National heroes share their experience in Lahad Datu

By Balqis Jamaludin

KUALA NERUS, Aug 28 -- The moment when he became the target of a Sulu terrorist during ‘Ops Daulat’ offensive in Lahad Datu, Sabah six years ago is still fresh in the memory of Captain Nor Efendi Abd Wahab.

Nor Efendi, who was leading the 10th Platoon, Company Delta of the Royal Malay Regiment 17th  Battalion (Para), said he and eight other personnel, who were engaged in the offensive against Sulu terrorists, entered an oil palm plantation in Kampung Tanduo, Lahad Datu, before one of them suddenly opened fire.

“I was the only one standing when one of the personnel opened fire. I asked why and he said someone on the tree was watching and aiming at me, so, I had to save myself,” he told Bernama when met at Seri Pantai Camp here.

The 33-year-old officer admitted that despite the fear, he continued to work out strategies to ensure all personnel were safe.

Nor Efendi said he had to keep his involvement a secret from his mother, Hamidah Mohammad, 60, who was still overcome by grief following the death of his father Abd Wahab Abd Shukor, three months before he joined the operation in 2013.

The Ops Daulat offensive against Sulu terrorists, who had intruded the district in early 2013, saw 10 Malaysian soldiers and policemen killed.

“I called and told my mother the truth after a month in Lahad Datu. She was shocked and cried, sometimes until she passed out. But I told her that it was my duty and responsibility. I asked her to pray for me and accept whatever happened to me," said Nor Efendi, who is now Company Alpha of the Royal Malay Regiment 18th  Battalion (Para) leader.

He said the fighting spirit of the 35 members of the platoon, despite having to leave their families for quite some time, had given Nor Efendi the strength to make the operation a success.

“There was one night when I saw them looking at the photos of their wives and children. I felt so sad. The situation motivated me to make sure the safety of all platoon members,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Staff Sergeant Shahrol Asnoor Sabudin, 37, said he had to keep his involvement in Ops Daulat a secret from his wife Haslinda Hashim, 36, who was pregnant with their second child.

“I did tell my wife that I was in Sabah but did not say I was in Lahad Datu. At one point, I had to say that I was playing ‘sepak takraw’ when I was in the operation area,” he said.

Shahrol Asnoor said the challenges they were facing during the Ops Daulat offensive were different from during pre-independence era.

In the past, communist terrorists, for example, were easily identified from their uniforms, but Sulu terrorists wore ordinary clothes and sometimes disguised as civilians, he added.

-- BERNAMA