Announcement

**1938 Observer** · 5 August 2010, 00:41

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

Just how miserable can the (un)civil service [and others] be when it comes to allowing these veterans offical recognition to wear a medal given by the greatful Government of Malaysia

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Ashbourne News Telegraph (UK) Published: 31/03/2010 09:53 - Updated: 31/03/2010

Proud to accept Malaysia medal but Government rules ban its use

A RETIRED Ashbourne man has received a medal from the Defence Minister of Malaysia for his work overseas in the early 1960s � and his own Government say he cannot wear it.
Abd Latiff Bin Hj Ahmed presented Ron Torr, of Weaver Close, with the Pingat Jasa Malaysia, in a ceremony at the Pavilion Gardens, in Buxton.

Mr Torr, 72, served in the region during 1960 and 1961 when Commonwealth forces were fighting Communist insurgents and the medal recognises British soldiers work, recognising their �distinguished chivalry, gallantry, sacrifice, or loyalty�.

Soldiers from across the world worked alongside the British and are free to wear their medals, however, veterans like Mr Torr have been told not to wear theirs as it was not handed out by a British Government and it may �upset The Queen�. (actually it is the civil serpent beaucracy :unimpressed:)

Mr Torr said: �I�m taking no notice of it and we are still fighting it.� John Simcock, president of the North Malaysian and Borneo Veterans Association, said: �We fought our own Government to get that overturned and now we are fighting for the right to wear it.� The Queen has apparently given her consent for veterans to accept the medal, but the British Government has not formally given permission for people to wear it.

Many of the veterans chose to snub the protocol and wear them with pride on occasions like Remembrance Sunday.

Around 22,000 servicemen are due to receive the medals, 519 men were killed fighting against 6,700 guerrillas. Many men, like Mr Torr, also had to cope with mosquitoes, leeches and other wild animals in the jungle.

The Malaysian Government has approached the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to seek approval to present their new medal to British veterans and others who served in operations in Malaya and Malaysia between August 1957 and August 1966.
Permission was granted for the medal to be awarded to eligible recipients in 2006; however, no formal permission has been given to wear it.

Mr Torr was called up for National Service in 1959 and worked as an Army technician and went to Malaya after completing his training.

He said: �When you look back it does not seem that long ago, especially when you look at the photographs it all comes flooding back.� Mr Torr met his wife Linda only days before he joined the army and for the first five-years of their relationship they hardly saw each other and kept in touch through letters.

When Mr Torr returned to the UK, he worked as a maintenance engineer for 25 years and then went to work for Royal Mail until he retired seven-years-ago.

http://www.ashbournenewstelegraph.co...an-its-use.htm

**1938 Observer** · 5 August 2010, 00:56

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

Army refuses to let veterans wear Malay medal at ceremony
Published Date:
24 August 2007 Edinburgh Evening News.

BRIGADIER Allan Alstead risked his life fighting Communist rebels during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s.
But he feels discriminated against because the British Army refuses to recognise a service medal from the grateful Malaysian government

The 73-year-old - now chairman of city-based charity Mercy Corps - will be among 30 Scots soldiers honoured d
ADVERTISEMENTuring Malaysia's Independence Day celebrations in Edinburgh next week.

But none of them will be officially permitted to wear their Pingat Jasa Malaysia medals.

Tens of thousands of troops fought in the former British colony during a state of emergency from 1948 to 1960. They were awarded the medal by the king of Malaysia in 2004, but it has never been recognised by the Foreign Office.

Brigadier Alstead, who lives on Murray Place, said: "It is a sad state of affairs and a lot of us feel very discriminated against.

"Other veterans of similar conflicts, such as Borneo, have received medals from foreign governments and can wear them.

"It seems that Malaysian veterans like myself are not being given the same privilege. It's very unfair and there is a lot of strong feeling among the thousands of UK troops who served in this war. Many of us fought in jungles and swamps in terrible conditions.

"We were being stung by scorpions, eaten by leeches and there were times we couldn't even use mosquito repellent, in case the smell attracted enemy forces.

"We just want to see this medal recognised for that service and to be allowed to officially wear it alongside our other honours."

Monday's ceremony is part of a week-long festival on Castle Street to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Malaysian independence.

