Pingat Jasa Malaysia

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The Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) is a medal given by the King and Government of Malaysia. The name translates into English as the "Malaysian Service Medal". It was created in 2004 and is awarded to British and Commonwealth forces who served in Malaysia during the Malayan Emergency and the Malaysian-Indonesian Confrontation periods. The award is in recognition of their "distinguished chivalry, gallantry, sacrifice, or loyalty" in contributing to the freedom of independence of Malaysia. The medal can be conferred and accepted posthumously by next of kin.

1 Appearance
2 Criteria
3 Awards
4 Notable recipients
5 External links

[edit] Appearance

The obverse of the medal shows the crest of Malaysia with the inscription 'JASA MALAYSIA' beneath it. The reverse shows a map of Malaysia and the initials 'P.J.M' underneath.

The ribbon is a 35 mm corded ribbon and has five coloured vertical stripes. The colours are of those of the Malaysian flag. The individual colours and widths of the five vertical stripes are as follows: 4.5 mm yellow, 7 mm blue, 12 mm red, 7 mm blue and 4.5 mm yellow.

No clasps or bars were issued for this medal.

[edit] Criteria

The Pingat Jasa Malaysia is awarded to British and Commonwealth forces (including Gurkhas) who served in Malaysia for at least 90 days, between 31 August 1957 and 31 December 1966 (the end date has been extended by the Government of Malaysia from the official end of the Confrontation on 12 August 1966, to include a ‘cooling off period’), as well as to those who served in Singapore between 31 August 1957 and 9 August 1965.

Awards will also be made to those whose service was cut short as a result of death or injury as a result of service in these areas.

The start date for the medal is 31 August 1957 as this is the date of Malaysia's independence. The cut-off date for service in Singapore is shorter as the country separated from the Federation of Malaysia on 9 August 1965.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Australia

The Australian government has accepted the offer of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia and to date, over 6,000 applications have since been verified by Department of Defence out of about 12,000 former and current serving members believed to be eligible. The Department of Defence, acting as agent on behalf of the Government of Malaysia, receives applications and verifies the service and eligibility to wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia in accordance with guidelines for foreign awards.

On 30 January 2006, the Malaysian Chief of Defence Force, Admiral Tan Sri Dato' Sri Mohd Anwar bin Hj Mohd Nor attended Government House, Canberra to present the initial awards of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia.

As a sign of goodwill, Admiral Tan Sri Dato' Sri Mohd Anwar bin Hj Mohd Nor presented the initial medals to the Governor-General, Major General Michael Jeffery, and to veterans across a range of ranks and Services who served in the Malayan Emergency and the Confrontation. The medal was also posthumously awarded to two veterans and presented to their next of kin. Visiting Malaysian Defence dignitaries were present at the award ceremony, accompanied by Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston and invited guests of the medal recipients.

Distribution to remaining eligible recipients will be through the Directorate of Honours and Awards from within the Department of Defence, acting as agent on behalf of the Malaysian Government. This process is expected to commence in the near future.

[edit] New Zealand

Approval for the right of eligible New Zealanders who served as part of the New Zealand military contribution to Malaysia to accept and wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia without restriction was submitted to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in July 2005. The submission was approved on 7 September 2005.

As the Pingat Jasa Malaysia is a foreign award, Headquarters New Zealand Defence Force acts as the agent for the Government of Malaysia in administering some aspects of the award.

The initial presentations of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia took place at the High Commission of Malaysia in Wellington on 31 March 2006. On 27 June 2006, Defence Minister Phil Goff announced that the general distribution by courier of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia will begin shortly. To date, over 2,600 applications for the Pingat Jasa Malaysia have been received and vetted by the New Zealand Defence Force.

