Wednesday 18 January 2012 VA005 MEMORIALS HONOUR AUSTRALIAN SERVICE IN MALAYSIA Two memorials in Malaysia honouring the service of Australian military personnel 70 years ago will be restored with the help of funding announced today by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Warren Snowdon. Mr Snowdon said the funding would restore the 2nd/30th Battalion Memorial at Gemas and a plaque commemorating the Malaysian-Indonesian Confrontation at the Kundasang War Memorial. “The grants, worth just over $80,000 will help preserve our important wartime history in this region and encourage more people to learn about the extraordinary efforts of those who served,” he said. The 2nd/30th Battalion Memorial commemorates the battalion’s first battle on 14 January 1942. In December 1941 the Japanese forces landed at Singora and Patani in Thailand, and Kota Bahru in northern Malaya. They fought against British and Indian troops, until B Company of the 2nd/30th ambushed the Japanese at Gemencheh Bridge. “This was a remarkable ambush and the first Australian blow against the Japanese in that campaign. The 2nd/30th suffered 20 killed or missing believed dead, and 58 wounded. The Japanese casualties were thought to be about one thousand.” “As a remarkable example of detailed planning and decisive action, this battle is still a case study in our own Army schools and in military schools in several other countries,” Mr Snowdon said. The plaque at the Kundasang War Memorial commemorates the Australian and New Zealand personnel who served in the Malaysia-Indonesia Confrontation of 1962-1966, and their close wartime relationship with the people of Sabah. Mr Snowdon said, this little known, but highly successful counterinsurgency campaign by Australian and other Commonwealth forces continues to be relevant 50 years on. “I encourage Australians travelling overseas to visit the Overseas Memorials Database to learn more about memorials to Australia’s war time legacy located around the world.” The Australian Government’s Overseas Privately-Constructed Memorial Restoration Program provides funding to restore existing memorials outside Australian territory which directly commemorate Australia’s military involvement in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations and recognise the contribution of Australian servicemen and women. More than $600,000 in funding has been provided since the program was introduced in 2007. Media Note: Images are available from the DVA Media Centre at www.dva.gov.au/media. Media Release - VA005
