COMMENT | 'Malbatt - Misi Bakara' not 90pct factual as claimed

COMMENT | After reviewing the film titled ‘Malbatt - Misi Bakara’ which purports to be 90 percent factual, we have come to the conclusion that it is not so.

Several of the scenes are in fact erroneous and embarrassing to the reputation of the Malaysian peacekeeping force Malbatt 1.

Some of the episodes did not really occur in real life during the operation to rescue the 70 trapped US Rangers in the Bakara Market area on the night of Oct 3, 1993.

As the then Malbatt 1 commander and deputy commander, we were in direct contact with our men on the ground especially the troops operating the APC Condor vehicles en route to Bakara Market, Mogadishu, Somalia.

We thus had a full grasp of the events and happenings that took place from the beginning to the successful completion of the rescue mission.

The episode in the opening act at the introduction to the film shows...