Malay State Guides (1) Perak

Malay State Guides (MSG) 1837 - 1897

- As British Influence spread across Malaya, Sultans formed modern constabularies with British assistance to suppress lawlessness in their states

- Forces were modeled on Indian Army and employed British Officers & Indian Sepoys

- MSG soldiers have to be 5 ft 9 – a third of them were 6 ft and wore red tunics & green turbans with silver edgings

Origins of the MSG

Captain Tristian Speedy was a police superintendant in British Penang hired by Mentri, Ngah Ibrahim of Larut to form a Military Police Force

1873 – Resigned as a police official and He returned to Punjab to recruit 110 Sikh sepoys to form the Perak Armed Police

Fought with British force of 200 infantry from 1/ 10^th regiment (Penang) and 80^th foot regiment(Hong Kong) in Perak war 1875-6 after the murder of First British Resident of Perak. Isabella Bird’s The Golden Chersonese might have mentioned them as “irregulars”.

Lt Col Robert Sandilands Frowd (RSF) Walker (Regular Army Officer) was aide de camp to Sir William Robinson, Governor of Straits Settlements in 1878

1879 - He was named Perak Commissioner of Perak Armed Police, taking over from Major Paul Swinburne

1883 – He recruited 250 Sikhs and Pathans from the 14^th/15^th & 45^th Regiment of the Indian Army

1884 – Unit has 650 men, mostly Indians & 100 Malays. Renamed as 1^st Battalion Perak Sikh Military Police ( 1^st Perak Sikhs ), with Walker as the commandant with local rank of Major. Selangor & Pahang formed Sikh Military Police Forces on similar lines and helped quell the Pahang rebellion in 1891. The State of Selangor has 530 Selangor Sikhs under Captain H.C.Syers and Pahang has , in 1890 13 Sikh police in Jelebu under Inspector Henessy.

1895 – The Federated Malaya States was formed. The treaty requires all states to maintain a military force. A regular infantry regiment was then formed from the redundant Sikh military police force units

1896 – The regiment was renamed Malaya States Guides, an imitation of India Army’s famous Corps of Guides. 6 companies ( Composition : 4 Sikh comprised Majha Sikhs from Amritsar, Gurdaspur & Lahore in A & B companies, and Malwa Sikhs from Ludhiana, Ferozepur, Ambala, Nabha & Patiala formed C & D companies- the remainder Doaba Sikhs from Jullundur & Hoshiarpur could join any Sikh companies, 1 Punjabi Muslim & 1 Pathan companies) were formed, with a depot company for training recruits. ( A 7^th company was raised temporarily during the Boer War to garrison Penang after British troops withdrawn). There were 10 Officers, 8 Native officers & 596 NCOs and men. By the onset of WW1, the force has grown to 900 men.

1897 June - The regiment was sent to march in Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in London