The Orang Asli cop not only shot dead a bandit during an ambush but was instrumental in crippling an entire Communist Party of Malaya gang four decades ago.
Apart from his unusual nickname, the high regard for Apot’s tracking skills and bravery was evident when he was bestowed the nation’s second-highest gallantry medal, the Pingat Gagah Berani, by the king in 2013.
A fighter to the end, the retired police sergeant-major survived two heart attacks last year and bravely battled a lung infection before dying at the age of 75 on Sept 14 at the Kampar Hospital in Perak.
Born on Jan 31, 1949, to the Semai tribe in Kampung Lata Kinjang, Chenderiang, Tapah, Perak, Apot joined the Senoi Praaq battalion in 1968. He was drafted into the highly regarded “VAT 69” commando unit two years later.
Speaking on behalf of his comrades, former VAT 69 intelligence officer, retired deputy superintendent N Visvanathan, said Apot displayed unmatched skills in tracking and hunting.
To have Apot join an operation to combat communist terrorists was considered a blessing due to his deep knowledge of jungle routes, he said.
“Apot was feared by the communist terrorists as he was not only a tracking expert but could also detect booby traps.
“He could sniff and detect traces of the enemy even after a long time,” Visvanathan told FMT.
Visvanathan also said Apot could distinguish between footprints left by other Orang Asli and terrorists, as well as those of different jungle animals.
“Apot was also an expert in differentiating prints left by bare feet and those made by shoes. He could also track enemy presence from broken branches and scratch marks on tree roots,” Visvanathan said, adding that Apot could tell you the direction the enemy went by looking at an ant trail.
Owing to his expertise, Apot’s services in the jungles of Perak, Selangor, Pahang and Kelantan were often sought not only by the Malaysian military but also the New Zealand and Australian special forces during the Second Malayan Emergency which ran from 1968 to 1989.
“The wilderness was Apot’s playground. As a seven-year-old, Apot would follow his father in search of forest produce such as petai and jering, and hunted game to sell to support their family.”
Apot studied only until Form Two at the Lata Kinjang Secondary School as he wanted to help his father.
When he was 19, he walked for almost 20km with his village mates from his home to the Tapah police station for a job interview in August 1968.
He attended a four-month training programme in Ulu Kinta and Kroh, now Pengkalan Hulu.
He subsequently joined the Senoi Praaq’s Tiger Platoon before being absorbed into the VAT 69 unit in October 1970, where he took part in many operations.
During one such operation – Ops Setia, in November 1979 – Apot’s Alpha Two unit was directed to pursue four communist terrorists on a recruiting mission in Tanjung Malim, Perak.
“After more than 10 days of tracking, Apot’s unit surrounded the enemy at Felda Trolak and in the ensuing gunfight, Apot killed a terrorist named Hak Keong, while another was seriously injured but escaped with the other two.”
Follow-up operations conducted over the next two months led to the successful arrest of the three terrorists and dozens of others in the Tanjung Malim-Slim River area, said Visvanathan.
Apot is survived by wife Krig Sudin, 77, and four children, including police sergeant Mulyadi Apot, 42.
He was buried with full honours at the Orang Asli cemetery in Kampung Batu Barangkai, Kampar, Perak.