BARIO: Bario marked the 81st anniversary of a covert Allied parachute mission last Friday, a wartime operation that helped turn the tide against Japanese forces in Borneo and reshaped the once-isolated Kelabit Highlands.
The commemoration honours members of the Z Special Unit, who were deployed into the interior in March 1945 under Operation Semut, forging a critical alliance with indigenous communities in the final phase of the Second World War.
Organised by Rurum Kelabit Sarawak in collaboration with Miri City Council, the annual event has become a key platform to recognise the strategic role played by local communities in supporting Allied resistance efforts across northern Borneo.
The 1945 landing in Bario marked the beginning of sustained cooperation between Allied operatives and the Kelabit people, whose knowledge of the terrain and logistical support proved vital to guerrilla operations against occupying forces.
Historians regard the mission as a component of Allied strategy in Borneo, enabling intelligence gathering and coordinated resistance in otherwise inaccessible terrain.
Speaking at the event, Rurum Kelabit Sarawak president Datuk Isaac Lugun said the operation represented a turning point in the history of the highlands.
“The Z Force landing opened the Kelabit Highlands to the outside world,” he said.
He referenced the account of British anthropologist and wartime operative Tom Harrisson in A World Within, which described Bario as once being a “closed world” prior to the arrival of Allied forces
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Beyond its military significance, Lugun said the long-term legacy of the operation included the expansion of education and the spread of Christianity, both of which played a defining role in shaping the modern Kelabit community.
The programme included memorial ceremonies, cultural performances and exhibitions, bringing together community leaders, government representatives and residents to reflect on a shared wartime history.
Also present were Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring) Datuk Gerawat Gala, and Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Sarawak Datuk Sebastian Ting Chief Yew.
Bario’s role during the closing stages of the war positioned the remote highlands within a wider network of Allied operations in Southeast Asia, linking it to broader strategic efforts to reclaim occupied territories.
As development gradually reaches the interior, organisers said the annual commemoration serves to reinforce historical awareness while safeguarding the cultural identity of the Kelabit people.
