LAST SALUTE: Military officers and personnel giving the fallen heroes the final salute as the jars are being carried passed them.
KUCHING: Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) may have undertaken so many corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects in the past but none can be as significant as its involvement in bringing home the Iban trackers and Sarawak Rangers who lost their lives defending the country in the 1950s.
The fallen heroes were buried in Kedah, Perak, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Singapore and it was only after SEDC had agreed to undertake the planning and building of the memorial that the plan to bring home the remains of the 21 heroes has finally become a reality.
Its chairman Datuk Talib Zulpilip, in confirming that they have contributed to the cost of building the monument, gravestones and graves for the heroes’ reburial here, however said that what SEDC did was a just a show of respect for the fallen heroes and those who had gallantly served the country.
“SEDC was involved in the planning and construction of the memorial. We also contributed to the cost and this modest role of ours is part of our corporate social responsibilities,” he said.
He said that credits should not be given to them but the state government and personalities such as Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu and Lt Col (rtd) Robert Rizal Abdullah.
“We fully support the state government’s effort but those who deserve the credits should be Datuk Patinggi Jabu and Lt Col Rizal,” he said.
“We, the people should respect the heroes who have truly served the country and people. In the case of these Iban trackers and Sarawak Rangers they have sacrificed their lives for all of us.
“This is the ultimate of sacrifice and they deserved to be appreciated and remembered. A nation and its people cannot adequately repay their sacrifice but the least we can do is to treat them with dignity and respect,” Talib said.
He added that any civilised nation and its people would surely make efforts to remember those who have served them well.