Prisoners tell of Indonesian plan (Canberra Times, 31 Desember 1964)

Date retrieved: 2026-10-17 OCR text (uncorrected) follows. 31 Dec 1964 - Prisoners tell of Indonesian plan Canberra Times (ACT: 1926 - 1995), Thursday 31 December 1964, page 1 Prisoners tell of Indonesian plan KUALA LUMPUR, Wednesday (A.A.P. - Reuter). — Indonesia is establishing a Malayan government and army in exile in Sumatra, according to two Indonesian prisoners interrogated here. They claim to have met the leaders of the "Malayan Republic" and to have seen scores of soldiers wearing "Malayan National Army" uniforms at army [Unreadable] centres in Sumatra. The two prisoners had "Malayan National Army" uniforms with them when arrested with 20 other armed Indonesians in the Malacca Straits by the patrolling British frigate Ajax on Christmas Eve. Sgt. [Unreadable] Marimba and Sgt. Ramelan Bin Tjokromadi were brought before a press conference by the Malaysian Information Department today. Speaking through an interpreter, Sgt. Marimba, a 22-year-old conscript, said he had been at the armoured depot at Bandung, West Java. Ramelan was a staff instructor at a commando training camp at Padang in West Sumatra. Introduced as leaders They were sent last month to two other camps. At Tanjong Kongkoog, on Merbau Island in the Northern Rhio group, about 40 miles from the south-west Malayan coast, they met a Maj.-Gen. Shamsuddin Noor, who, they were told, was the commander-in-chief of the Malayan National Army, and Haji Harun Bin Haji Puteh, who was described as President of the Malayan Republic. They attended a forum at which "President" Harun spoke, and were told their task was to make Malaya 100 per cent free. They were given camouflage uniforms and green berets. "There were scores of men there," Sgt. Marimba said. "We were told before leaving (on the Christmas Eve raid) that we would be met by Malayan welcoming committees with open arms. Our task was to train and fight alongside the Malayans for their liberty, and establish advance bases." Photostated and translated documents taken from the two officers said Indonesia was planning to feed guerrillas into the Malayan Peninsula at nine points. The documents referred to planned landings at Port Dickson, a holiday resort for Kuala Lumpur 40 miles south of the capital, and the south-west coast city of Malacca, where a composite British-Australian-New Zealand infantry brigade is based. Uniforms on display Uniforms displayed with the two captured men bore shoulder flashes reading "Tentera Nasional Malaya" (Malayan National Army), and a red and white flag with three stars. The Indonesian flag is red and white. Sgt. Marimba said the basic design of the flags was the same "to show the closeness between the two nations." The stars stood for God, humanity, and social justice. Captured weapons displayed included two rifles, a carbine, two Sten guns, a Madsen sub-machine gun, a Bren gun, 60 hand grenades, 22,573 rounds of ammunition and 30 assorted magazines, and a quantity of explosives. In Djakarta today President Sukarno said Indonesian police had arrested two groups of Malaysian infiltrators. He did not say where or when the Malaysian groups were captured, but said, "If desired we can print the pictures of these arrested persons in newspapers, and screen them on television. This is a proof that Kuala Lumpur has no peaceful intentions." The wife of the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Dr. Subandrio, was among about 500 housewives who demonstrated in Djakarta today at the rising cost of living. They massed in front of the office of the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. [Unreadable]. A delegation including Mrs. Subandrio handed in a protest while the rest of the women sang revolutionary songs and shouted "Down with prices" and "Hang corruptors." The demonstration was organised by the Indonesian Women's Congress, of which Mrs. Subandrio is general chairman.