By V. SHUMAN
His battles were fought and won in the jungles of Perak and in the process, former Superintendent Paul Kiong earned the rare distinction of being responsible for the arrests of 43 communist insurgents. He has received many awards but the most precious is making it to the 'Heroes in Blue'. PICTURE this: "slithering" on the wet jungle floor towards armed communists with the aim of capturing them alive.
The 13 communists were armed with pistols and grenades. Most were asleep. It would have been easier to shoot them but orders were that they be captured alive. And impossible as it would have seemed, one man made it happen -- the then Inspector Paul Kiong, who was attached to the Perak Special Branch division. Kiong was a veteran of five operations against the communists between March and April 1981 in Perak.
For this particular sortie, codenamed "Operation Catfish", on April 14, Kiong led a team of 50 police personnel, including women. The place was at the "Stone Coffin" communist camp in Tanah Itam. (It got its name from a stone slab in the camp which resembled a coffin.) Also in the team were 10 former communists who agreed to help police nab the 13 insurgents -- eight women and five men. All were members of a communist wing called the Ninth Armed Forces . "There was always the risk of them returning to their old beliefs but that was something we had to deal with.
"The group established contact with the 13, who were in Cameron Highlands, and set up a meeting in Tanah Itam on the pretext of supplying them arms," said Kiong. About 9pm on April 14, Kiong and his team waited across the river. It was raining heavily. Everyone was asleep in their hammocks after drinking spiked cocoa served by the reformed terrorists. When the police team made its way, one of them accidentally kicked a metal can, waking up a female terrorist.
"She stood up and asked 'Who's there?' in Mandarin several times."We were flat on our bellies, several metres away."
She did not notice the team who crept up and overpowered the 13. "They were outnumbered three to one. They did put up a fight but we overcame them." All the terrorists were rounded up without any bloodshed. "It took a while to rehabilitate them because they believed in what they were fighting for, but over time, they saw things differently. Many of them have since gone on to lead successful lives. "A few of them still come to visit me and my wife at home."
Kiong was responsible for the arrest of 43 communist insurgents. He was awarded the Seri Pah-lawan Gagah Perkasa medal in June 1983, the nation's highest award for valour by then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ahmad Shah Sultan Abu Bakar.
Kiong is the recipient of several other honours -- letter of recognition from the Perak police chief (1978), inspector-general of police's letter of commendation (1981), Pingat Keberanian Handal Perak (1988) and Pahlawan Pasukan Polis (Order of Police Heroism-Commander) in 1996. And now, his exploits are included in Warisan Perjuangan Perwira -- Sang Saka Biru, a book launched this month. He is among the 38 "Heroes in Blue" honoured for his dedication, courage and professionalism while serving the force.
When he retired, Kiong was head of security with a prominent theme park in the country. He joined the force in 1964 as a constable after completing his Sixth Form. His parents did not object to their only son's decision as "they trusted my judgment and did not interfere in my life." He opted for voluntary retirement in February 1998, while serving the Special Branch in Bukit Aman. Kiong has a son, Gerard, from his marriage with Low Geok Ying, 58.
Gerard, 33, is running his own business, as the father did not encourage him to join the force because of the risks. Kiong was also an avid mountaineer and has scaled seven mountains in the country several times. He even made it to one of Mount Everest's base camps in 1992 with his friends, all members of the Perak Adventure Club. The 64-year-old now divides his time between his business in Kuala Lumpur and running a durian orchard in Tambun.
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