Young Generation Urged To Defend Malaysia's Peace

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Bernama) - The young generation have been urged to defend Malaysia's peace achieved via sacrifices of security forces and ensure that the Emergency is not repeated. Deputy Minister of Information Communication and Culture, Maglin Dennis D'Cruz said the people should be proud of efforts made by security forces in guaranteeing the peace and sovereignty. "Many members of security forces died to free the country of terrorists and now it is our responsibility to defend what they fought for," he said when opening a historical narration on Gubir Incident here Tuesday. The event organised by National Archives is to bring awareness to the people, especially the young, about the sacrifices of security forces during the Emergency via discussion. Two former soldiers who fought communist terrorists, Lt Col (R) Ahmad Husaini Hassan Basri and Major (Rtd) Nor Ibrahim Sulaiman recalled their experiences while senior lecturer of the National Defence University of Malaysia Mior Roslan Mior Mohd Jaafar, acted as moderator. Ahmad Husaini,56, said the young should learn from the Emergency to foster love for the country even though it is peaceful and developing rapidly. "Take a lesson from them. It is not an easy job as members of security forces made sacrifices and we only need to keep the peace," he said. Nor Ibrahim,63, said the young should be aware of sacrifices made by security forces during the Emergency and not to assume that gaining independence was simple and unimportant. "Maybe young people are not very patriotic because they don't go through the Emergency like former members of security forces who fought communist terorists. "Americans are so proud of their history but not our citizens. We should have historical documentaries on the Emergency to open the eyes of the young," he added. Nor Ibrahim who served for 25 years was the Nuri helicopter pilot involved in operations against communist terrorists in Gubir, Kedah. 'Gubir Incident' was a black mark in the country's history as 11 soliders were killed when a Nuri helicopter was shot down by communist terrorists in "Ops Bamboo ' on the Malaysia-Thailand border on April 26, 1975. -- BERNAMA