An ex-British border scout's Sarawak love affair

THE white man and his white hair looked out of place as he strolled among the local Dayaks on the streets of Kapit town.

But if you walk up to the man in his late 70s and asked if he is lost, he'd flash you a cheeky grin and say:"I am a local!"

For out-of-town visitors like me, Captain Ben Ellis is indeed a queer sight.

But for the folk in this small quiet town nestled within the huge expanse of Sarawak's forests, accessible only through the Rajang River: Captain Ben was a yearly apparition.

Ellis is an ex-British border scout who was posted to Kapit between the years 1964 to 1966. The officer was in charge of over 30 border scouts who fought the intruders during the Malaysia-Indonesia Confrontation.

These days, years after his two-year stint staying in long houses, where he had learnt to speak Iban fluently, he now returns to Kapit town annually. To him, “Kapit is home”.

In a brief but colourful chat with Astro AWANI days before Malaysia Day, Ellis shared a brief glimpse of a tumultuous time when Malaysia was still a country in its infancy:

He spoke of the violent time when there were attempts by Indonesian troops to cross the border to “disturb and attack rural long houses”; and the border scouts’ job to inform the military of these infiltrations so that necessary counter-action can be taken.

He talked about the bloody Long Jawi raid in September 1963, where many lives were lost, where the government realised that the role of the border scouts was less suited as a home defence force but better off as spies, or intelligence gatherers.

He talked about the early days when many Malaysians were still “fearful” about the formation of the country, asking whether it was just another attempt at colonialisation. At the time, there were many foreign influences, including the communists, then who tried to capitalise on such sentiments.

And eventhough there were those who considered Malaysia as 'stab in the dark', Ellis also stressed "I don't think there was any doubt really" that Malaysians were in agreement over the formation of the Federation.

Captain Ellis also spoke of the tremendous developments in 50 odd years of Kapit, and Sarawak as a whole, from the time he needed to spend most of his time in longhouses till this day.

But one thing that made Ellis’s face light up was when he recalled the reasons why he had to return yearly.

For Ellis, the culture, the hospitality and friendliness of the local people, his friends, had always remained throughout the years.

These little things – an Iban song or poem, cooling baths in the river, the traditional clothes or the casual chats with longhouse folk—were what endeared Ellis to Kapit, Sarawak, and Malaysia. It was all these things combined that Ellis ‘fell in love’ and this was why until today, he still has a ‘yearly affair’with Kapit— an affair with the wife’s approval of course.

Click on the video link to watch excerpts of Astro AWANI’s interview with Captain Ben Ellis.