Gurkha Contingent

Just a year after their formation, their presence became an asset when racial riots between the Malay and European communities broke out over the disputed custody of Maria Hertogh.

The GC troopers were again activated when major rioting erupted all over the country between ethnic Malays and Chinese on the Prophet Mohammed's birthday from 21 July 1964 to September that same year.

At that time, their presence as a neutral force was important because local police officers were often perceived to be—or were even expected to be—biased towards their own ethnic groups when handling race-related issues, further fueling discontent and violence.

He wrote: When I returned to Oxley Road [Lee's residence], Gurkha policemen (recruited by the British from Nepal) were posted as sentries.

The annual selection process, which normally takes 17 days but is spread over four months due to conditions in Nepal, will then assign recruits to either the GC or the British Army.

Before the September 11 attacks in 2001, the GC was seldom seen in public besides being stationed at key locations such as The Istana,[9] and the homes of VIPs such as former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and the President of Singapore.

They were also seen stationed at important foreign properties such as the British High Commission and installations which require added security such as the Currency House at Pasir Panjang.

Changing security concerns since 2001 has led to a more active deployment of GC troopers in recent years, and a review of their existing roles.

They are deployed during the annual National Day Parade, and complimented the police's stringent security measures during the 117th IOC Session held in Singapore in July 2005.

[13] They also joined a 30-man team to Iraq to help train about 1,500 local Iraqi trainers and police officers for three months before returning to Singapore on 19 September 2003.