THE phone call on July 2, 2000 may be one of the most shocking calls ever received by Zaini Mohd Said, who at the time was the Malaysian army’s field commander.

The officer on the other line related to him a piece of news he himself could not apprehend, that an audacious raid on an armoury, the 304th Malaysian Army Reserve camp in Gerik, Perak, just took place earlier that night.

“It was so shocking. I could not believe what I heard on the line. At the same time, I was disappointed that such an incident could happen,” recalled the 73-year-old retired lieutenant-general.

“The phone call was around 8.30am and the fake inspection carried out by Al-Ma’unah occurred at around 2am-3am.”

The raid by Al-Ma’unah – a religious cult group headed by Mohamed Amin Mohamed Razali – sent shock waves to the country in 2000 when Amin and 27 members of the group pretended to be army personnel before stealing a massive haul of arms, including 97 M16 assault rifles, two Steyr AUG rifles, four general purpose machine guns, six light machine guns, five grenade launchers and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

The group first drove to the Post 2 Kuala Rhui Camp, followed by Camp Bn 304 of the Territorial Army while dressed in full army gear.

The group had feigned a surprise inspection, claiming to conduct a “spot check” on army personnel stationed at the two posts.

After loading their military-painted Mitsubishi Pajeros with weapons from the armoury, the group proceeded to Bukit Jenalik, Sauk, near Kuala Kangsar in Perak for a holdout.

In a stand-off with the military, the militants had shot and killed Army Corporal Matthew Medan after he was taken hostage while Detective Corporal Raju Saghadevan was shot dead by Amin in retaliation after one of his men was killed in a shoot-out.

Recalling the incident, Zaini rebutted claims by certain quarters that the whole episode was staged and it was all part of a political ploy.

Zaini told The Malaysian Insight that no one could have ever made up the story as it was too complicated to stage the whole scenario.

“The Sauk tragedy as reported in the news, or the Ops 304 which we (military) called it, was not a conspiracy, let alone a political ploy set up to distract the people.

“The incident was real. It was not staged, no actor was in it and we lost two good men during the stand-off.

“If it was all a play, did the two officers agree to have their lives taken? Don’t they have families waiting for them?” asked Zaini during an interview in conjunction with the Hari Pahlawan recently.

“As the field commander, I personally issued a directive that all members of the group must be detained alive. No one should die. That was my order.

“But things did not turn out as planned. Unfortunately, an army commando and a police officer were killed.”

‘Amin shot at me’

Negri Sembilan-born Zaini said he decided to negotiate with Amin to de-escalate the tension between Al-Ma’unah and the security forces.

“I went up the hill without any weapon and met Amin. He was accompanied by his right-hand man and I was with my officers. I told him I carried no weapons. I asked him to surrender as we had already cornered them and they could do nothing else,” he said.

“Amin was firm. They won’t leave unless they are freed. I said that could not happen and that was when I realised I made a mistake. Amin took his M16 and pointed at my abdomen.”

With no weapon on him, Zaini could not defend himself. As he recalled the moment, Zaini said he thought that day would be his last.

“Just a millisecond quicker than him (Amin) I flicked his M16 away and at the moment, I heard a bang. Amin shot at me, but that millisecond made the difference and the bullet hit one of his men,” he said.

“That was when I took him down, threw a few punches to subdue him and within seconds my officer who was with me overpowered him and brought the stand-off to an end.”

However, as he walked down the hill and entered his camp, Zaini admitted that he was shaken by the incident.

“I remember telling myself, ‘That was close.’ I was shaken because if I was a millisecond slower than Amin, I would not be here today,” he said.

Because of his bravery that ended the siege, Zaini was awarded the Seri Pahlawan (SP) medal, the highest military award in the country.

The SP award is equivalent to the Victorian Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award bestowed on members of the British armed forces.

“It was not my intention to become a hero. But as the commander, it was my duty to make sure that no one else was killed,” said Zaini.

“It just happened that I was able to put an end to the siege, but in that operation, all of us risked our lives. It was not just about me.”

Following the arrest of the Al-Ma’unah members, Amin and three of his lieutenants were hanged in August 2006, about six years after the incident.

The rest of the group members were sentenced to life imprisonment.

In 2020, the remaining 13 Al-Ma’unah members received a pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. – August 6, 2022.