Sorrow and tears in 20 minutes of remembrance

KUALA LUMPUR: It was a re-enactment that moved almost the entire audience to tears.

Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah and the prime minister’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, were among those seen wiping away tears during a pantomime, Lahad Datu Berdarah, staged by VAT 69 commandos and military personnel in conjunction with the Warriors Day parade at Dataran Merdeka yesterday.

The 20-minute performance began with the Lahad Datu intrusion, in an oil palm plantation in Kampung Tanduo.

Wooden props of oil palm trees dotted the field and several rounds of explosions were heard during the battle scenes.

The photographs of the first two casualties of the attack, Vat 69 commandos Assistant Superintendent Zulkifli Mamat and Sergeant Sabaruddin Daud, were shown on a big screen.

At this point, a woman and a little girl, who played family members of the dead, were seen crying over the “bodies” on the field.

In Op Daulat, launched on March 5 in Sabah, eight policemen and two soldiers were killed, while security forces shot dead 68 armed intruders from the southern Philippines and arrested 173 people under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

Earlier, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah inspected a guard-of-honour mounted by 103 other ranks and four officers led by Major Amriza Ashaari from the 1st Battalion Royal Malay Regiment.