Pustaka Negeri Sarawak to hold Sarawakiana talk on WWII Operation ‘Semut’ – The Unsung Heroes

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KUCHING: Pustaka Negeri Sarawak (Pustaka) in collaboration with Friends of Sarawak Museum (FoSM) and Sarawak Tourism Federation (STF) invite the public to a Sarawakiana talk entitled “WWII Operation ‘Semut’ – The Unsung Heroes”.

It will be held at Pustaka’s special collection room on Saturday, March 28 from 9am to 11am.

The talk is held in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the historical heritage on March 25, in commemoration of the first parachute landing of the commandos at Bario in 1945 during the Japanese occupation.

The “Z” special unit, also known as Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD), Special Operations Executive (SOE) and Special Operations Australia (SOA) based at Allied Land headquarters in Melbourne implemented the Borneo project in a series of long-term operations codenamed ‘Agas’ and ‘Semut’ in North Borneo and Sarawak respectively.

The SRD operations laid the groundwork, to a large extent, thereby paving the way for the eventual invasion in mid-1945 at the Brunei Bay-Labuan island area.

The main objectives of the SRD operations were two-fold: the gathering of intelligence, and organising (including training and arming) of local inhabitants into resistance group to wage guerilla warfare.

Invited speakers for this talk are Jack Tredrea, David Sanderson and Judith M Heimann. They will share their memoirs or the accounts told by their loved ones and their research on the operation ‘Semut’ during the WWII.

By sharing the information it is hoped that the topic will create more awareness on Sarawakians in Sarawak’s history during this period and generate more interest in research and creating of new knowledge.

Admission is free but due to limited seats, participants are advised to pre-register. For registration, call 082-440488 Rozana Octovia (ext 19) or Hayati Sabil (ext 36) or email [email protected] / [email protected] to reserve your seats.