HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Gurkha Security Unit (GSU), formerly known as Gurkha Reserve Unit (GRU) and in Malay as (PSG), also referred to as the Royal Brunei Gurkha Reserve Unit, is a
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
ese special elite guard force and royal guard in
Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
.


Background

The GRU are an elite force of soldiers from Nepal who are commissioned by the
Sultan of Brunei The Sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...
to protect the
royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...
, the citizens, and major oil installations. About 500 Gurkhas work for the Brunei Reserve Unit, the bulk of them are former members 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 ...
and
Singapore Police Force The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal Police, law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; hum ...
Ex-Nepal and Indian armies who joined the GRU as a second career. The group of ex-Gurkha, collectively referred to as "the Praetorian Guard," was previously led by retired British commanders. Military analysts assert that while being well-paid and housed, these Gurkha regiments are not as effective as those that are part of the British Army.


Structure


Administration

It is subordinate to the Security and Defence Section of the Brunei Ministry of Home Affairs. The commandant of the unit, who will be chosen by the Sultan, will be responsible for the organization and management of the unit under the direction and authority of the Minister. In the event of the Commandant's absence or incompetence, the next highest officer present may exercise and carry out the powers and responsibilities set forth in this Act on behalf of the Commandant. The GRU shall be a fundamental component of the Security Forces of Brunei and shall be composed of such a composition of senior officers, subordinate officers, and rank and file as the Sultan may command.


Recruitment

Every member of the Unit must be hired in line with the service contract terms that were in effect when they were hired. After turning 40, no member of the GRU may be given another term of duty with the unit without the Minister's consent and on the Commandant's suggestion. The Unit's responsibilities include taking legal measures to carry out any obligations placed on it by the Sultan or by any written legislation. Each member of the Unit, while serving in that capacity, shall have all the rights, protections, and powers of a police officer and shall be regarded as an employee of the government within the meaning of the Penal Code.


Compensation

When a member of the unit sustains an
injury Injury is physiological damage to the living tissue of any organism, whether in humans, in other animals, or in plants. Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanically with penetration by sharp objects such as teeth or with ...
while doing his duties without being
negligent Negligence ( Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate care expected to be exercised in similar circumstances. Within the scope of tort law, negligence pertains to harm caused by the violation of a duty of care through a negl ...
, the Sultan may decide to compensate the victim according to the commandant's recommendations and the results of a medical board or a government medical officer. When a member of the unit dies within a year of suffering such injuries but whose dependents are not entitled to any payment or benefit under section 12, the Sultan may grant compensation in an amount not more than the member's yearly remuneration.


