General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

(Rtd)

Tun TUN or tun may refer to: Biology * Tun shells, large sea snails of the family ''Tonnidae'' * Tun, a tardigrade in its cryptobiotic state * Tun or Toon, common name for trees of the genus '' Toona'' Places * Tun, Sweden, a locality in Västra G ...

Ibrahim bin Ismail ( ms, إبراهيم بن إسماعيل, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 19 October 1922 – 23 December 2010) was a

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

soldier who served in the British

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

(SOE) during World War II, subsequently rising to the post of Chief of the Malaysian Defence Forces from 1970 until 1977. He was the first Chief of the Defence Forces to be granted the honorific title “Tun”.

Biography

Ibrahim was born in

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru (), colloquially referred to as JB, is the capital city of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is located at the southern end of Peninsular Malaysia,along the north bank of the Straits of Johor, opposite of the city-state Singapore. T ...

, at the southern tip of the Malayan Peninsula. He graduated from the Indian Military Academy at

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

and was commissioned into the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, following the

Japanese invasion 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 ...

. He was recruited into "Force 136", the cover name for the SOE in the Far East. In October 1944 he and two colleagues were parachuted onto the western coast of

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...

as part of "Operation Oatmeal". Their location was betrayed and they were soon captured by the Japanese – along with their codebook. After a month's interrogation, they agreed to turn double agent, but managed to inform SOE of their situation, effectively becoming

triple agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...

s. Their

disinformation Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate. The English word ''disinformation'' comes from the application of the L ...

led the Japanese to believe the land assault on Malaya –

Operation Zipper During World War II, Operation Zipper was a British plan to capture either Port Swettenham or Port Dickson, Malaya, as staging areas for the recapture of Singapore in Operation Mailfist. However, due to the end of the war in the Pacific, it wa ...

– would occur on the Kra Isthmus, to the north of its actual location. Japan surrendered before the landings, and Ibrahim informed his captors that his religion would not permit him to commit hara-kiri with them. For his actions Captain Ibrahim was made a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE) in November 1946. Post-war, Ibrahim joined the

Sultan of Johore Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a Royal and noble ranks, position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" ...

's Royal Johor Military Force (JMF), transferring to the

Malay Regiment The Royal Malay Regiment ( ms, Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja; 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 train ...

in 1951. He commanded the 6th Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment from 1958, and was promoted to Brigadier in 1962. He served as Director of Administration in the Federation Army, and then commanded the 5th Infantry Brigade, and was GOC of the 1st Infantry Division from 1966. He was involved in the suppression of the May 1969 riots and was a member of the ruling National Operations Council between 1969 and 1971. With the rank of General he then served as Chief of the Defence Forces until his retirement in 1977. In 1984 he published his wartime memoirs ''Have You Met Mariam?'' In 2000 Ibrahim was appointed a Grand Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on ...

, and received the honorific title "

". Tun Ibrahim died at Tuanku Mizan Armed Forces Hospital,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

on 23 December 2010. His body was laid to rest at Makam Pahlawan near

Masjid Negara The National Mosque of Malaysia ( ms, Masjid Negara Malaysia) is a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has a capacity for 15,000 people and is situated among of gardens. Its key features are a minaret and a 16-pointed star concrete main ...

, Kuala Lumpur. He was the first military person laid to rest there.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Companion of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (JMN) (1964) ** Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (PMN) – Tan Sri (1970) ** Order_of_Loyalty_to_the_Crown_of_Malaysia_-_SSM

Grand Commander of the

(SSM) – Tun (2000) * : ** Sultan_Ibrahim_Coronation_Medal_ribbon

Sultan Ibrahim Medal (PIS) (1949) ** Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar

Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (DPMJ) – Dato' (1964) ** Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ) – Dato' (1972) * : ** MY-PAH Order of the Crown of Pahang - Knight Companion - DIMP

Knight Companion of the Order of the Crown of Pahang (DIMP) – Dato' (1971) * : ** MY-KEL Order of the Crown of Kelantan - Star of Muhammad

Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Kelantan Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

or ''Al-Muhammad Star'' (SPMK) – Dato' * : ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - SPDK

Grand Commander of the

Order of Kinabalu The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu (Malay: ''Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Kinabalu'') is the only order conferred by the Governor of Sabah, Malaysia. Background The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu is established by virtue of Section 3(a) of State Honou ...

(SPDK) – Datuk Seri Panglima * : ** Orde van de Ster van Sarawak

Knight Commander of the

Order of the Star of Sarawak The Most Excellent Order of the Star of Sarawak(lit: 'Darjah Yang Amat Gemilang Bintang Sarawak') was established by Charles Vyner Brooke, The Rajah of Sarawak, on 26 September 1928 as the highest order of chivalry within the Raj of Sarawak.Sara ...

(PNBS) – formerly ''Dato'', now Dato Sri

Foreign Honours

* : **

Member of the

(MBE) (1946) ** Order_of_the_British_Empire_(Military)_Ribbon

Honorary Knight Commander of the

(KBE)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Ibrahim 1922 births 2010 deaths Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims Malaysian military personnel Special Operations Executive personnel World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Members of the Order of the British Empire British Malaya military personnel of World War II British Indian Army officers Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor Grand Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu Knights Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor Companions of the Order of the Defender of the Realm