Sibu Tales : R. Thambipillay

Many years after retiring, R. Thambipillay came back to Sibu to visit friends and to find some friends he had lost contact with.

That led me to think about putting the stories of the Nang Chong and Tanjong Kunyit areas in writing. 

In the 1970's my maternal grandmother was already in her late seventies and the Lau family faced many political problems.

From New Straits Times : Thambipillay, who was Police Field Force assistant superintendent, helped to implement the Danger Belt Scheme in the communist hotbed of Sibu, Sarawak.

Rubber tree logs were used to barricade villages so that villagers could carry out their chores safely, including going into the rubber plantations to work. Beyond the danger belt, security forces carried out “seek-and-kill” missions against the CTs.

In time, the people regained confidence in the security forces. Military success was achieved and as the terrorists were denied support from the people, they were forced to abandon their operational areas.

“The success gave me the opportunity to win over the hearts and minds of the villagers, and emphasised to community leaders the benefits of the scheme,” he said.

At the time, Thambipillay was serving in the Rajang Area Security Command, the precursor to the East Sabah Security Command. For his contributions, he became the first non-Sarawakian to be awarded the Ahli Bintang Sarawak in 1973 for fighting the Communist insurgency in the state.

He saw action against the enemy in 12 major operations in the jungle with the Police Field Force, including operations in the Betong salient at the Thai/Malay-sian border. He went on to serve as assistant officer-in-charge-of-police-district (OCPD) in Kuala Kubu Baru and as OCPD in Tapah and Slim River/Tanjung Malim before retiring as Perak Criminal Investigation Department chief in the 1990s.

Photo by Wong Meng Lei. Datuk R Thambipillay in Sibu.

Some points about Datuk R Thambipillay in Sarawak: 

a) He was the first non Srawakian to be awarded the Ahli Bintang Sarawak in 1973.

b) He became friends with many Foochows in the Rajang Basin, especially Tanjong Kunyit after trying his best to gain their trust.

c) He introduced the "Danger Belt Scheme" so that the villagers could carry out their normal life and work. His men and the villagers piled up logs to about 1 m. high. "It was not possible to have barb-wire fencing, like at the Perak and Kedah borders, as the terrain around the village was different."

The system proved to work when an ambush party under Thambipillay's command spotted two CT supporters, with two sacks of stolen chicken and ducks.
There were no further incidents afterwards.

c) He was six months in Tanjong Kunyit.

d) Later he was posted to Sibu for three years. The Tanjung Kunyit Headman Kang Hin Yu expressed his gratitude by presenting Thambipillay with a Chinese Scroll for his efforts in bringing peace to the village. After 44 years Thambipillay visited Tanjong Kunyit to meet friends.