History


Establishment

In 1947, the
Britain–India–Nepal Tripartite Agreement The Tripartite Agreement between the United Kingdom, India and Nepal is a treaty signed in 1947 concerning the rights of Gurkhas recruited in military services of United Kingdom and India. This agreement does not apply to Gurkhas employed in the Ne ...
was signed between India, United Kingdom and Nepal, except that this agreement does not apply to Gurkhas employed in the
Nepalese Army The Nepali Army (), also referred to as the Gorkhali Army (; see ''Gurkha, Gorkhas''), formally known as "Royal Nepal Army" is the Ground warfare, land Military branch, service branch of the Nepalese Armed Forces, Nepali Armed Forces. After t ...
. Under the agreement, four Gurkha regiments of the
British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...
were transferred to 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 ...
and six joined the
Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
. As of 2020, India has 39 Gurkha battalions serving in seven Gurkha regiments.Gurkha recruitment legacy of past, says Nepal; calls 1947 tripartite agreement 'redundant'
''Times of India'', 31 July 2020.
Those transferred to the British Army were posted to other remaining British colonies. In
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
and Singapore, their presence was required in 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 ...
, and they were to replace the
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
unit in Singapore which reverted to the
Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
on Indian independence. In 1973, prisoners of the 1962
Brunei revolt The Brunei revolt () or the Brunei rebellion of 1962 was a December 1962 insurrection in the British protectorate of Brunei by opponents of its monarchy's proposed inclusion in the Federation of Malaysia. The insurgents were members of the ...
escaped with the claimed help of a foreign warden. the Sultanate of Brunei decided to hire ex-Gurkhas from Hong Kong and Singapore as security after Singapore was consulted. On 25 February 1974, Mohansing Gurung (ex-Singapore Police, presently settled in
Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...
) became the first Gurkha to serve in Brunei. The unit was known as the Gurkha Security Guard. It was formed in 1974 and maintains approximately 2,000
Gurkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with the endonym Gorkhali ( Nepali: गोर्खाली ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of North India. The Gurkha units consist of Nepali and ...
s.Brunei Darussalam
/ref> The government turned to alternative options to bolster the armed forces' strength in order to make up for the lack of regular troop recruiting. In order to fill the specialised Gurkha Reserve Unit, which was created out of former
Royal Gurkha Rifles The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the Unit ...
troops, an extensive recruiting campaign was launched in 1976. Compared to the Gurkhas of the British Army, this regiment was distinct. They stayed on to guard the Sultanate's
internal security Internal security is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other Self-governance, self-governing territories, generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats. This task and rol ...
concerns. They rotated from their Brigade Headquarters in Hong Kong to
Seria Seria or officially known as Seria Town (), is a town in Belait District, Brunei. It is located about west from the country's capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The total population was 3,625 in 2016. It was where oil was first struck in Brunei i ...
. Prior to Brunei's independence in 1984, a confidential correspondence with
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...
provided for their deployment. The Gurkha Battalion remained in the Sultanate at the cost of the Brunei government due to a confidential deal that was negotiated between Brunei and Britain. In contrast, the Gurkha Reserve Unit was directly commanded by the Sultan. Certain claim that this event was directly linked to the threat that certain political captives from Brunei felt was presented by their escape from the Berakas Prison, which occurred with the claimed help of a foreign warden. Static guard tasks were carried out by the GRU in 1973, mostly in the capital area. It was intended to relieve some of the strain on the already overworked Royal Brunei Police (RBP) and
Royal Brunei Malay Regiment The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF); (ABDB), Jawi: , is the official organisation and collective term for all of the military forces or service branches of the sultanate of Brunei Darussalam. The RBAF consists of three primary military branc ...
(RBMR). The Gurkha Reserve Unit was fully established in 1980. Richard Luce, the
Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...
at the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...
(FCO), reportedly believed "it a good idea to help the new state to defend the rich oilfields," according to a 23 September 1983
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
story. Furthermore, "aware that the Gurkha presence provides good experience for nearly 200 British
military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...
s and
NCOs A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted rank ...
, appeared content for them to stay," according to the
British Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for implementing the defence policy set by the government and serves as the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. ...
.


1996 rebellion

In the Sungai Akar Camp in September 1996, a few of the Gurkha troops were fed up with the way their British and Brunei superiors were treating them, met to determine the best method to
protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...
and to bring awareness to this issue. Their complaints included being ridiculed and harassed, as well as not receiving the right
salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. ...
, benefits, and free meals. In addition, they believed that Gurkha recruitment for the Brunei security forces should be handled by a separate treaty between Nepal and Brunei rather than by 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 ...
. Out of the 2,500 Gurkha soldiers in Brunei, more than 2,400 joined on to support the cause after our meeting created a governing committee and subcommittees. While they were in discussions with the leadership,
boycotting A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict s ...
had begun on some of the top officials. One of their requests was the abolishment of the GRU. Their written
memorandum A memorandum (: memorandums or memoranda; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered"), also known as a briefing note, is a Writing, written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviation, ...
was presented, but it was rejected. Then, all GRU weapons were abruptly returned to the government of Brunei one night, and their unit resumed its role as a security guard force. Other requests, such as a pay raise and an end to the
maltreatment Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, ...
by haughty officers. Pressure was mounting as the issue once more came to a boil. It was clear that in order to enforce military discipline, the brass would take harsh action against whatever it deemed to be a mutiny and insubordination. As it turned out, 11 of them who were deemed to be the instigators were covertly
deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its Sovereignty, sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or ...
, and without the rest of the unit knowing, and were sent to the
Brunei International Airport Brunei International Airport (BIA) (, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: لاڤڠن تربڠ انتارابڠسا بروني ) is the primary international airport and official airport of entry; one of two airports in the Sultanate of Brunei, Brunei Darussala ...
to catch a flight back to Nepal. At the airport, they were waiting to board and were unaware that word had already spread about our dismissal and expulsion from the camp. The Nepali troops protested by encircling the headquarters building and demanding their dismissal, in response to the deteriorating situation and vandalism, HQ dispatched the
riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police officers who act in the role of riot police in particular situations, or they may be separate unit ...
. A few hours later, the
Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...
of Brunei, hurried to the airport to ask what had transpired. He questioned and wanted to know whether they could persuade the Nepalis still camped there to return to their dorms and terminate the protest. Ram Kangdangwa retorted that he would if their employment was reinstated and was given permission to address the base population for a brief speech. Following his speech, the Nepali troops all dispersed. The Permanent Secretary apparently was taken aback by the Gurkhas' obedience and discipline, so he proceeded to speak with GRU commanders. He stated that Col. F. D. Scotson, the British commander in head of the GRU, had recently been sacked. The Permanent Secretary promised us that all of our other requests, including those for a pay and pension, would be satisfied now that Scotson had left office and the GRU had returned to its previous position as a security force.


