Retired officer put to tears watching remake of battle against communists

PUTRAJAYA: Retired Warrant Officer 1 Ielias Ibrahim broke into tears when a pantomime reliving his heroics in fighting communists off in 1977 was played at the Warriors' Day 2016 celebration today.
Ielias, the only recipient of the Panglima Gagah Berani (PGB) medal in the country, said he cries every time he watches a play or pantomime of that fateful day on Aug 15, 1977, which saw two of his comrades lost their lives in the line of battle.
"The pantomime is an enactment of what truly happened, what me and four of my friends went through. I'm sad for the loss of two of them during battle, so I brought their children here today to see their father's sacrifice.
"Each time I watch, it feels like it just happened. I can't stop tearing," he told reporters after the celebration at Dataran Pahlawan Negara today.
Ielias, together with lance corporals Abd Halim Hassan and Ahamad Zaki Shamsuddin, Privates Tajudin Yusof and Md Ali Hassan, were performing their duties at the East-West Highway, Grik, Perak, when they were attacked by communists, killing both Tajudin and Ali.
Despite being injured, Ielias managed to kill three of the communists single-handedly, while the rest of them fled away.
Ielias, who was an Askar Wataniah (Territorial Army) before being absorbed as a permanent military man, urged the younger generation to pick up a similar voluntary military like him.
"Don't be negligent. We don't want someday, our children don't even know what to do or how to hold a weapon to protect the country. There's no loss in joining the Askar Wataniah," he said.
He also advised security personnel of today to be more vigilant and alert in defending the country, due to the difference in nature and advancement of the modern enemies.
Meanwhile, Abd Halim, showing his gunshot wounds across his body after being shot six times by communists, said he was thankful he survived.
Ielias, Abd Halim, and Ali's son Ismail were also given the honour to stand before the Agong during the ceremony.