07 Jul 2015 12:00 PM
Fading legacy of an enduring military collaboration
GEORGETOWN: There is a part of Penang that will always be Aussie. If there is anything that the great island continent Down Under has left in Malaysia, that would be its legacy of providing a line of defence against enemy intrusion.
That line of defence was the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base in Bagan Ajam, Butterworth.
For Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers of Penang, it is the unmistakable call sign of the RAAF Radio that will endure in their collective memory. It was the RAAF’s disc jockeys who would start the day with “This is Radio R Double A F”.
Every listener would tune in to Radio RAAF for the latest hits from the West. Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) president Khoo Salma Nasution still recalls vividly the love songs aired by the radio station. “Like it or not, it has left a mark on us,” she says.
However, Radio RAAF aired its last broadcast in the 1980s, and Australian presence at the airbase has downsized substantially.
The legacy of one of the most enduring military collaborations in modern history may soon be a distant memory but for a new effort by two organisations – Khoo’s PHT and Think City Sdn Bhd – to not only preserve that part of Malaysian history but to revive it for the benefit of the present generation.
There was more to the Australian presence in Penang than its airbase and radio station. The Australians also had a hostel in Tanjung Tokong and a school in Tanjung Bungah, both on Penang Island. However, both the school and the hostel have now been demolished to make way for other developments.
At the height of the Vietnam War in the 1970s, the number of Australian servicemen and their families numbered about 5,000. Australians fought alongside the Americans in skirmishes in the Mekong Delta.
The base in Butterworth provided the logistical and air support.
Off the battlefield, the Australians became very much a part of Penang. Many of the servicemen ended up marrying local women. Families based in Butterworth leased homes during their stay and assimilated with the local community.
The men revelled in the nightlife, patronising many of the watering holes in George Town. One establishment that became an Aussie favourite was the Hong Kong Bar on Chulia Street. It still has hundreds of old photographs of RAAF personnel posted on its wall. By most accounts, the airmen were well-behaved despite their reputation for high beer consumption and merry-making.
The Australians were an essential component of the socio-economic life of Penang long before electronic chip-producing factories became a mainstay of the state economy. Their children attended international schools in the state and their parents participated actively in local community events.
Penangites picked up new skills in mechanical engineering from the RAAF technicians. In the 1960s, the RAAF had a top-notch hospital that also opened its doors to locals. In addition, services catering to the Australian community created employment opportunities to hundreds of Penangites from the 1950s to the 1980s.
However, this was not to last. Currently, the RAAF has only 150 personnel left in Penang. They remain as part of a commitment to a military defence pact called the Five Power Defence Arrangement Integrated Area Defence System. The annual air defence exercise still takes place in Butterworth, involving the air forces of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore.
This article was first published in the June 6-12, 2015 issue of Focusweek. Visit www.focusweek.my sos 
Military Thread V17 
Jun 1 2015, 04:39 PM
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