A spokesman for the festival said: "This is a big event that aims to thank these veterans for their part in ensuring Communism did not take hold in Malaysia.

"They have been given the Pingat Jasa Malaysia, but a lot of them are angry that they cannot wear it at the ceremony."

Sandra White MSP, who has backed a campaign to have the medal recognised, said: "It is a disgrace that these men who risked their lives are not having the chance to display this medal."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "It is long standing policy that non-British awards will not be permitted for events or service that took place more than five years before initial consideration, or in connection with events in the distant past. This compromise of allowing acceptance, but not wearing, recognises the generous gesture of the king of Malaysia."

for a full list of comments on this article go to the link

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/br...ans.3320600.jp

**1938 Observer** · 6 August 2010, 20:56

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

Veteran’s fight for right to wear war medal

Source.......Dumfries & Galloway Standard. Aug 6 2010 by Patricia Lewis, Dumfries Standard Friday

http://www.dgstandard.co.uk/dumfries...1311-27006254/

A VETERAN of the Forgotten War pleaded with the Government yesterday: “Let me wear my medal.”

Seventy-two-year-old Andrew Nicoll of Annan revealed how he’s been locked in a four-year fight with officials in Westminster over an award he was given by the Malaysian Government to recognise the conflict in their country between 1957 and 1966.

But because it’s not a British medal, UK rules state it can’t be worn in public.

Mr Nicoll, a retired lance corporal told the Standard: “We feel discriminated against. Soldiers from Australia and other commonwealth countries are allowed to wear their medals but not us.

Full article at the link above or in the "Breaking News" topic.

**1938 Observer** · 12 August 2010, 00:27

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

New Scottish Parliamentary Motion.

The following has been placed before the Scottish Parliament -

S3M-06801 Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee West) (Scottish National Party): Pingat Jasa Malaysia� That the Parliament regrets the continued refusal of the Committee on the Grants of Honours, Decorations and Medals to allow British veterans to wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service) medal awarded to Commonwealth forces for distinguished chivalry, gallantry, sacrifice or loyalty in upholding the Malay Peninsula or Malaysian sovereignty during the period of emergency and confrontation at the time of its newly won independence between 1957 and 1966; notes that other Commonwealth nations have allowed their veterans to wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal; believes that it is time for the honours committee to do the right thing and to allow British veterans the same courtesy as their Commonwealth comrades, and calls on the committee to overturn its previous objections.
Lodged on Monday, August 09, 2010; Current

Please get in touch with your Member of the Scottish Parliament, if you have one, but no harm in contacting them even if you haven't, and ask that they sign this new motion.
The more who sign it the more those in other places will take note.

http://www.fight4thepjm.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2235

**1938 Observer** · 13 August 2010, 23:50

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

Malaya patrol

**1938 Observer** · 13 August 2010, 23:59

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

Scenes of the jungle fight against terrorism in which British, Australian and Malayan troops took part. Royal Navy helicopters transported personnel and wounded soldiers

Malaysia: Kuala Medang, Pahang, fighting,1952.

Malayan emergency

**1938 Observer** · 25 August 2010, 23:28

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

Chelsea Pensioners Debut Album 12.07.10

BritishForcesNews | July 13, 2010

They are living London landmarks and have a combined age of nearly 550. But that hasn't stopped 7 Chelsea Pensioners from signing a record deal. The album will be called the Men In Scarlet and will be released in November. Our reporter Claire Sadler has been to the Royal Hospital Chelsea to find out more

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Now you may be wondering what this has to do with this forum topic theme.......

Just go the Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia forum

to read the topic Chelsea Penioners Show The Way

http://www.fight4thepjm.org/forum/vi...239&highlight=

**1938 Observer** · 28 August 2010, 22:10

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

Posthumous PJM Presented to a Special Family

This from the "Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia" website Sat Aug 28, 2010 8:15 am

http://www.fight4thepjm.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2241
Quote..........."Yesterday was a rather special day. I accompanied a man to the Malaysian High Commission � he was to be presented with his father�s posthumous PJM.

