Ielias Ibrahim

On 15 August 1977, he was involved in a firefight which earned him the Panglima Gagah Berani. His unit of 5 soldiers (including himself) was given the duty of transporting rations to another military post. En route they discovered a dead monkey on the pathway that they were using. Upon inspection it was decided that the monkey had been slaughtered. After discounting the possibility of an ambush, the unit moved forward only to be mowed down by enemy fire. One Lance Corporal Ahmad Zaki was shot in the thigh, with Pvt Abdul Halim and Pvt Tajudin both badly wounded with shots to the chest. Pvt Ielias managed to jump clear and landed in a bush of thorns which lacerated his outer cornea.

As a result of his actions, he was conferred with the Panglima Gagah Berani on 29 August 1977 by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Yahya Petra and with the Pingat Keberanian Handal by Sultan Idris Al-Mutawakkil Alallahi Shah, the sultan of Perak, on 12 December 1977.

By 1977, the threat from communist elements had subsided so his unit was disbanded and he was transferred to 9th Royal Ranger Regiment. He retired from the Army in 1998 as a Regimental Sergeant Major.

He first joined the army on 27 December 1976 at the age of 20 and was absorbed into 19 Platoon, D Company of 11 Rejimen Askar Wataniah. His unit's primary duty was to man roadblocks and guard the construction of the East-West Highway through the town of Gerik, Perak.