The administration has announced a decision to refurbish a commando camp in the north. The appearance is the camp is being converted, at great cost, into a country club for retired commandos. In Malaysia, commandos are a special function unit of the regular army, used by generals somewhat as the UTK is used as a swat team by the national police.

There is to be a meeting of ex-commandos at the site of the new camp on April 7, attended by the prime minister. Just as police cadets are told they must obey the orders of the party in power, the prime minister will remind the commandos that their loyalty is to the government, meaning himself. He hopes that they may be relied upon should he need them. But the King controls the army. His ambitious deputy, who as home minister heads the national police force, watches warily.

Two ex-commandos will not be present. Raja Kamaruddin, on receiving his invitation, gave notification to all his comrades it was not his type of party. He said his testimony in the Anwar Ibrahim trial still stands. He told the judge the details of the conspiracy to destroy Anwar's political career, describing his own central role and the participation of the finance minister and others in the administration. The judge managed to ignore this testimony, perhaps preferring to nod toward the prime ministerial premises at Putrajaya.

The other commando who will not be present is Matthew, also known as Medan, a son of Sarawak, who died serving his country at the Battle of Bukit Jenalik. The media reported that he was tortured, shot in the legs. At the trial, a statement was read that Medan was shot in the back.

The witness who gave the statement, Jaafar Putih, unfortunately was dead, having died of stomach pains just after leaving the police station at Lenggong, where he was kept incommunicado for ten days after release from hostage captivity. His statement was taken just in time. The circumstances of Jaafar Putih's death are as mysterious as that of the commando Medan.

A special branch officer held hostage for four days survived, tied to a durian tree. At first he said he said he saw nothing, but later said he was miraculously able to see up and over the hill into the deep vale below, where a man was shot within his excellent sight. When released in the afternoon, he failed to mention that two missing men were buried a few feet away.

He received a promotion for his bravery. The grave was stumbled upon in the dark by another policeman later that night. He also found rifles that were overlooked by a regiment of soldiers looking for them in daylight. It is strange that in this camp of devout Muslims no prayer rugs were found, no sarongs, no skullcaps.

When Medan's body was recovered from Bukit Jenalik it was taken to a hospital for post-mortem examination. The pathologist found no wounds on the legs, and none in the back. There was no sign of torture. The photographs taken at the time clearly reveal that he was shot between the eyes.

Most of those who examined the corpse were subsequently transferred to distant places. Shortly after the incident, Medan's parents in Sarawak were generously rewarded for his sacrifice, as was the widow of the special branch detective Sagadevan, who was also shot between the eyes.

Later, in Ipoh, the leader of Unit B of the UTK was rewarded in front of a battalion parade for his courageous participation in the Bukit Jenalik affair. He received a promotion and a transfer to Malacca, where he may be expected to faithfully serve the elected officials of the party in power.

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