The man was Major (Retd) Peter Lenthall, not himself a PJMer but his family has a long history of service to Malaysia. Peter Lenthall and his brother and sister were born in Malaya. His father was Captain Edgar Lenthall MBE ARCM. During WW2 Edgar Lenthall served with the British army and was engaged in the final battle before the fall of Singapore. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese, as were other members of the family. Peter escaped on a boat to Durban.

After the war, Captain Edgar Lenthall served for 10 years with the Malay Regiment. He was also the director of music and Peter has recordings of some his compositions. Edgar Lenthall conducted the orchestra at the 1957 Merdeka Celebrations in Kuala Lumpur.

Edgar Lenthall�s PJM was presented to Peter (who was there on behalf of his family) by the new Malaysian Defence Adviser, Brigadier Othman Jamal who was with his assistant, Major Izwan Zainal Amran RMAF. I remembered the Brigadier � he was at the MHC when I was presented with my PJM by the then Deputy Prime Minister, now Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak in July 2006. The Brigadier, then a major, was Tun Razak�s aide at the time.

After yesterday�s presentation, I handed both Peter Lenthall and the Malaysian Defence Adviser a Fight4thePJM Lapel Pin and explained to everyone in the room the current position of the campaign. Whilst I never invite comment from our Malaysian friends in order to avoid embarrassment, I think I detected looks of approval for our ongoing fight to have full honours restored to their medal � that air of approval grew when they read our motto on our Lapel Pin �Pingat Kami-Hak Kami�, �Our Medal-Our Right�!

I took the opportunity to explain that the 1968 London Gazette provided the Queen�s approval for eligible recipients to wear their PJM and that this was backed up by our Legal Opinion. I also explained that the Coalition Government had made a solemn pledge in their Manifesto to review the Honours System, and the PJM decision. I went on to emphasise that we at the F4 will ensure that all participators, particularly MPs who signed EDMs, are regularly reminded about their solemn pledges.

But yesterday was a day for the Lenthall family. Theirs is some history - some service! And the family now have their father�s PJM."

**1938 Observer** · 1 September 2010, 22:38

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

20 honoured for defending Malaysia

Source....The Star online.Malaysia. Tuesday August 31, 2010

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KUALA LUMPUR: Even though they are not Malaysians, they fought valiantly against communists who threatened to snuff out Malaysia in its infancy.

Among the 20 recipients of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia conferred to veterans for their service in defending Malaysia�s sovereignty during the days of insurgency and the Confrontation, eight were from New Zealand, Australia and Britain.

�It was a very humbling experience. I felt really appreciated,� said Edward Buck Healey, 71, after receiving the medal from Army chief Jen Datuk Zulkifeli Mohd Zin at the Defence Ministry here yesterday.

The New Zealander was a young lad when he was posted to Kedah with the 1st Royal New Zealand Regiment A Company during the Malayan Emergency in 1961.

�We were only boys and we thought we were bullet-proof. Of course, we found out otherwise.

�It was a very different Malaysia back then. We were always patrolling the Thai border and we would stay in the jungle for days looking for communist stashes,� Healey related.

Healey�s fellow comrade Raymond William R. Foster from D Company was elated when he received the medal.

�I did not expect this at all. I am really happy to be honoured for my service,� he said.

Foster also said he had returned to Malaysia 12 times after finishing his stint in 1964.

�I love it here. While the country has advanced by leaps and bounds, Malaysians are still as friendly as back then,� said Foster, who also advised young Malaysians to work hard and look after their country.

Another recipient, Che Onn Neamat, served in Borneo from 1966 to 1967 when Malaysia was engaged in armed confrontation with Indonesia.

�Even though my duties involved maintaining vehicles, it was an equally important job to make sure our forces functioned as one,� said the 69-year-old retiree from Malacca who enlisted with the British Army Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...68&&sec=nation

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Now.from the PJM website -----one of four "thank you" letters sent to the Editor of The Star. :smile:

"To: The Editor, The Star Online
Re: Your Article '20 honoured for defending Malaysia', 31 Aug 2010

Sir,

We in the UK read your newspaper online and I was very interested to read this article. I served in the Commonwealth Brigade in Malacca with New Zealanders and Australians. Queen Elizabeth II has formally approved the Pingat Jasa Medal to be worn by everyone except us British. She was advised by civil servants who said that the Malaysian medal did not meet a British standard! We do not agree and have been fighting for five years to reverse this shameful decision. We are backed by Parliament. We are very proud of our service to Malaysia and with our Malaysian friends, and it is time for British civil servants to recognise what Malaysia has achieved and our small part in helping Malaysia protect its newly won Independence. Your readers can know more by visiting our web site at www.fight4thepjm.org.

