Air force veteran shares experience fighting communists

Every year during National Day celebrations, stories of unsung army and police heroes on their struggles to secure the country’s independence as well as the fight against the communists are often told.

Now, former air force pilot Nor Ibrahim Sulaiman also wanted to share his experience fighting the communists, which he regarded as the most valuable experience in his life.

“The air force plays a very big role, and as a former Nuri helicopter pilot, we faced critical threats because we were not the hunters then, we were hunted (by the enemies). 

"This was due to our movements often being ‘spied’ by the communists, and we became the targets of their bullets,” said the 70-year-old from Perak.

Nor Ibrahim said the enemies would be waiting for the sound of the helicopter flying nearby and attacked while they were still ‘hovering’ in the air to transport personnel who had died or injured.

“Whenever we were attacked, I could not do anything because it wasn't easy to battle it out while steering the helicopter,” he said, adding that he also remembered an incident when he had to fly the Nuri after one of its generators malfunctioned due to being shot by the communists.

Nor Ibrahim said their responsibilities as pilots were important to provide the lifeline to military personnel in the operations areas, to transport food and injured personnel.

The veteran, who holds a PhD in specialised research on Nuri, said one of the incidents he could not forget was when a Royal Malay Regiment convoy being ambushed by communists on a road near Gubir in Sik, which killed five soldiers.

After the attack in April 1975, he had just assumed an assistant pilot post and was ordered to fly to the ambush site in Gubir to help transport the bodies and injured personnel.

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“When we arrived at the location, we couldn’t land because there was plenty of bobby traps on the ground, so we were just hovering in the air, and beneath us I saw many injured and dead bodies tied to the ropes to be pulled onto the helicopter.

“It was quite difficult to lift those bodies at that time. I remember holding on to a body and his blood was all over me and then I realised that he was my friend, intelligence officer Hardev Singh. 

"Prior to the incident, I did have a drink with him in Butterworth and told him ‘see you in Gubir’.

“Indeed in Gubir, I ‘met’ him again. Later, his wife informed me that Hardev’s body was riddled with 18 bullet wounds,” he said, adding that he then decided to start his personal blog Jottings of Xnuripilot to share his experiences.

Though he admitted that he was not good with computer, Nor Ibrahim, the recipient of the Pingat Tentera Udara (PTU), was eager to share stories of past struggles so that the younger generation would know and understand why the communists should not be recognised as freedom fighters.

“This kind of stories should be highlighted all year round, and veterans such as myself should be invited to share our stories with the younger generation, either in schools, government departments and institutions. It is important to remind every Malaysian of the sacrifices of our forefathers,” he added.

- Bernama