Kanang anak Langkau

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Kanang anak Langkau (born 1945) is a famous Malaysian hero and soldier from the Iban Dayak community in Sarawak. He was in the Royal Ranger Regiment and Regimental Sergeant Major of 8 Renjer of the Malaysian Army. He was awarded the Panglima Gagah Berani and Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa medals from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ahmad Shah on 3 June 1981.

Kanang anak Langkau was born on 1945 in Julau, Sarawak. He joined the service with the Sarawak Rangers, then part of the British Army, as an Iban Tracker on the 21 April 1962. He was absorbed into the Malaysian Rangers when Malaysia was proclaimed on the 16 September 1963. He left the service after 21 years of service as a Warrant Officer 1.

Following the death of one soldier in the Tanah Hitam area of Perak to communists on the 8th of February 1980, the Unit Combat Intelligence Platoon of 8th Battalion Royal Rangers under the leadership of Kanang anak Langkau was tasked to seek and destroy the group of communists. They tracked the enemy over 11 days on terrain familiar to the enemy. On the evening 19 February 1980 at around 1500 hours his platoon managed to estimate the location of the enemy, who was close by.

Their estimations were mistaken as they were already within the enemy's perimeter, which they determined when they found a communications cord connecting the sentry outpost to the main force. The cord was usually connected to a bush or empty cans so that a sentry could use it to alert the main force of intruders.

Kanang, 8 metres from the enemy sentry position, launched an attack to his right flank. It then became apparent that the main force lay to the left. They assaulted the left and routed the enemy taking one casualty and killing five communists. One soldier was seriously wounded and Kanang himself took three rounds but survived and eventually returned to active duty

[edit] References

  • Adopted from the Malaysian secondary school, form 3 novel: "Kanang, Cerita Seorang Pahlawan" by Mazlan Nordin (1989)

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