I attended the Malaysian High Commission in London last Friday accompanying a man who was presented with his father's posthumous PJM - but the family is banned from wearing it in memory of their relative even though the deceased father had served in the Malay Regiment for 10 years and conducted the Orchestra at the Merdeka Celebrations in August 1957.

Barry Fleming etc"

I very much hope others will write to the editor at editor@thestar.com.my.

_________________
BarryF is fighting for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia
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The other congratulatory letters may be read at......................

Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia website topic :cool:

http://www.fight4thepjm.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2243

**1938 Observer** · 6 September 2010, 00:32

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

From the "Star online Malaysia.......letters to the Editor...

British rule disallows wearing of PJM Sunday September 5, 2010

"I READ with interest the report �20 honoured for defending Malaysia� (The Star, Aug 31). I served in the British army in Malaya from 1956 to 1958 and I am the proud holder of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia awarded to me by the Yang di-Pertuan Agung.

Unfortunately, and unlike my fellow veterans in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia who are allowed to wear the PJM, I have been told that I do not have permission to wear it because of British rules made up by the Honours and Decorations Committee and implemented, changed, altered and abused in any way or manner in which they, the committee, deem necessary.

They say the Queen has authorised this non-wear of the PJM but the HD Committee acts in secret and refuses to cooperate even with our elected parliament.

I am the chairman of the Fight4thePJM Association and we have been campaigning to have this rule changed so that British veterans are allowed to wear the honourable PJM just like veterans from the Commonwealth.

We have petitioned the Queen and the Scottish Parliament and had the matter raised in the House of Commons. It was discussed in Westminster Hall and a Ten Minute Rule Bill introduced it to our parliament.

Most politicians agree that the rule banning the wearing of the PJM is inconsistent and wrong. Unfortunately, the eight civil service members of the HD Committee have refused to admit their mistake and listen to reason.

In Malaysia and all over the world, veterans are treated with respect and compassion but this is not the case in Britain."

ANDREW NICOLL,

Scotland.

**1938 Observer** · 26 October 2010, 23:20

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

Armed Forces: Medals
House of Lords
Written answers and statements, 25 October 2010

Email me when Lord Touhig speaksMost recent apperancesNumerologyFull profile ...
Lord Touhig (Labour)

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to ask the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals to review the advice given to HM the Queen on the acceptance and wearing of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia Medal.
Hansard source (Citation: HL Deb, 25 October 2010, c219W)Email me when Lord Howell of Guildford speaksMost recent apperancesNumerologyFull profile ...
Lord Howell of Guildford (Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Conservative)

The Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (the HD Committee), which advises Her Majesty The Queen on matters of honours policy, made the decision in 2005 that the Pingat Jasa Malaysia Medal could be received but not worn.

The HD Committee, of which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is a member, has reviewed this decision on two separate occasions and in both cases upheld the original decision.

The FCO is not aware of any plans by the HD Committee to further review the decision.

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Annotations
John Ireland
Posted on 26 Oct 2010 12:50 pm (Report this annotation)

This shows that the present government are just as dishonest as their predecessors were. In opposition they promised us a review of this decision and in government they renage on it. They should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

John Cooper
Posted on 26 Oct 2010 1:09 pm (Report this annotation)

I would like to thank Lord Touhig for his question, a friend and ally of 35000 ex Malaysian/Borneo Veterans, we knew our enemy well in the 1950/1960's it looks as if we have other counter insurgents in our midst under the present coaalition

They know no bounds, dastardly deeds is the name of their game, I shall remember that when the next election comes around!!!

John Rushton
Posted on 26 Oct 2010 1:33 pm (Report this annotation)

Thank you Lord Touhig for raising this yet again on our behalf.

Yet again though, promises in Opposition mean nothing and are ignored when in power.

