"Operation Granite" - Royal Australian Engineers in Sabah 1964-1966

"Operation Granite" - Royal Australian Engineers in Sabah 1964-1966

In the early day of the formation of Federation of Malaysia, Sabah was exposed to many great challenges such as, a violent conflict of Brunei Revolt in 1962, confrontation with Indonesia from 1963 to 1966 and Philippines pressing claim of Sabah being the lost kingdom of the Sulu Sultanate. The rebellion and armed conflict took the British by surprise and their first priority to assure the security of the young nation. Major General Walter Walker was appointed the first overall Director of Operations of a joint command structure to co-operate the Army, Air Force and Navy that was established in Brunei. General Walker increased the defence line by constructing secure bases and forts at the boarder of Sarawak and Sabah from Kalimantan. Walker also built new airstrip and landing points at designated locations to ferry troops and supplies to the boarder. The British campaign includes the winning of the hearts and minds of various indigenous groups of Borneo apart from intelligence gathering to avoid the element of surprise by the enemy.