PETALING JAYA, Aug 23 — Rosalind Oh, 81, is one of the few remaining members of the “Merdeka Squad” of policemen and policewomen recruited into the force in 1957.
It was a red-letter day for the Alor Star-born 21-year-old when she reported at the police training centre in Gurney Road on Aug 5 that year.
It was a privilege to be accepted for officer training in the police force those days.
And what’s more, she had the distinction of being in the Merdeka Squad of police inspectors who went into active duty the year the nation gained independence.
Oh said she joined the platoon with 29 others from around the country who wanted to don the police uniform to serve the nation and the people.
“We joined 26 days from the nation’s independence. We could not see or hear the Tunku declaring independence but our hearts were warm with pride that morning,” she said in a recent interview.
Oh had been a teacher when she decided she would do better defending the security of the nation she so dearly loved.
As Aug 31 edged nearer, her platoon members got excited in keeping with the general emotion sweeping the peninsula.
“We were so proud that Malaya was becoming independent and could not wait for the big day,” she said.
The day they had been waiting for came but they could not be present at the Merdeka Stadium as they were confined to the training centre.
“Television had not arrived yet and we were left without first-hand information,” she added.
It was only the next day they received a blow-by-blow account of what had transpired at the stadium.
“Our seniors related what happened to us. We also read about it in the newspapers,” she added.
While she is happy with the progress achieved by the nation, her only regret is the deteriorating state of unity among the races.
“I don’t see relationships like how they were in my ‘kampung’ before” said Oh, adding that she grew up in a village where about 99 per cent of the population was Malay.
Oh retired in 1990 after 33 years of service with the rank of superintendent in the Special Branch at Bukit Aman.
She received the Kesatria Mangku Negara (KMN) the following year.
Today she spends time with her three children from husband the late Dr David Saravanamuttu and their three grandchildren. She is also busy with the Befrienders where she works every Tuesday,
V. Parameswary Thambirajah, 81, was also 21 when Malaya became independent.
The teacher at St. Paul’s Kindergarten in Seremban said she could not go to Kuala Lumpur to join the crowds at the stadium much as she wanted to.
She said newspapers widely reported the Tunku’s declaration of independence the next day.
“I remember feeling happy and proud our independence was achieved in a very peaceful way.”
Parameswary is thankful she and her family had survived numerous challenges over the years.
“I’m proud to be Malaysian, and I’m glad I had the chance of being alive when we achieved independence.”
She said the nation had developed tremendously since 1957 with Seremban booming in recent years.
“Although the progress after Aug 31, 1957 was not immediate, Malaysia has grown tremendously over the last 60 years,” said the retired teacher who has published several educational books for children.
