asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why veterans who served in Malaya under British rule during the emergency period up to Malaysian independence have not received a special medal while, by agreement between the Government and the Government of Malaysia, medals are to be awarded to those who served at the end of the emergency period following Malaysian independence.[HL7337]

The service of those who served in Malaya (under British rule) up to August 1957 has been recognised. The Naval General Service Medal 1915-62 and the General Service Medal 1918-62 with the clasp “Malaya” was awarded for service between 16 June 1948 and 31 July 1960, to those who met the eligibility criteria.

I believe that the special medal to which my noble friend is referring is the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM). The PJM has been conferred by the Government of Malaysia,

“for service ... during the 2nd Emergency and Confrontation time period”.

They have established, as part of the overall eligibility criteria, the qualifying period of service for the PJM as 31 January 1957 (Independence Day) to 12 August 1966.