Australia’s Chief of Army Leads Anzac Day Commemorations in Malaysia

25 April 2025

KOTA KINABALU: The official five-day visit by Australia’s Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, AO DSC, to Malaysia until 26 April 2025 reflects the longstanding defence ties between the two nations and sees him leading Anzac Day commemorative events in Sabah and Labuan.

Lieutenant General Stuart officiated the Anzac Day Dawn Service today at Sandakan Memorial Park located on the site of the Second World War prisoner-of-war (POW) camp, in commemoration of Anzac Day, which is observed annually on 25 April.

“Anzac Day offers an opportunity to reflect on the enduring defence partnership between Australia and Malaysia, one that dates back to the Second World War,” said Australia’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, Danielle Heinecke, in a statement on Friday.

In the same statement, the High Commission noted that the ceremony honours not only the Australian and British soldiers held as POWs by Japanese forces, but also the courageous local communities who aided and perished alongside them both in the war camp and on the death marches to Ranau.

The event remains one of the worst atrocities ever committed against Australians in war. Of the more than 2,400 prisoners still alive at the beginning of 1945, only six survived — all of whom escaped into the jungle and were sheltered by local villagers.

Accompanied by High Commissioner Heinecke to Sabah and Labuan, Lieutenant General Stuart also paid tribute to the fallen at the Labuan War Cemetery.

“Over 3,900 Australian, allied, and local forces who died valiantly in the fight to liberate Sabah and Sarawak between 1942 and 1945 are buried in this cemetery. More than half of the headstones are unnamed. The Labuan Memorial honours those with no known grave,” it said.

Earlier, on 24 April, Lieutenant General Stuart joined senior Malaysian Government and Armed Forces representatives at the Kota Kinabalu Anzac Day Ceremony held at the North Borneo War Monument.

This was followed by a visit to the Sabah, Australia, New Zealand Army Corps (SANZAC) School, which was established by veterans and their families in 1969.

On the second day of his visit, 23 April, Lieutenant General Stuart attended a round-table with strategic thinkers at the University of Malaya. He outlined how Australia is navigating its security and defence as an active middle power and discussed non-traditional security threats and responses.

The visit will conclude with a dinner in Kuala Lumpur on the evening of Anzac Day, where Lieutenant General Stuart is scheduled to meet with over 100 members of the Malaysia-Australia Defence Alumni. The gathering will serve as a reflection of the longstanding partnership between the two nations.