Royal Malaysia Police Museum

Damon Bolding / 27 May, 2016 / Comments Off / Features, History, Military Museums, Search By Issue, V8N2, Volume 8

The Royal Malaysian Police Museum

Modern Malaysia is a beautiful country, rich in agriculture and history, with a growing industrial base. It was born from the ashes of the Japanese occupation during World War II- famine, along with the war, killed many and left a void in the country which was filled by Commonwealth (British) organization. The Malaysian Communist Party, supported by the Soviets, worked towards removing the British- who it was felt had not really made life better after the Japanese left. Chaos ruled in many areas and the entire series of skirmishes and wars are worth studying, but beyond the scope of this article. The name “Malaysian Emergency” was bestowed on the wars there because the European landowners/farmers who were insured by Lloyds of London could not be covered if it was a “War.” The name “Emergency” stuck and it is generally considered to have been from 1947 through 1960. The problems reemerged in the 1980s.

The Royal Malaysian Police Museum presents the story of the police all through the Emergency with a very factual, even hand. The diorama of the Bukit Kepong Incident, a tragedy on 23 February 1950, provides excellent insight into what the Malaysian Police had to contend with. Early on that morning, approximately 180 heavily armed members of the Malayan Communist Party attacked the Federation of Malaya Police station at Bukit Kepong. The attackers thought this would be a swift victory. Five hours later, the battle still raged. In the end, the communists killed 14 policemen, 5 auxiliary Police, and 6 civilians- including wives and children of the police. While this was a loss for the government, the true story of the bravery of the police and how their wives came and took up arms, and it ended as their building burned and the last 4 policemen charged the communist position. It is compared to the Battle of the Alamo in U.S. legend, and the even energized the people against the communists.

The Royal Malaysian Police Museum was founded in Kuala Lumpur in 1961. It went through a variety of buildings and leadership, built again in 1983, then the current museum was opened to the public on 2 October 1998.

We found the museum to have excellent displays- there were so many varieties of firearms it was intriguing to consider the sources- a melting pot of armies and insurgents. There were many displays indoors and outdoors, and SADJ recommends that while you’re in Kuala Lumpur, if you can find the time, pay the museum a visit.

Royal Malaysia Police Museum

No. 5 Jalan Perdana
50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
www.muziumpolis.com
email: muziumpolis@yahoo.com
Tel: +03-22725689
Admission: Free
Visiting Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday
10:00am – 6:00pm
Friday 10:00am –12:30pm & 2:30pm – 6:00pm
Closed Mondays

An Oerlikon MK4 20x110RB cannon on s2ingle naval mount, with 60 round right hand drum, looks over the museum grounds.

Ford Lynx Scout Car (BB 8128)- this armored car was introduced in the Police Force on 24 July 1952, and was given to the Kelanian Contingent. It is a two man vehicle, one driver, and one to man the machine gun. During The Emergency this armored car was always used at the head of an escort convoy in every operation. Armored cars of this type were last seen in use at the parade to mark the end of The Emergency on 1 August, 12960.

Top to bottom: 37mm gas launcher; M79 40x46mm grenade launcher with jungle stock and finish; SMLE rifle modified to launch tear gas grenades from the cup (Forend is wire bound); 5 shot 37mm launcher; Steyr AUG (F88) 5.56x45mm; Australian F1 9x19mm submachine gun; Sten MKII 9x19mm submachine gun with loop stock; Ingram M10 9x19mm submachine gun.

Top to bottom: Johnson M1941 light machine gun in 30.06 caliber; HK21E in the HK11E configuration with G3 magazine in 7.62x51mm; British L4A1 Bren light machine gun in 7.62x51mm; US M60 GPMG in 7.62x51mm.

Top to bottom: HK MP5 9x19mm submachine gun with collapsible stock and S-E-F trigger group; Spanish Z-84 9x19mm submachine gun; Beretta PM12S 9x19mm submachine gun.

A variety of assault rifles, featuring FAL variants but on the very top is a Portuguese Model AR-10 rifle in 7.62x51mm (Note bayonet lug on top of grenade launcher on barrel).

Many of the weapons on display were modified and in various stages of repair. The second rifle down appears to be an M2 carbine with added custom pistol grip.

A very popular weapon with insurgents was taking a semi-automatic handgun and embedding it into a rifle stock, while extending a link to the stock trigger. This made for an early “Roni” type system- stabilizing the handgun for longer distance shooting. The displays had a number of examples.

The top firearm shows the pistol mounted into a carbine stock, but the bottom weapon is much more interesting. A 1928A1 Thompson SMG in .45acp with a homemade buttstock.

In this display, the top 3 Derringers are described as “Colt Lady Derringer.” The pistol on the left is not described, but it is clearly a home workshop piece mimicking a Walther P38, with “Carl Walther” engraved on the slide. The bottom piece marked “24” is a cigar lighter made to look like a pistol. One of the most intriguing pieces in the museum was the small boxlike pistol on the right, marked “23.” The description is as follows: King Cobra type based on Pasir Putih- On 24 December 1980 at 0900 hours, acting on information received from the public, a group of policemen under the command of Inspt. Kasdiran Bin Kasban made an ambush at Pasir Putih town in Kelantan. At 0930 hours the police officers arrested two Malay males as they left a taxi. One of them was holding a plastic bag containing 3 pairs of shoes, a pistol “King Cobra” type in the shape of a lighter was found hidden in the heal of his shoe, and 493 sticks of cannabis (ganja) was found under the soles of the shoes. The two males were appropriately punished by the court.