Present day

On 25 February 1999, the GRU celebrated their 25th
Silver Jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...
. On 2 May 2001 at the Sungai Akar Camp, the unit staged its first "Long Service and Good Conduct Medal" award ceremony. In all, 237 personnel—11 officers and 226 soldiers of various ranks—were awarded medals by the deputy minister of defence, Pengiran Ibnu Ba'asith upon completion of nine years of meritorious service. According to him, the unit's main responsibility is to keep "designated government buildings, installations, and key points" secure around-the-clock. Additionally, they aid the
Royal Brunei Police Force The Royal Brunei Police Force, RBPF ( (PDB) is in charge of keeping law and order in Brunei. The RBPF has been one of the 190 members of INTERPOL, an intergovernmental organisation worldwide since 1984. With a force of more than 4,400 officers ...
(RBPF) and other governmental organizations in their monitoring and search operations. Brunei has raised almost $166,000 for the victims of the Nepal earthquake, and on 22 June 2015 transfer ceremony saw the Gurkha Reserve Unit donate $2,667. Since it began on 30 April, the Humanitarian Fund for Nepal's Earthquake Victims has amassed $166,585.53. The contributions were presented to Noridah Abdul Hamid, acting director of the Community Development Department at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, by LTC Rani Bujang, commandant of the GRU. The GRU's K9 Section hired Dog Force Australia in the middle of 2019 to offer a Train the Trainer Course to six of their seasoned handlers. The course's main goal was to provide the students with the knowledge and abilities necessary for the unit to train handlers in explosive detection,
searching Searching may refer to: Music * " Searchin", a 1957 song originally performed by The Coasters * "Searching" (China Black song), a 1991 song by China Black * "Searchin" (CeCe Peniston song), a 1993 song by CeCe Peniston * " Searchin' (I Gott ...
and patrol duties. Numerous new training approaches were incorporated into the unit's current training program as a result of the training program's exceptionally positive reception.


Units

* Guard Unit (GD UNIT) * Support Unit (SP UNIT) * K-9 Unit (K-9 UNIT)


See also

*
Military of Brunei The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF); (ABDB), Jawi script, Jawi: , is the official organisation and collective term for all of the military forces or service branches of the sultanate of Brunei, Brunei Darussalam. The RBAF consists of three pr ...
*
Gurkhas The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with the endonym Gorkhali ( Nepali: गोर्खाली ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of North India. The Gurkha units consist of Nepali and ...
of the
British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...
(1858–1947) *
Gorkha regiments (India) At the time of Indian Independence Act 1947, Indian Independence in 1947, as per the terms of the Britain–India–Nepal Tripartite Agreement, six Gorkha regiments, formerly part of the British Indian Army, became part of the Indian Army and hav ...
, seven regiments in India which is the original parent force for the units in Singapore and Brunei * Gurkha Contingent (Singapore) *
Brigade of Gurkhas Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective name which refers to all the units in the British Army that are composed of Gurkha, Nepalese Gurkha soldiers. The brigade draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Arm ...
(British Army) *
Royal Gurkha Rifles The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the Unit ...
(British Army)


References


External links


Serving abroad
— at Photius.com
Brigade of Gurkhas
— British Army website {{Authority control Military of Brunei Gurkhas Law enforcement agencies of Brunei 1974 establishments in Brunei