MERSING CHRONICLES

Chapter 21 Because He has loved Me

OPERASI MUSA: FALL OUT CONTINUES

Singapore Times, December 14, 2086

by Evelyn Lee Ji Hiang, Editor-in-Chief

Malaysia's Minister of Defence, Datuk Seri Hamzah Chin Abdullah, resigned yesterday for his role in approving Operasi Musa, the covert operation to extricate a Malaysian Special Ops POW from China.

Datuk Seri Abdullah, in a short statement, accepted responsibility for approving the operation which angered the Chinese government. Beijing, in retaliation, terminated the diplomatic status of four Malaysian embassy staff, giving them 48 hours to leave the country. The Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Lee Han Chiang, was summoned to the Chinese capital for a meeting with the Chinese President, Shih Li Quan for a dressing down.

Operasi Musa, the brainchild of Commander Jackson Idrus, the Deputy Head of Malaysian Naval Intelligence, was carried out successfully a month ago without the knowledge of the Prime Minister. Four covert operatives of the Special Ops group, Paskal, went to the City of Xining within Qinghai Province and secretly escorted Lt Commander Noor Jalidin and his two children out of China. Lt Commander Jalidin had been a POW since 2050 during the invasion of Mersing, captured near Tioman while trying to escape the navies of the Sino-Nippon Alliance (SNA). 

In-spite of the obvious violation of the Geneva Convention (a POW should be returned to their country of allegiance upon cessation of conflict), the Chinese government considered this act a violation of their sovereignty. Malaysia's conflict with China ended with a negotiated armistice between western Allied powers, and the SNA in 2052. A peace treaty signed a year later between parties in the war acknowledged the South China Sea as China's territorial waters. ST.

Hiang saw the sign for Lumut Naval Base and turned into the 2 lane road. The straight road was bare of traffic, and was lined on both sides with trees and thick vegetation. Occasionally the endless trees disappeared to reveal wide expanses of grid-like padi fields as far as the eyes could see. The afternoon sun was glaring amidst a smattering of clouds. She recalled the conversation she had over the phone with Commander Idrus.

"You have to understand, Evelyn, the Commander is not a well person," he had said. 

"How bad is his health?"

There was a pause and she could hear his mind trying to regurgitate a reasonable answer.

"I am not sure if I should discuss his health over the phone with a non-family member."

"Commander, I think I deserve to know how he is. After all, if not for me, you wouldn't have gotten him back alive."

She could hear his sigh.

"Severe post traumatic stress disorder," he said. "And severe depression. He is being treated with anti-depressants and counselling."

"When can I see him?"

"That's up to the doctor to decide."

It took several calls to General Sofi before she finally had permission to visit Nur at the Lumut Naval Base in the state of Perak, three months after he had been extricated from China. 

She arrived at the gate. Four guards stood ram-rod straight with their Heckler and Koch MP6K submachine guns slung around their shoulders, their frames bulked up by bullet proof jackets and pockets of spare magazines on their chests and  waists. 

"Mam, pergi mana?", the guard closest to her asked. (Where are you going Madam?)

"Nak jumpa Commander Noor Jalidin," (Meeting Commander Noor Jalidin.)

"Nama?" (Name?)

"Evelyn Lee," she said handing over her passport. 

He spoke into his collar repeating her name. He exchanged a few words with the invisible person, then directed her to park her car nearby. The guard said to wait for her transport and she was given a visitor badge. Her passport would be retained till she exited the base. 

A short while later, a camouflaged jeep arrived, with the driver in dark pants and navy blue shirt. He beckoned her to board the jeep and she sat beside the driver. 

They passed several barracks before they arrived at a row of wooden bungalows. The driver parked near one of the black and white bungalows and gestured towards the front door. 

"I wait here Madam," he said.

Its been 36 years since they spoke. She was nervous, yet light headed. She was that 23 year old girl again, giddy with joy. He had said they will meet again, and here he was. In those 36 years she had managed to be distracted, by her hubby, and the girls. But there was always the expectation of that promise. And only in the last six years did she pour out her heart and soul into the pursuit of him, unleashing a flood gate of pent-up angst. She stood there next to the jeep, indulging in that moment, savoring the giddiness. 

She walked up the cemented pathway, and admired the architecture of the house, a building from the middle of the past century built by the British when they had occupied this base. It was meant for those with Lt Commander and above ranks. Pitched red shingled roof, a veranda surrounding the front and sides, and large windows and doors. As she climbed the few steps up the veranda, the door opened, and she saw an elderly man with clean shaven face and a thick set of silver hair. She recognized the deep set eyes and the snub nose, and she stopped on the top of the veranda. He looked tired and subdued, like a person who had withdrawn a thousand times over what emotional energy he had been allocated in his lifetime. And there was nothing left to withdraw. He looked at her, emotionless. 

"Nur?" 

He nodded. 

She walked quickly towards him and hugged him.

They embraced and the two stood there in the doorway lost in the moment. Her eyes teared.