We were promised that this appalling decision would be reviewed and in the words of the previous Prime Minister, "I'll look into it". Of course he never did and never will.

I ask again, who is running this country, elected politicians or Civil Servants of the H and D Committee who continue to insult 35000 veterans of the Malayan Emergency and Confrontation Campaigns.

Why do I not have the right to wear this medal when all other recipients, Australian, New Zealand, Fijians who recieved it for the same Commonwealth service do have the Queens permission to wear it. Tell me that !!

John Feltham
Posted on 26 Oct 2010 1:37 pm (Report this annotation)

I thank Lord Touhig for asking his question.

He will now see what a dishonest and discredited mob they are.

They promised us a review.

No review is now forthcoming.

We got rid of the last lot at the ballet box.

It looks like we have to do the same to this lot.

Gerald Law
Posted on 26 Oct 2010 1:41 pm (Report this annotation)

Once again the true colours of our so called elected representatives are shown. Lord Touhig is to applauded for championing the cause of 35000 British Veterans who have been treated shamefully by successive Governments and the Civil Service, both of which are supposed to serve the electorate. Fat chance in the charade that is British democracy! The Tories, when they were seeking our votes, promised a review of the whole business whereby a handful of non-elected Civil Servants could make decisions affecting those who served the nation so many years ago. It's not as if their decisions are logical - their rules are flexible when it suits them, but if it means behaving honourably towards those who pay their salaries, then the rules appear to be set in stone. Gerald Law

andrew nicoll
Posted on 26 Oct 2010 6:47 pm (Report this annotation)

As the Chairman of the Fight4thePJM Association I would like to thank most sincerely Lord Don Touhig for his continual support in our quest for truth and justice against a cabal of eight members of the HD Committee who refuse to acknowledge that their recommendation that the PJM could be accepted but not worn by UK citizens is an unlawful act which their position of unelected civil servants does not authorise them to do. We are supposed to be a democracy but it is more like a dictatorship where the truth is the enemy of the ruling elite.
When the media reported the French ban on the wearing in public of the burkha which covers the whole body, the immigration minister said it would not be banned in Britain because it is not the British thing to do and it would not be correct to make laws banning the wear of articles in the street.
If the present coalition government is serious about their Coalition Programme for Government which states they will reinstate the broken military covenant and review the rules on medals, then they should bring the axe down on such committees which make their own rules and usurp the elected government.
Their boss, call me Dave, visited Scotland, where the Tories are an almost extinct political class. He asked if a change of name might improve their public image in Scotland and was told by a Scottish Conservative just call us the effing Tories, as that is what most people in Scotland call us.
Now they have shown the whole country that they cannot be trusted. They all suffer from the selective memory syndrome which makes them forget their promises. Most people said nothing would change after the election, and they were spot on.
Sign in or join to post a public annotation.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/...alaysia#g219.8

PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

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**1938 Observer** · 8 November 2010, 21:07

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

theyamyam.com Walsall News UK. Tuesday 9th November 2010 1:42am

Comment
Wearing medals with pride
Derek Bennett 1 Nov 10
How quickly the time and the months fly by, today is the 1st November, what little bit of summer we had is now a distant memory, the leaves on the trees are giving a rich display of colour and we all begin to think of the approach of Armistice Day and remembrance Sunday�

Every year, with one or two of our other UKIP members in Walsall we join the parade to the local cenotaph and, with the many others present, we lay a poppy wreath in memory of all those brave men and women who gave so much for our country. In recent years, Fred my father in Law, who served in the Pacific fleet during World War Two also proudly, joined us, that was until his hip problems. On one side of his jacket he would wear his medals, on the other those his father was awarded for his part in the First World War, it was always a very proud moment for him, as it is for all those who have served our country in times of conflict.

Although I mention the First and Second World Wars, there have been many other conflicts British men and women have been asked to serve in, as we are fully aware with the constant news of our young men and women in Afghanistan, and sadly too many of them returning home in coffins. All these people who have served have medals which they will wear on parades all around the country on the 11th November and Sunday 14th November � and we will all have great pride and admiration for them for their service to us and our country. However, there will be one body of men and women, many of them who were conscripts at the time, who were sent to fight by the British Government but will be denied the right to wear their medals with equal pride.