[edit] United Kingdom

In 2005, the Malaysian Government approached the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to seek approval to present the Pingat Jasa Malaysia. The British Government, however, announced in the House of Lords that they would refuse the Malaysian medal for British citizens on the basis that the award was contrary to British Medals Policy. The policy states that non-British medals will not be approved for events or service that took place more than 5 years before initial consideration, or in connection with events that took place in the distant past (e.g., commemorative medals); or if the recipient has received a British award for the same service.

Intensive lobbying then commenced to try and reverse that decision. After a few months, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced that it had submitted a paper to the Committee on the Grants of Honours, Decorations and Medals requesting the Committee to review their policy in respect of foreign awards and the Pingat Jasa Malaysia. The Committee met on 7 December 2005 to carry out the review, but their recommendation was not announced until a written Ministerial Statement was made in the House of Commons on 31 January 2006.

The Committee's recommendation was that British citizens could accept the medal but they would not be allowed to wear it. The Ministerial Statement on 31 January 2006 states that the recommendation, which the Queen has approved, stipulates that "Permission to wear the PJM will not, however, formally be given". British ex-servicemen and women are still campaigning against this decision, believing that to deny them the right to wear the medal when the same right has been granted to other Commonwealth veterans is unjust and inappropriate.

The initial presentations of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia took at the Malaysian High Commission in London on 19 July 2006. The medal was presented to 34 ex-servicemen and women by the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. A second ceremony for another 74 former servicemen who will receive the same medal will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

To date, the decision not to allow the medal to be worn still stands.

However, throughout 2006 intensive lobbying by veterans began once again on http://www.fight4thepjm.org/forum/index.php which has re-awakened parliament once more, and Don Touhig MP (Former Veterans Minister) began the following Early Day Motion. PINJAT JASA MALAYSIA MEDAL29.11.2006 http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=31979&SESSION=885

Touhig, Don

'That this House welcomes the decision by Her Majesty The Queen to allow veterans of the Malaysian campaign between 1957 and 1966 to accept the Pinjat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) Medal; is concerned that the Inter-Departmental Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals decided to advise Her Majesty not to grant permission for Malaysian veterans to wear the PJM on public occasions; and calls upon the Government to make representations to the Committee to overturn this decision.'

A second EDM by Michael Mates MP began the very next day 30.11.2006

375 PINGAT JASA MALAYSIA MEDAL 30:11:06

'That this House applauds the generous gesture by the King and Government of Malaysia in the award of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal to British citizens for service in the Malayan Emergency; notes that Her Majesty The Queen has been graciously pleased to approve the recommendation of the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals that British citizens may accept the award; is, however, surprised that the Committee did not recommend that British citizens receiving the award should also be able to wear it; is deeply embarrassed that the Australian and New Zealand veterans of the Emergency may both receive and wear the medal; invites the Committee to reconsider the matter, bearing in mind the diminishing number of those who gave valuable service between 31 August 1957 and 12 August 1966; believes that this is a pre-eminent case for an exception to the long-standing Government policy enunciated in the written Ministerial Statement of 31 January 2006; and urges Her Majesty's Ministers to ensure that a further recommendation is made to Her Majesty, but this time one which takes full account of the generosity of a fellow Commonwealth country, the merits of the case, and the deep sense of hurt felt by British veterans, rather than being based upon a slavish observance of precedent.' http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmedm/61130e01.htm

[edit] QUEEN GIVES APPROVAL FOR FOREIGN MEDALS TO BE WORN

THE LONDON GAZETTE, 3RD MAY 1968

FOREIGN OFFICE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE ORDERS, DECORATIONS AND MEDALS CONFERRED BY MEMBERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF WHICH THE QUEEN IS NOT HEAD OF STATE, AND BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

The QUEEN has been graciously pleased! to approve that Orders, Decorations and Medals conferred with Her Majesty's permission upon United Kingdom citizens not being servants of the Crown by the Heads or Governments of Commonwealth countries as defined above, or of foreign States, may in all cases be worn by the recipients without restriction.

http://www.fight4thepjm.org/documents/London_Gazette_030568.pdf