The Gurkhas in Borneo

The Gurkhas in Borneo

Indonesia’s first president Achmed Sukarno had earned power the hard way; he had fought the brutal Japanese regime during the Second World War and then defeated the returning Dutch who had attempted to re-impose their colonial rule. By the early 1960s, he was a strong proponent of ‘Maphilindo’, a regional, supra-national concept with roots that stretched back to the late 19th Century. However, Sukarno’s variant was to be an economic and political union comprising Indonesia, Malaya, Singapore, British-protected Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah), the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei, and the Philippines. Indonesia would be Maphilindo’s largest constituent both in terms of land mass and population and, by extension of this, would automatically become the dominant partner.