Malaysian Rangers, Malay-Thai border (AWM MAL-65-0046-01)

The Sarawak Rangers were a para-military force founded in 1862 by the second

White Rajah The White Rajahs were a dynastic monarchy of the British Brooke family, who founded and ruled the Raj of Sarawak, located on the north west coast of the island of Borneo, from 1841 to 1946. The first ruler was Briton James Brooke. As a reward f ...

of the

Raj of Sarawak (While I breathe, I hope) , national_anthem = '' Gone Forth Beyond the Sea'' , capital = Kuching , common_languages = English, Iban, Melanau, Bidayuh, Sarawak Malay, Chinese etc. , government_type = Absol ...

, Charles Brooke. They evolved from the fortmen which were raised to defend

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...

in 1846. The Sarawak Rangers were first commanded by William Henry Rodway, briefly in 1862 and again from 1872 to his retirement in 1881, and were highly skilled in

jungle warfare Jungle warfare is a term used to cover the special techniques needed for military units to survive and fight in jungle terrain. It has been the topic of extensive study by military strategists, and was an important part of the planning for bo ...

and general policing duties, being equipped with various western rifles, cannons and native weaponry. They were based in a number of forts constructed at strategic locations in towns and at river mouths. Aside from protecting

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

's borders, they were used to fight any rebels and were engaged in a number of campaigns during their history. In times of emergency or war, they could depend on the support of the local population and tribespeople. The Sarawak Rangers were disbanded for a few years until 1932, only to be reformed as Sarawak Constabulary and mobilised for the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in which they attempted to defend Sarawak from Japanese invasion in 1942 at the start of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

. After the abdication of

Charles Vyner Brooke Vyner, Rajah of Sarawak, GCMG, full name Charles Vyner de Windt Brooke (26 September 1874 – 9 May 1963) was the third and last White Rajah of the Raj of Sarawak. Early life The son of Charles Brooke and his wife Margaret de Windt ( Ranee Ma ...

in 1946 and the creation of the Crown Colony of Sarawak, the Sarawak Rangers became a colonial unit under direct

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

control and saw action in both the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

and the

Borneo Confrontation Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east ...

. In 1963, upon the

formation of Malaysia The Malaysia Agreement or the Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore (MA63) was the agreement which combined North Borneo, Sarawak, a ...

, the Sarawak Rangers were transformed into the 1st Battalion,

Royal Ranger Regiment The Royal Ranger Regiment ( ms, Rejimen Renjer Diraja; RRD) is an infantry regiment of the Malaysian Army. Although it is second in seniority to the Royal Malay Regiment (''; RAMD''), the RRD can trace its origins back to the mid 19th century an ...

References

{{Raj of Sarawak Raj of Sarawak History of Sarawak Military history of Malaysia Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations of the British Empire 1862 establishments in Sarawak

See also

References