How the SAS Mastered Jungle Warfare in Malaya - The Untold Story
124K views · Jul 13, 2026 · People & Blogs
Comments · 192
@fatmanfaffing4116 · 2 months ago
Not just the SAS but ordinary county regiments, support units like artillery, engineers and transport all took part in jungle operations. My dad was a bandsman in a cavalry unit and he did his share of patrols and ambushes. The band was part of HQ Squadron and did their share. So not just the elite units. And Aussies, Kiwis, Fijians, Rhodesians all took part.
14
@ChinYeanOng · 2 months ago (edited)
The video forget to mention about Australian and more importantly their special secret weapon -- Iban Tracker, who are the native of Borneo jungle, who taught the SAS about the real jungle
36
@joebeer2160 · 1 month ago
My Dad was one of the SAS members who were here and went through all of this. Some of the facts are close and some very incorrect. But it's a good watch.
9
@ehf4597 · 2 months ago
Thanks to Iban people... Agi idup agi ngelaban
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@reubensher8144 · 2 months ago (edited)
"There must be one man, with one plan, and with the power to carry it out"<br>Mad Mike Calvert<br>No soldier should ever be treated like Calvert in his dying days.
8
@rmod13modr · 2 months ago
When I said VAT69 is one of the best counter terrorist unit in the world, the westies, mostly americans, laughed and claimed it as a bold statement. We became the best because we were trained by the British SAS, which is a CT unit they respect without any discrimination. The americans look down on us because we're Asians.
12
@klchew1963 · 2 months ago
The best jungle warfare unit during the Vietnam War was Malaysia's Senoi Praaq Special Forces. The Senoi Praaq is a Malaysian special forces unit originally created in 1956 by the British colonial authorities to fight communism during the Malayan Emergency. They were recruited from the indigenous aborigines of Peninsular Malaysia. The unit began as a creature of British Military Intelligence and fought in the deep jungle as Special Air Service (SAS) protégés, eventually replacing the latter upon Malaysian independence from the British in 1957. The British 22 SAS bestowed the maroon beret on the unit in recognition of their services to them, which they still wear to this day.The extraordinary jungle survival and tracking skills of these aborigines were legendary and the British feared that the Communist Terrorists would gain an advantage if these skills were utilised against the British. <br> <br>Before the Senoi Praaq were deployed into an area, conventional units would withdraw, allowing the Senoi Praaq complete, unrestricted freedom of movement in the operational area. The jungle skills, stealth, endurance, and fighting skills of the Senoi Praaq made them feared adversaries of the communists in Malaya. The unit attained a respectable body count and legends arose of incidents when the Senoi Praaq would count up 10 kills in a single, swift engagement. The Senoi Praaq Squadrons achieved a casualty ratio of 16:1 for killed, wounded or surrendered (better than the SAS or Gurkhas at that time). Though the Senoi Praaq troopers were given a choice of weapons, they reportedly enjoyed scoring kills using their traditional weapons - the blowpipe with cyanide-tipped darts being a favourite. They particularly enjoyed a leisurely hunt that would take a few days, stalking their prey as if they were tracking game. The Senoi Praaq quickly established a ruthless reputation among the communist forces who took great pains to avoid the Senoi Praaq. Though they had access to air and artillery support, these were rarely used. Instead, the Senoi Praaq preferred more intimate tactics. <br> <br>Lt Col Noone, the founder of the Senoi Praaq, along with a group of Senoi Praaq members were sent to An Khe, Vietnam early 1963 at the request of South Vietnam President Diem to train the indigenous groups there. They were asked to train them on counter-insurgency operations as had been successfully carried out in Malaya while fighting the communists during the Emergency. They were also responsible for forming the Montagnard Scouts team under the CIA-led MSP (Mountain Scout Programme) in co-operation with BRIAM (British Advisory Mission). The CIA called them the "Whispering Death" for their mode of operation and used to them to carry out covert missions in Laos. The Saigon government were so impressed by them that they wanted them to be under their direct control. However, they faced hostility from regular South Vietnamese forces, especially their special forces. Due to this intense animosity between the Vietnamese Special Forces and Noone’s team, Noone requested for his team’s removal from Vietnam. The Senoi Praaq team withdrew at the end of 1963 when Malaysia's Confrontation with Indonesia began. At around the same time President Diem was assassinated by a CIA supported military coup.
7
@grempic · 2 months ago
glad malaysia is not a communist country
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@athlonrulez · 2 months ago
The Communist movement in Malaya, known as the PKM (Parti Komunis Malaya), originated as the MPAJA (Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army), a force trained by the British during World War II to resist Japanese occupation. However, their ultimate goal—to establish a communist state in the Malay heartland and outlaw religion in a predominantly Muslim society—was widely seen as unrealistic and unacceptable. <br> <br>Following the war, the PKM turned to guerrilla warfare, resulting in the deaths of numerous civilians, including women and children. This led to a steady decline in Malay public support for their cause. A key counterinsurgency measure was the resettlement of Chinese communities living near jungle areas into what later became known as Kampung Baru (New Villages), which significantly weakened the insurgents' support base. <br> <br>The British SAS also gained invaluable jungle-tracking skills from the indigenous Orang Asli, techniques that would later become a trademark of SAS operations. It is important to note that the PKM was not fighting for Malayan independence, as their loyalty lay with Communist China. Their true aim was to subjugate the population and impose communist ideology by force. <br> <br>Nevertheless, the SAS played a pivotal role in shaping the development of Malaysia’s special forces, including units such as VAT69, GGK, and UTK. The PKM eventually surrendered and laid down their arms in 1989, following Malaysia’s normalization of ties with China and then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s successful efforts to persuade China to sever its support for the PKM. <br> <br>Regrettably, this documentary overlooks the crucial contributions of Malay military forces in defeating the PKM, as well as Thailand’s role in supporting the insurgents by providing safe havens and enabling a proxy war. Thailand supplied the PKM with weapons and safe passage, while Malaysian elite forces, in turn, supported and supplied the PULO (Pattani United Liberation Organization) in their fight against the Thai military, in response to Thailand’s control over the three Malay-majority states in southern Thailand.
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@davidcampbell6104 · 2 months ago
The Rhodesian SAS was there as well. ‘C’ Squadron.
16
@DaniTrejo45 · 2 months ago
Tip to survive in the jungle : <br>Baygon <br>Fumakilla
12
@Voetsek403 · 1 month ago
C squadron was mainly Rhodesians. That’s why after Malayan campaign. It was moved to Rhodesia from Hereford
1
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