Tawau and the Membedai rang a few bells.
During Confrontation, 205, the resident Changi Shackleton Sqn. was reinforced by successive detachments from the U.K. Sqns. and so I was out there in March '66 on detachment from 206 (Kinloss).
To guard against infiltration with small boats, we flew night patrols in the Malacca Straits and in Kuching Bay, at the North end of the border in Borneo, from Changi. To cover the South end of the border, we detached to Labuan. Last time we moved house I came across a faded "chit" authorising me to drive Land Rovers and J2's on R A F Labuan air field and also on the public roads. The last bit was so that we could drive to the Membedai, where we were billeted.
We flew early evening around the Eastern end of Borneo, past Sandakan, presumably to show the flag, and then patrolled in Tawau Bay, liaising with the R.N. who usually had a Ton class minesweeper down there, and with patrol boats of the Royal Malaysian Navy. At that time, R/T comms were done by the non-flying pilot.
Fast forward to about '95, when my wife and I had a holiday in the Far East, which included a visit to Turtle Island, off Sandakan. There was a hostel on the island, and after supper we waited until one of the wardens radioed in to say there was a turtle laying. The chief Warden asked if I had been there before. I explained that I had flown past the place a few times about thirty years before. Turned out his father had been a radio operator on the R.M.N. patrol boats at that time, and I could well have been talking to him.