Humane way to peace

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Former Sarawak Special Branch chief Dato’ Sri Alli Kawi was instrumental in bringing Bong Kee Chok and his men back to society without spilling any bloodIN the mid-sixties and early seventies, the countries in Southeast Asia had their fair share of conflicts among themselves and with the superpowers – the US and its allies at that time.

For Malaysia, there were external and internal threats posed by both the Indonesian Confrontation and an communist insurgency.

In Sarawak, communism was being propagated but only a certain section of the population succumbed because the ideology was never accepted outright by the people as a whole.

The government constantly used democratic means through various forms of communication and deployed security forces to meet the threats head-on. Both sides suffered causalities – human and property.

The communist insurgency in Sarawak came to an end following the success of the Sri Aman Operation.

On Oct 21, 1973, Bong Kee Chok, founder of the Clandestine Communist Organisation (CCO) in Sarawak and also director and commissar of the North Kalimantan Peoples’ Army (Paraku), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Datuk Abdul Rahman Yaakub, the then Chief Minister, at the Government Rest House in Simmanggang (now Sri Aman).

Former head of Sarawak Special Branch, Dato’ Sri Alli Kawi, played a significant role in the success of the Sri Aman Operation by acting as a ‘middleman’ between the government and the CCO. His contribution paved the way to the signing of the peace accord and for Bong and his comrades to return to society.

thesundaypost recently talked to Alli Kawi to get an insight into this historic period of Sarawak’s history.

Alli Kawi and his wife Fatimah at their home in Petra Jaya.

More often than not, the real people involved in making history were seldom mentioned – and it’s sad that most of the time, they will not receive any form of recognition.

Unbeknownst to many, it was through Alli Kawi’s humane approach and philosophy, instead of the use of brutal force, that he was able to help bring Bong, an enemy of the state, andhis men back to society without spilling any blood.

The success of the Sri Aman Operation brought the communist insurgency to close and opened a new chapter of peace in the state after a period of jungle warfare.

Based on the Baling (West Malaysia) experience and the breakdown of the agreement between Malaysia’s first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and Malayan Communist Party chairman Chin Peng, Alli Kawi described the Sri Aman Operation as one of the most unique campaigns that went right as only a few selected police officers were involved.

“Not many countries can persuade the communists to stop their struggle without bloodshed,” he said.

TOP LEVEL DISCUSSION: Alli Kawi (right) talking with Home Affairs Minister Tan Sri Ghazali Shafie at the Kuching Airport lounge after the announcement of Sri Aman Operation.

PEACE ACCORD: Abdul Rahman Yaakub (seated left) and Bong signing the Sri Aman Peace Accord, witnessed by Alli Kawi (standing second right) together with government officers and a member of Bong’s group.

HISTORIC: Alli Kawi (squatting left) with Rahman Yaakub (standing sixth from left), Bong (standing fourth left) and other government officers and guests after the MoU signing.

Alli Kawi was happy the then Chief Minister agreed with his “humane approach” suggestion and he was consequently entrusted with making the necessary arrangements for the meeting between the government and Bong.

Through his own principles in life and the way he was brought up – reinforced by his training as a professional police officer – Alli Kawi believes that brain-over-brawn is more effective than brawn-over-brain.

“When I was in the police, I never abused the power I had and I always dealt with matters according to the law of the country,” he said.

He feels that when dealing with the public, it’s more productive and frutiful to use commonsense and understanding based on mutual trust.

“I never thought at that time I could persuade and convince Bong Kee Chok to come out of the jungle and return to society so soon. I never looked at him as my enemy but a long lost friend,” he added.

Reflecting on the height of the communist insurgency, Alli Kawi said government propaganda disseminated through leaflets was not as effective as using the humane approach in dealing with the insurgents.

“I’m happy I didn’t use any form of harshness other than my intelligence in the police force to carry out our surveillance operations. In this way, the general public will respect you and there will be less animosity against you,” he said.

At that time, Bong’s struggle was also coming to an end as the government – through army and police intelligence – were able to neutralise the communist threat in Sibu and in Kuching.

“We could say we cornered him in Simanggang,” Alli Kawi recalled.

“For all the atrocities of the war made against the most organised communist guerrillas in the jungles of Borneo, it would never have occurred to the ordinary layman to think that Bong Kee Chok is a human being after all. In dealing with humans, we must be humane.”

Through his experience in getting Bong and the rest of his comrades to abandon their futile struggle, Alli Kawi believes “the humane approach is very important in how we treat and deal with people.”

He said if misguided, people needed to be corrected and if given the task to do this, the way forward was through the humane approach.

“I’m proud of what I have contributed to the security of Sarawak and the country and it would be nice if all the people involved in this humane way of bringing the communist insurgency to a close were recognised for their deeds.”

Greatest reward

Alli Kawi said although he was never conferred any federal awards for 24 years of service in the police force, he reconciles himself to the situation by knowing he has already been richly rewarded for successfully getting the guerrillas to disarm and preventing the communist insurgency in Sarawak from becoming a “protracted” war. To him, that’s the greatest reward.

After the signing of the MoU in Sri Aman, more than 500 members of the North Kalimantan Peoples’ Army and the Sarawak Peoples’ Guerrillas laid down their arms and return to society.

By October 17, 1990, Hung Chu Ting, commander and commissar of the Second Bureau of the North Kalimantan Communist Party, signed a peace agreement with the Sarawak government and brought the last group of 53 armed personnel out of the jungle, thus ending the 50 years of communist movement in Sarawak.

Alli Kawi who is married to Datin Hajjah Fatimah Jamil, had his early education at St Thomas’ School in Kuching, studied law in England and was the president of Pajar (Parti Rakyat Jati Sarawak).

An author of three books, he lives in Kuching and Kuala Lumpur and he spends his retirement with his children and grandchildren.