This 1981 film is based on true story of tragic incident between Malayan Police and Communist in year 1950 in the small district of Bukit Kepong located in Muar, Johor. Almost every year, when Malaysians celebrating Merdeka Day, RTM will showed Bukit Kepong film on TV… And I never miss watching this film. I can’t remember how many times I’ve been watching Bukit Kepong film, but every time when I watch this, my tears will falls down. So touch…. but at the same time I feel proud of the Malayan Police. They died for the honor of this country. Al-Fatihah to all policeman, police family members and other victims who have been killed in the tragedy.
Happy Merdeka Day…
History of Bukit Kepong
Bukit Kepong Incident was an armed encounter which took place on February 23, 1950 between the police and the Malayan Communists in pre-independence Malaya. This conflict took place in an area surrounding the Bukit Kepong police station in Bukit Kepong. The wooden station was located on the river banks of the Muar River, about 59 km from Muar town, Johor.
The incident started just before dawn with the Communists launching a guerilla assault on the police station. It ended in a bloody massacre with the aggressors killing almost all of the police officers stationed there. When they began the siege, the attackers strongly believed that they would be able to defeat the policemen and gain control of the police station within a short span of time. This is due to several factors in their favour: their arms and numerical superiority and the relative isolation of the station. The battle began at about 4:15 am.
According to eyewitness accounts, there were about 200 Communists attacking, led by Muhammad Indera, a Malay Communist. Despite the odds, the policemen led by Allahyarham Sgt. Jamil Mohd Shah, refused to surrender, although numerous calls by the communists for them to lay down arms were made. Several officers were killed as the shooting continued and two wives of the defending officers took up arms when they discovered that their husbands fell in battle.
Desperate and alarmed at the defenders’ tenacity, the Communists captured one of the officers’ wives and threatened her at gunpoint to urge the policemen to surrender. The defenders replied that they would never surrender and continued fighting. Another wife of the officers and her daughter were also forced to do the same. Their refusal then resulted in their execution.
In the final hours of the fierce battle, the Communists set fire to the officers’ barracks and station. Two women and their children were burnt to death in the married quarters. At that point only 3 policemen plus a village guard were still alive. They rushed out from the burning station, unable to withstand the heat. They then assaulted the Communists position, killing at least 3 of them.
Only about five hours after the first shot was fired did the communists manage to break their defences and set the place ablaze. They then retreated into the jungle, leaving a trail of destruction and bloodshed.
14 policemen, 4 village guards, 3 auxiliary policemen, wife of Abu Bakar Daud (one of the surviving policemen) and three of their children were killed in the incident. The total number of deaths is 25. Those who survived the bloody encounter are 4 policemen and 9 family members including their wives and children.
article from: wikipedia.org
