Hakim Hayat
Australia’s Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds CSC joined Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof at the Brunei-Australia Memorial at Muara Beach to mark the 75th anniversary of Australian troops landing in Brunei during the final stages of World War II.
The memorial marks the location where, on June 10, 1945, Australian troops arrived as part of the OBOE VI landings.
The OBOE operations were the last Australian campaigns of World War II. Some 75,000 Australians participated in the campaign and in each locale they prevailed. Despite these victories, the Borneo campaigns cost the lives of many Australians, including 110 in Brunei.
Reynolds and Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi laid a wreath at the memorial and paid their respects to all those who lost their lives in Brunei during World War II.
Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) Major General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sahat, together with Assistant Defence Advisor at the High Commission of Australia in Brunei Darussalam Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Hauser also laid a wreath and paid their respects. According to the Australian High Commission, the memorial stands as a reminder of the close bonds of friendship that have continued to develop between Australia and Brunei since that time.
“Together, Australia and Brunei have built an effective security partnership focussed on promoting a secure, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific,” the high commission added.
