The Federation Regiment was an attempt by British General

Gerald Templer Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part against the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Pales ...

(1898–1979) to form a multiracial

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the Malayan Federation Army.

History

In 1933, the British

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

agreed to the formation of the

Malay Regiment The Royal Malay Regiment (; Jawi: ) is the premier unit of the Malaysian Army's two infantry regiments. At its largest, the Malay Regiment comprised 27 battalions. At present, three battalions are parachute trained and form part of the Malaysia ...

as a locally raised regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. Two

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s of the Malay Regiment were raised before the Japanese invasion of Malaya, and both battalions acquitted themselves well during the

Battle of Malaya The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles between ...

and the subsequent

Battle of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...

Malayan Emergency

After World War II, the Malay Regiment was reformed and by 1948 had a strength of three infantry battalions. With the onset of the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

, the British Administration planned to increase the number of battalions to ten by 1960. However, the planned expansion of the Malay Regiment could not be made at the desired pace, and in 1957 only seven battalions had been raised. Due to the demands placed on the British Army by the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and other commitments, it was imperative to the Malayan Emergency.

Federation Regiment formed

In July 1952, the Federation Regiment Bill was passed in the

Federal Legislative Council The Federal Legislative Council (also known simply as the Legislative Council) was the legislative body of the Federation of Malaya and the predecessor of the Malaysian Parliament. It was formed in 1948 after the abolition of the Malayan Union an ...

. This bill paved the way for the development of the first multiracial infantry unit as desired by General Gerald Templer. The Malayan Emergency was seen as a war between the British

colonists A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

and the Chinese-dominated

Malayan Communist Party The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), officially the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was a Marxist–Leninist and anti-imperialist communist party which was active in British Malaya and later, the modern states of Malaysia and Singapore f ...

, with the Malays seemingly supporting the British cause. Hence, it was imperative that the Chinese population be involved in the campaign against the Communists. Templer had hoped to form a purely Chinese regiment, but his idea was met with hostility by the Malay rulers. They however agreed to his idea to raise at least three multiracial battalions recruited from among the locals in Malaya and mooted the formation of the Federation Regiment with the understanding that each battalion would be balanced by an additional battalion of the Malay Regiment. By November 1952, the Federation Regiment was able to recruit 434 men, of which only 75 were of Chinese descent, though a large proportion of the Chinese applied to be officers or to join the technical services. By 1957, the Malay Regiment had grown to seven battalions, but the

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

Army was only able to raise a single battalion of the Federation Regiment. The British found it hard to attract non-Malays to join the Federation Regiment, though this problem was also faced by the Malayan Police force.

Templer's 12 Superb Men

Templer selected a group of young Malayan men to be sent first to Eaton Hall in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, and then selected 24 young Malayans to undergo Officer Cadet Training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst for later appointment as officers of the multiracial Federation Regiment. The term 12 Superb Men was coined by the Malayan Press after the publicity associated with the selection of the 13 men and their round Malaya exercise in an attempt to recruit men for the Federation Regiment. The first 11 men were personally approved by Templer. In the July 27, 1952,

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

, Major General Sir

Hugh Stockwell General (United Kingdom), General Sir Hugh Charles Stockwell, (16 June 1903 – 27 November 1986) was a senior British Army officer most remembered for commanding the Anglo-French ground forces during the Suez Crisis and his service as Deputy Su ...

was quoted describing the men as “completely satisfactory in every way”. The pioneering officer cadets, nicknamed Templer’s 12 or Templer’s Superb Men, for the multiracial Federation Regiment comprised: *Lai Chung Wah — retired a Mej. Jen.(deceased April 18, 2017) *Victor Nelson Stevenson — retired Brig. Gen *Lakhbir Singh Gill — retired a Mejar *Thong Chee Sin — retired a Lt. Kol. *Ng Boon Hwa — retired Lt. Kol. *N. Selvarajah — retired a Mej. Jen. *Gui Poh Chui — retired Kol. *Leong Siew Meng — retired a Mej. Jen. (deceased) *Khong Kim Kong — retired Lt. Kol. *Asna Mohd Sutan — retired Brig. Gen *Abdullah Samsudin — retired a Lt Jen *Amiruddin Mustapha Albakri — (retired a Mejar, joined from the Royal Malay Regiment) They paved the way for a multiracial armed forces in line with Templer's vision for the formation of a multiracial infantry regiment.

Federation Regiment achievements

In 1954 and 1955, 1 Bn Federation Regiment under the command of Lt. Col. Trevor, OBE, had one confirmed kill in Sungai Bong, Butterworth by 8

Platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

, C

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

. 1 Bn Federation Regiment was then transferred to

Melaka Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca. The state is bordered by Negeri Sembilan to the north and west and Johor to t ...

and Muar and had three kills, with seven bandits captured. On 26 August 1956, the 1 Bn Federation Regiment killed the senior personal assistant to

Chin Peng Chin Peng (21 October 1924 – 16 September 2013), born Ong Boon Hua, was a British Malaya, Malayan Communism, communist politician, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, and revolutionary, who was the leader and commander of the Malayan Commun ...

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the

. Another CT was killed during Operation Latima around Jasin. On 17 July 1957, 1 Bn Federation Regiment scored another kill in the District of

Bahau Bahau is the principal town of Jempol District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Etymology The town's name is believed to have been derived from a Chinese phrase. Bahau's literal translation is "horse's mouth" while the nearby town, Mahsan means "hors ...

Merge with Federation Reconnaissance Regiment

On 1 January 1960, the Federation Regiment was merged with the Federation Reconnaissance Regiment and renamed the Federation Reconnaissance Corps.

References

{{Reflist * Defense & Decolonization in South-East Asia, Karl Hac

Templer's 12 weeds out the enemy
Formations of the Malaysian Army