Bukit Kepong incident

{{about|the 1950 Bukit Kepong incident|the 1981 film of Bukit Kepong incident|Bukit Kepong (film)|the small town in Johor|Bukit Kepong}}

{{Infobox military conflict

| conflict = Bukit Kepong Incident

| partof = the Malayan Emergency

| image = {{Location map many | Malaysia West#Malaysia Johor

| width = 260

| float = center

| label = Bukit Kepong

| pos = center

| marksize = 8

| lat_deg = 2.35

| lon_deg = 102.833333

}}

| caption =

| date = 23 February 1950

| place = Bukit Kepong, Muar, Johore

| result = Communist Tactical victory

Malayan Police Strategic victory
communist retreated after the second attack

| combatant1 = {{flagicon|Malaya}} Federation of Malaya

{{flagicon image|Royal Malaysian Police.svg}} Malayan Police

| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Communist Party of Malaya.svg|size=23px}} Malayan Communist Party

{{flagicon image|Flag of the Malayan National Liberation Army.svg}} Malayan National Liberation Army

| commander1 = {{flagicon image|Royal Malaysian Police.svg}} Sgt. Jamil Mohd Shah{{KIA}} (Bukit Kepong police chief)
Ali Mustapha (Chief of Bukit Kepong village)

| commander2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Malayan National Liberation Army.svg|size=23px}} Mat Indera{{Executed}}|
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Malayan National Liberation Army.svg|size=23px}} Lek Tuan

| strength1 = 25 Police officers

| strength2 = 180 Insurgents

| casualties1 = 14 officers killed
5 auxiliary police killed
4 officers wounded
Total:
23 casualties

| casualties2 = 40 killed

| casualties3 = {{plainlist |

Civilian casualties
2 killed}}

}}

Bukit Kepong incident was an armed encounter in 1950 during the Malayan Emergency between the Federation of Malaya Police and the guerrillas of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), the armed wing of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP). 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.{{cite journal|last=Tan|first=CP|title=Bukit Kepong: The Malayan Alamo|journal=Armorama|url=http://armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=1811|access-date=5 May 2010|archive-date=7 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907225604/http://armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=1811|url-status=dead}}

Chronology

The incident started just before dawn with the Communist gunmen launching a guerrilla assault on the police station leading to the deaths of 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 was 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 180 Communists attacking, led by Muhammad Indera, a Malay Communist. Despite the odds, the policemen led by 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.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_aPdeJinXGwC&q=chin+peng+bukit+kepong&pg=PA165|title=Dialogues with Chin Peng: New Light on the Malayan Communist Party|last1=Chin|first1=C. C.|last2=Hack|first2=Karl|date=2004|publisher=NUS Press|isbn=9789971692872|pages=164–165, 167–168|language=en}}

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.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}} At that point only three 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 three 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.

Fourteen policemen, two civilians, five auxiliary policemen, the wife of Abu Bakar Daud (one of the surviving policemen), the wife of Abu Mohd Ali and two of their children were killed in the incident.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Reinforcements from nearby villages

During the attack, reinforcement were sent from Kampung Tui as the battle reverberated throughout several of the nearby villages.{{cite web|title=Peristiwa Bukit Kepong|url=http://www.ukm.my/knam/data/Peristiwa_Bukit_Kepong.pdf|publisher=Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127082809/http://www.ukm.my/knam/data/Peristiwa_Bukit_Kepong.pdf|archive-date=27 January 2012|language=ms|url-status=dead}} A band of villagers led by the village chief Ali Mustafa from Kampung Tui was escorted by 13 Auxiliary policemen. They were ambushed by the Communists en route about half a kilometre away from the station. The villagers were outgunned by the Communists who were using automatic weapons as opposed to rifles and shotguns held by the villagers. Several village guards were wounded and two more auxiliary police officers killed. Although stopped halfway, their presence relieved some pressure of the Bukit Kepong defenders and forced a general Communist retreat.

Due to the lopsided situation, Ali Mustafa ordered his guards to retreat while the rest were asked to defend the perimeter around Bukit Kepong town. The Communists eventually retreated after setting fire to the village office and robbing a few stores.

At the same time, another village guard group came from Kampung Durian Chondong using a sampan heading towards Bukit Kepong to render aid. They arrived there at 10 a.m. and that was when the first news of the attack on Bukit Kepong police station was communicated.

Aftermath

When the village guards entered the village, they were able to observe the aftermath of the attack. The village chief took command of the outpost until relieved by a police team from Muar. The battle at Bukit Kepong is considered to be tragic defeat although it strengthened the Government and people's resolve to fight the Communist insurgency.{{cite web|author1=Tan Choe Choe|author2=Rizalman Hammim|title=Bukit Kepong was bathed in blood|url=http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/20bkepong-2/Article/art_print|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025145933/https://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/20bkepong-2/Article/art_print|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 October 2018|website=New Straits Times|date=20 February 2011|quote="...Although the Bukit Kepong incident was a tragic defeat, it became a pivotal event that strengthened the Malayan government and people's resolve to fight the communist insurgency..."}} A small force defending against overwhelming odds gave the war against Communist insurgency a massive boost in terms of morale.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}} Some drew comparisons between the Bukit Kepong incident and the Alamo,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=33UMAQAAMAAJ&q=bukit+kepong+alamo|title=Asiaweek|publisher=Asiaweek Limited|year=1981|volume=7|pages=31|language=en}} where the Bukit Kepong policemen, similar to the Texans, came under overwhelming odds and fought to the last man.