This body of people did not shame this country in any way, quite the opposite, what they did has consequences that in many ways shape our lives today. They fought a campaign which they won and ensured that political intolerance was not allowed to spread. These people are those that were sent to fight in the jungles of Malaysia in the battle against Communism between 1948 and 1960, with many staying longer to ensure the peace was held.

This was a conflict not dissimilar to that of the USA in Vietnam; the terrain was similar as was the idealism and fanaticism of the enemy. It was a fight against a Communist insurgency that wanted to spread the tentacles of Communist into Malaysia, but our troops defeated them and stopped Communism from spreading.

They did that by the tactic of living in the jungle and taking on the Communists on their own ground using their own tactics, unlike the Americans that went out into the jungle, shot a few Vietnamese then after their tour returned to base and relative safety. The British tactics paid off whereas we all know what happened to the Americans.

The reason these ex-servicemen and women who did their duty in Malaysia are not allowed to wear their medal with pride on Armistice day and Remembrance Sunday parades is down to the UK policy of not recognising foreign medals, and the Pingat Jasa medal is classed as a foreign medal which has been awarded by the Malaysia government to those who served there as gratitude for the fact they saved them from Communism.

If this was a strict policy, then maybe and begrudgingly we could acceptable it. However, it is not strict policy and it is within the remit of Whitehall to recommend to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, to grant permission to the veterans who earned this medal to wear them on parade. This was allowed for all those who sailed in the Russian convoys in World War Two who were awarded the Russian Convoy Medal. So why not allow the same priviledge to al those who did their duty in Malaysia? After all, they were there on the orders of the British Government and the medal is a way of thanks to them, by refusing them permission this is not only a slap in the face for the veterans who did so much and were successful in their efforts too, it is also a slap in the face for the officials and government of Malaysia whose simple gesture to our brave men and women should be accepted politely in the manner in which it was intended.

I hope you will support their campaign, even write to Her Majesty, the PM and your local MP about this and see if we can change this silly ruling. The veterans are not getting any younger and they should be allowed to wear their medal with pride. If you attend a service on either the 11th or 14th November, as the Last Post is called, remember our Malay veterans too and the injustice given to them and please support their campaign.

Posted by Derek Bennett EU-Sceptic at 15:06
Derek has an interesting site to view http://derekbennetteu-sceptic.blogsp...ith-pride.html

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Andy Nicoll says:
November 8, 2010 at 1:01 pm
The King of Malaysia awarded the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) medal to all British and Commonwealth troops who served in Malaysia and Borneo during the Emergency and Konfrontasi from 31st August, 1957, to 31st December, 1966. British citizens only were denied the right to wear the PJM because of unlawful and undemocratic rules implemented and imposed by unelected civil servants known as the Honours and Decorations Committee. This committee acts in secret, reports to HM the Queen and does not report to parliament. To add insult to injury, they recommended to the Queen, that the PJM could be worn by British citizens in Malaysia during a three week period in 2007 when the veterans were visiting that country during the 50th Anniversary celebrations of Independence. British citizens in the Uk were still denied the right to wear the PJM then.
What happened to democracy in our country when unelected pen-pushers can make rules which they impose upon British citizens. What happened to justice in the UK and what happened to dignity and respect for British veterans. It is time we had our country back and this type of nonsense was stopped once and for all.

read more comments http://www.theyamyam.com/wearing-med...-1#comment-115

**Kelly d** · 10 November 2010, 08:17

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

Gordon,

I have a really dumb question but those years 1959 to 1962 is when Bill was stationed in Malaysia and Borneo. He never received any medal that I was aware of. He went from Borneo to German until 1969. Was he supposed to receive one? I am really confused by the above ordeal.

**1938 Observer** · 10 November 2010, 21:45

Re: Fight for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (Malaysian Service Medal)

Originally posted by Kelly d View Post

Gordon,

I have a really dumb question but those years 1959 to 1962 is when Bill was stationed in Malaysia and Borneo. He never received any medal that I was aware of. He went from Borneo to German until 1969. Was he supposed to receive one? I am really confused by the above ordeal.

Kelly,
I'm not sure what the rules of eligibility were (dates etc.) Also was Bill UK/Commonwealth forces or US?
Gordon