By Frankie D’Cruz | Malaysia | FMT |
They had not met in years. Time had turned one into Sarawak’s governor, the other into a man remembered for his unforgiving drill.
Now, head of state and drillmaster stood face to face again, a reunion charged with the weight of rank, memory, and respect.
Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Harbhajan Singh — protégé and mentor — reunited in Kuala Lumpur recently.
It was more than handshakes. It was recognition. Wan Junaidi recalled the relentless drills that hardened cadets into officers. “Harbhajan made us into men,” he told his guests.
Harbhajan, 85, listened with quiet pride. After drilling a thousand trainees between 1962 and 1968, being remembered by a head of state was honour enough.
In his memoir, “A Policeman”, Wan Junaidi described his instructor as “ordinary and humble, fluent in English, very athletic, lean, mean-looking, tough and demanding.”
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