I have just fired off an email to this magazine.

Dear Editor
I notice that on page 10 of the current issue of Air Mail under the heading "Medals" you mention that veterans of the Malaysian Campaigns are eligible for the Pingat Jasa Malaysia. I feel, however, that your readers should be aware that although permission has been granted to accept this medal from a grateful Malaysian nation, our own government has seen fit to advise Her Majesty to withhold permission for her British veterans to wear the medal. This is contrary to the permission which has been granted to Australian and New Zealand veterans who have all been given unrestricted permission to accept and to wear the medal, which is honourably given by a grateful Malaysian nation that has generously recognised the sacrifices made by fellow Commonwealth service personnel.
The decision was made on the recommendations of a committee of Civil Servants who are not accountable to any elected body. A concerted campaign to get the shameful decision reversed has been met with deliberate obfuscation from those whose job is supposed to be to do the bidding of those who pay their salaries. I would like to invite the readership of Air Miles to visit www.fight4thepjm.org where they will see what half-truths and myths have been perpetrated by those in Whitehall in their efforts to prevent a just solution to this matter.
All those who served in Malaya/Borneo were part of a successful war against insurgents, a fact that should be well to the forefront of military thinking in the light of today's conflicts. I would urge everyone who believes in justice and who holds dear the sacrifices made by British veterans over 40 years ago, to take up their pens and to combat the anachronistic attitudes of the "men in suits" who are responsible for this travesty.
Regards
Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo veteran)


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Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)