FEBRUARY 24 — Colonel (Rtd) Maurice Lam Shye Choon PGB faded away for the last time on Feb 13, leaving behind the four women in his life, wife Mary Low, and daughters, Yvonne, Rosanna and Christina.

Lam’s recorded birth year was 1931 but family all knew him as born under the dragon sign in the Chinese zodiac, which puts it at 1928 instead. Birth recordings were not exactly up to speed in those early days.

The Lam sisters’ last words to this old soldier, “Our dad, our mentor, our hero, you will live in our hearts forever.”

Who was Colonel Maurice Lam?

Lam in Kindu, Democratic Republic of Congo. Behind him is a Scammel recovery truck.

He was from Kelawei Road, Penang, and had attended the Penang Free School and St Stephen’s college in Hong Kong. Then, he was sent by his father to do dentistry at University of Melbourne.

In the university, Lam met Mary, a tin miner’s daughter from Selangor, who was doing political science, and they fell madly in love. But after two years in dentistry training, he returned home determined to join the Malayan Armed Forces. He just wanted to serve his country in the best way he knew how.

In 1954, he got selected to attend army officer training at the Federation Military College, Port Dickson. And from March 1955 to July 1956, he was primed to be an officer and a gentleman at the Royal Military College Sandhurst. Upon commissioned 2nd lieutenant he was posted to the 2nd Federation Armoured Car Regiment, later enlarged and renamed 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment. In 1957, he married his sweetheart Mary.

In the 1950s and 60s a career in the military or the police was a favourite destination for non-Malays. It was deemed a prestigious career and great honour to be able to serve the nation in “higher risk” sectors.

Yvonne remembers dad having a very special attachment to Hong Kong. And he also often asserts, “Army officers always taught to think”. To Rosanna, he was always prim and proper and although he was a heavy smoker, he never smoked in the home. Christina thought dad had a terrific sense of humour. He also used to share his career highlights using the military ribbons (awards) to illustrate.

The moment of truth

On Aug 4, 1960, Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman responded to the United Nations’ request to help restore law and order in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by committing 613 men to its peacekeeping mission. It was under the auspices of the ONUC (Organisation des Nations Unies au Congo) and our contingent was called MSF (Malayan Special Force).

Belgian Congo (then) received their independence on June 30, 1960, and immediately afterwards secessionist struggles gained momentum, and compounded by mutinies in their national army, chaos ensued. Their government pleaded to the United Nations for help.

On Oct 3, the MSF set sail from Port Swettenham (Port Klang) for the 27-day journey to Port Matadi. 2nd Lt (then) Tan Siew Soo, who was part of the contingent, vividly recalls Tunku’s address at the wharf before their departure, “... while you are abroad you will uphold the good name of the Federation of Malaya. I hope you will remember the Malay proverb, Biar puteh tulang, jangan puteh mata (death over dishonour). Lt-Col Ungku (Bruno) Nazaruddin, Commanding Officer of 4th Royal Malay Reginent, was the MSF Commander.

When several nations withdrew later, the UN appealed to nations with less volatile leadership to fill the void. The Tunku committed another 800 troops, totalling 1,413. The bulk of this reinforcement departed on April 7, 1961.

The Commander was Brigadier Abdul Hamid Bidin, one of the three most senior Malayan officers at that time. Captain (then) Maurice Lam of A Squadron was part of this MSF Brigade.

Then came the incident of Nov 12, 1961. Thirteen Italian airmen while under the protection of MSF were surrendered to Congolese rebels by the Officer Commanding (OC) of B Company. The rebels believed the airmen were Belgians. When the OC instructed that MSF weapons be yielded too, Lam countermanded, and instructed A Squadron men to disobey those orders.

Lam’s attempt to contact the MSF headquarters using the signal centre of B Company was stopped by the OC. The OC had also ordered the release of a Congolese rebel who earlier attacked 2nd Lt Siebel. It seemed the OC judged non submission as akin to starting a war and also ordered that Lam comply with the rebels’ demands to hand over the 14 Ferret Scout cars belonging to A Squadron, and the two Italian aircraft.

Lam defied the order claiming it to be illegitimate. Instead, he told the OC and the rebels that he and his men would fight to their last drop of blood if any attempt was made to capture those vehicles. Then Lam organised his men into defensive positions around the airport while the Congolese surrounded them.

Eventually the rebels left and it was learned later the 13 airmen were dismembered, and sold as meat in the market. Imagine what further tragic would have happened if the MSF men had given up their weapons and vehicles? The OC was relieved of command and de-commissioned.

Both Lam and Siebel were bestowed the Panglima Gagah Berani (PGB) by the King on June 5, 1963. The PGB is the second highest award for valour and courage after the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (SPGP). Recipients would receive RM1,500 and RM2,000 monthly for life. Lam served a total 33 years and swore he would do it all over again.

Postscript

His daughters became the famous swimming Lam sisters who represented the nation throughout the 1970s-80s. In the 1977 Bangkok SEA Games, they made up three-quarter of the 4 x 100 medley team. Lt Col (Rtd) Tan Siew Soo is the author of The Malayan Special Force in the heart of Africa, published in 1989, detailing a blow-by-blow account of MSF.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.