to all the dead in Limbang. The leader of the Limbang rebels was caught and tried and received an eleven-year prison sentence. He lives (2007) on the outskirts of Limbang.[9]

Mopping up

By 17 December 42 Commando was complete in Brunei and 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) had landed from the cruiser HMS Tiger in Miri. 40 Commando aboard the commando carrier HMS Albion was diverted from Miri to Kuching. On 14 December, most of the unit reinforced the artillery battery sent there as infantry on 12 December to pre-empt trouble from the Chinese of the Clandestine Communist Organisation (CCO) who were openly sympathetic to the Brunei rebels. The last company of 40 Commando landed near Seria. Albion also provided helicopters from the embarked Naval Air Commando squadrons.[10]

Major General

Director of Operations (DOBOPS) on 19 December with command of all land, sea and air forces assigned to Borneo and reporting directly to the Commander-in-Chief Far East Forces, Admiral Sir David Luce. Three weeks after the rebellion started, 99th Gurkha Infantry Brigade had 5 infantry battalions and HQ 3rd Command Brigade was in Kuching. This force was supported by the Brunei Malay Regiment, the Sarawak Rangers, police of the three territories including paramilitary Police Field Force, and Harrisson's force of now 4,000 Dayaks. Suitable coastal patrol naval vessels were lacking (the Royal Navy didn't have any) so minesweepers were used. The RAF had medium and short range transport aircraft. In January, the Queen's Own Highlanders and 1/2 Gurkhas were replaced by the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and 1/7 Gurkhas
and special forces troops had also arrived.

Mopping up operations, by this time including a commando artillery battery with their guns, continued until May 1963. On 18 May, a patrol of 1/7 Gurkhas were guided by an informer to a camp in the mangrove. They flushed a party of rebels towards an ambush. Ten rebels were killed or captured. They were the remnants of TNKU headquarters and one of the wounded, shot in the hip, was Yassin Affendi.[11]

However, on 12 April, the police station at Tebedu in the 1st Division of Sarawak was attacked and captured. The attackers had come from Kalimantan. This marked the beginning of Confrontation.[12]

Aftermath

The rebellion also played a role in the Sultan of Brunei's subsequent decision for Brunei to not join the Federation of Malaysia.[13]

Order of Battle

The following units, or significant elements of them, deployed to Borneo in response to the rebellion before May 1963:

Notes

  1. ^ Jackson, p. 122.
  2. ^ a b Pocock, p. 129.
  3. ^ Pocock, p. 129–130.
  4. ^ a b c Pocock, p. 131.
  5. ^ Pocock, pp. 131–132.
  6. ^ a b Pocock, p. 133.
  7. ^ Pocock, p. 133–134.
  8. ^ a b Pocock, p. 134.
  9. ^ Paul & Spirit.
  10. ^ Pocock, p. 139.
  11. ^ Pocock, p. 152.
  12. ^ Pocock, p. 153.
  13. JSTOR 2615649
    .

References

Further reading

  • Fowler, Will (2006). Britain's Secret War: The Indonesian Confrontation 1962–66 (Osprey Men-at-Arms 431). Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited.
    ISBN 9781846030482
    .
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