End of Sacred Ray

The month-long military operations mounted by the Thai and Malaysian regimes against the communist guerillas at their common borders had come to an end.

More than 10,000 Malaysian troops and several thousand Thai soldiers were mobilised for the operations which were supported by massive and indiscriminate air strikes. The operations, Sacred Ray I and II, covered respectively the Betong and Weng Districts, two of the bases of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).

The operations had proved to be very costly to the regimes both in terms of money and lives. Throughout the military campaign, very little contacts were made with the guerillas, who were believed to be in hiding, and some were reported to have gone to stay with the local people after retreating from their bases in Betong and Weng. According to Thai intelligence, "up to 800 communists had taken refuge in Betong town alone".

On the other hand, the two government troops suffered rather heavy casualties. What was frustrating to the troops was the fact that they were basically fighting a "ghost war" with the communists. Thousands of soldiers combed the areas day after day ; camp after camp had been discovered, but very few or no communists were found. And yet soldiers were killed and wounded by booby traps which were so extensively planted by the guerillas in the jungle that the governments had concede defeat in this aspect of the warfare and resorted to air strikes.

In 12th August, the Home Affairs Minister, Ghazali Shafie, said the "real success" in the combined security efforts was the "reduction of the status of insurgency" in these areas. He explained that "a state of insurgency meant that the insurgents had a cohesive command and that they had the support of the people whether by force or persuasion". He also argued that the sucess of the operations was not gauged by the number of communists killed.

The fact that the communists, estimated at around 2,000 - 3,000 by the government, have been able to take cover among the local population, and that despite mighty military actions mounted against them, they suffered very little casualties, shows the so-called "status of insurgency" has not been reduced.

Ghazali claimed that "the reds have been alienated from the people. In the past the people demonstrated against us, now they are demostrating against the communists". However, revelation from a Thai Chief-of-Staff shows the extent of the people's support. NST 1.8.77 reported that "during the demonstration, the people, led by the Mayor Mr Visit Kangkar, pledged the loyalty to King and country ... ", and among those demostrated were "some 1,000 Thai Muslims who had been trained by the Thai Army ..."

Both governments were said to be determined to step up the campaign against the communists by launching the "food-denial schemes" and the usual propaganda warfare. However, judging from the past operations, the guerillas would find their own ways to re-group and go into operation again in those raided areas. The latest reports say that the Thai government had asked the Malaysian troops to withdraw from their territories. This contradicts an earlier report that Malaysian troops were to be permanently stationed with in the Thai border.

An interesting feature of the operations was the evacuated communist camps which revealed the organised life style of the guerillas. One of such camps was reportedly used by the CPM 10th Regiment led by Rashid Mydin, who is a well-known communist leader among the Malays and was one of the officials accompanying the CPM leader, Chin Ping, during the abortive Baling Talk with Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1955.

The Sarawak Tribune (28.7.77) newsman who was at the scene reported that a Malay school was run "for recruits and supporters teaching subjects such as geography and basic mathematics". "Run along the line of the Governments adult education classes, the recruits were also taught simple English, Romanised Malay and General Knowledge. They wrote essays about the CPM as part of their school work".

The camp also had large meeting halls used for lectures and singing sessions held every night. "The headquarters, built in split level fashion along a hill slope complete with a broad earth staircase leading to a parade square, was about two years old".

"The headquarters which could accommodate 150 guerillas, also conducted weapon training and had a black smith's hut for turning out tools and booby trap materials".

"The camp apparently had electricity supply, a tailor shop, and also a small medical clinic and even had facilities to provide injections".

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