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Press Cutting - Colonel Dara Singh - His Life Story By Interview

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Subject :Press Cutting - Colonel Dara Singh - His Life Story by Interview
Published By : Unknown 
Location : China / Malaya / Malaysia
Estimated Year : 1999
Media Type : Article
Source : Tom Turnbull, Australia
Remark :

This newspaper cutting, written by Kamarulzaman Salleh cannot presently be traced to a publisher. Should anyone recognise it we would be pleased to hear from you so that we may give the appropriate credit.

The cutting tells the story from 1914 when Dara was born in Taiping and at on his own decision, after his father passed away, decided to remain in Malaya, rather than return to India with his mother. It completes with him living contentedly with his wife Cynthia in Seremban, Malaysia in 1999. Much of the story is the same as the one told by Tom Turnbull, (see link below) but there are some interesting additional aspects as related below. Reading both these items will provide you with an insight into a quite amazing man.

  • As a Chinese speaking Sikh, called Dara Ah-Leng, in the Kuomintang army, he had some hard times proving he was as good as his Chinese comrades. However he succeeded and rose from Sergeant to Colonel in two years and then was personally promoted to Brigadier-General by Chiang Kai Shek in 1943.

  • Later he served with the American forces in Burma and worked closely with General Joseph W Stillwell who was commanding Chinese troops against the Japanese. Here he was the General's aide, bodyguard and interpretor, making good use of the language skills he had nurtured in Malaya, China and thereafter. He spoke fluent Hokkien and six other Chinese dialects, Malay, English, Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi and Burmese. What an asset!

  • Working with General Stillwell then provided the opportunity to work with Lord Louis Mountbatten, the World War Two Allied Chief of Combined Operations, South East Asia. It was during this period that he rescued Lord Louis from a jeep crash. He had been struck in the eye with bamboo while driving and lost control of the vehicle. Prompt first aid from Dara and then a fast trip to a field hospital with him saved Mountbatten's sight, something acknowledged publicly by Lord Louis at a reception in Malaysia in 1967.

  • On one occasion he was reported dead and had to phone the editor of the local newspaper to explain that it was not true.

  • When he finally returned to Taiping after the war, he was given a hero's welcome by the Chinese and for one year everything was given free for him and his family as a thank you for what he had done. Free food, accommodation, clothes and more, everything was free!

  • Appointed as Protector of Aborigines (Orang Asli) he made friends with them and their children by handing out used tennis balls no longer required by the clubs. When he left the post he was crowned by the Aborigines "Tata (grandfather) of all Aborigines".

  • He turned down the post of Ambassador to an African country offered by the Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, preferring to stay in Malaysia and live a simple life, working hard, without any form of pension, to ensure his children were educated.
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    These are the main points brought out in the article. What an amazing man!

    To read Tom Turnbull's story of Dara's life, click here.

    To see photographs of Dara with Lord Louis Mountbatten and with Cynthia, click here.

    To read about H D Noone an earlier Protector of Aborigines, click here.

    Filename : 20091122-007