Senoi Praak
The Orang Asli or
aboriginal people of Malaya were always,due to their
geographical location,a factor in the Emergency. Before
the Briggs plan began to restrict food supplies from the
urban areas the terrorists mainly used the deep jungle
for R&R and conferences,nearby aboriginal tribes were
indoctrinated and encouraged to supply food and
intelligence. As the urban sources of food dried up from
1954 onwards more pressure was put on aboriginal villages
to enlarge their cultivations to provide food for the
terrorists. To counter this and engage the enemy, Police
and Military deep jungle operations were increased and
Richard Noone,Adviser on Aborigines and Head of the
Dept.of Abrigines formed a small force of aboriginals
trained and armed to operate with other security forces
or on their own in jungle areas,thus the Senoi
Praak(Fighting People).* Since the inception of
the Malayan Scouts aboriginals had worked as porters and
guides for troops(mainly SAS)on deep jungle operations so
Noone enlisted the help of 22 SAS to help Asst.Protector
Colin Dewsnup* (ex.Lieutenant,
British Army)provide basic training. Unlike the U.S
Forces in Vietnam who equipped their Montagnard units
with full battle uniform and equipment and put them on K
Rations, Noone wanted his units to remain as close to
their origins as possible with basic uniform,light
armament and food rations that mirrored their natural
diet; all of which was achieved. As the Senoi Praak
proved their worth and grew in size Charles Ley who was
Asst.Protector,Perak was moved to join them. From their
formation until the late '60s they remained a part of the
Dept.of Aborigines and then were incorporated into the
Malaysian Police where,after several Departmental moves
they became part of Pasukan Gerakan Am (General
Operations Force) Initially it was never imagined that
these units would ever take part in formal parades and as
badges of identity are not worn on jungle operations
little thought was given to badging the Senoi Praak. On
the left above is shown an early cloth badge which is
based on the Dept. logo with a more sophisticated and
later issue in the centre. On the right is the current
badge which shows that the wearer is in the
3rdBtn.PGA.The motto "Cekal Berani Setia"
roughly translates as "Resolute,Brave,Loyal"
*Some Forts
recruited local aboriginal men as Auxilary Police and
equipped them with single barrel shotguns. These APs'
were administered by the Police and under direct control
of the Fort Commander.
.*Converted to the
Islamic faith in 1959 and took the name of Mohd.Ruslan,
he continued in the DofA until 1980. Died Kuala Lumpur
December 2005 after a long illness. See www.senoipraaq.com