=List of killed in action (KIA)=

{{main|List of Malaysian police officers killed in the line of duty}}

==Policeman==

Sergeant 3493 Jamil Bin Mohd Shah (Bukit Kepong police chief)
Corporal 7068 Mohd Yassin Bin Haji Wahab
Lance Corporal 7168 Jidin Bin Omar
Police Constable (PC) 3933 Hamzah Bin Ahmad
PC 5674 Abu Bin Mohd Ali
PC 7493 Muhammad Bin Jaafar
PC 7862 Abu Kadir Bin Jusoh
PC 8600 Jaafar Bin Hassan
PC 9136 Hassan Bin Osman
Extra Police Constable (EPC) 3475 Mohd Tap Bin Lazim
EPC 3795 Jaafar Bin Arshad
Marine Constable (MPC) 60 Ibrahim Bin Adam
MPC 68 Awang Bin Ali
MPC 181 Basiron Bin Adam
MPC 37 Abu Bakar Bin Daud

==Auxiliary Police (AP)==

AP 1925 Ali Akop Bin Othman
AP 2127 Othman Bin Yahya
AP 2130 Samad Bin Yatim

==Auxiliary Police (AP) were killed in action (KIA) outside police station==

AP 1912 Mahmood Bin Saat
AP 2098 Redzuan Bin Alias

==Non-combatants==

Embong Lazim
Koh Ah Cheng

==Police family members==

Fatimah Binte Yaaba – wife of Marine Constable Abu Bakar Daud
Hassan Bin Abu Bakar – son of Marine Constable Abu Bakar Daud
Saadiah – wife of Constable Abu Mohd Ali
Simah Binte Abu – daughter of Constable Abu Mohd Ali
Arafah Binte Yusoff - wife of Marine Constable Ibrahim bin Adam

== Malayan Communist Party ==

40 guerilla fighters (names unknown)

=List of survivors=

==Policemen ==

PC 7645 Haji Yusoff Bin Rono (retired within rank of Sergeant, died on 14 April 2005)
PC 10533 Othman Bin Yusoff
EPC 3472 Ahmad Bin Khalid

::Note: All officers are deceased

==Police family members==

Mariam Binte Ibrahim – widow of Constable Muhamad Jaafar
Zainun Binte Muhamad – daughter of Constable Muhamad Jaafar
Abu Samah Bin Muhammad – son of Constable Muhamad Jaafar
Zaleha Binte Muhamad – daughter of Constable Muhamad Jaafar
Jamilah Binte Abu Bakar – daughter of Marine Constable Abu Bakar Daud
Hussain Bin abu Bakar – son of Marine Constable Abu Bakar Daud
Fatimah Binte Abdul Manan @ Timah Lawa – widow of Constable Hassan Osman
Pon Binte Khalid – widow of Marine Constable Awang Ali
Fatimah Binte Tuani – widow of Constable Hamzah Ahmad
Edmund Ross Williams Hunt – Orang Asli mountain guide at Bukit Kepong

In popular culture

=Film and novel=

Bukit Kepong was a 1981 action film chronicling the events of the conflict; produced and directed by Jins Shamsuddin, who also portrays Sergeant Jamil Mohd Shah.{{cite news|author1=Niezam Abdullah|title=Filem 'Bukit Kepong' Ikut Fakta Sejarah - Jins Shamsuddin|url=http://www.mstar.com.my/hiburan/berita-hiburan/2011/09/13/filem-bukit-kepong-ikut-fakta-sejarah--jins-shamsuddin/|website=mStar Online|access-date=6 February 2017|language=ms|date=13 September 2011|archive-date=6 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206052523/http://www.mstar.com.my/hiburan/berita-hiburan/2011/09/13/filem-bukit-kepong-ikut-fakta-sejarah--jins-shamsuddin/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last1=Sta Maria|first1=Stephanie|title=The man behind 'Bukit Kepong'|url=http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2011/09/13/the-man-behind-bukit-kepong/|website=Free Malaysia Today|access-date=6 February 2017|date=13 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206075409/http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2011/09/13/the-man-behind-bukit-kepong/|archive-date=6 February 2017|url-status=dead}}

Bukit Kepong novel which was written by Ismail Johari and published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) in 1990. It was adopted as the Form 4 secondary school and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) educational teaching material.{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/15621636/Novel-Bukit-Kepong|title=Novel Bukit Kepong-Folio novel Bukit Kepong ini disediakan khusus untuk pelajar SPM|publisher=Scribd|work=Uploaded by SUBRAMANIAM RENGASAMY |language=ms}}

= Controversial statement on Bukit Kepong by PAS Deputy President =

On 21 August 2011, Mohamad Sabu, then Deputy President of Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), now President of Parti Amanah Negara (AMANAH), made a controversial statement saying that Mat Indera, the leader of the communists during the Bukit Kepong Incident, was a national hero for fighting against British rule.{{cite web|author1=Hemananthani Sivanandam|title=Mat Sabu to take legal action against Utusan over report|url=http://www.thesundaily.my/news/127062|website=The Sun|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402170237/http://www.thesundaily.my/news/127062|archive-date=2 April 2012|date=29 August 2011}}