KUALA LUMPUR: Moving towards 90 holds special significance and greater reason to celebrate for retired Senior Assistant Commissioner Datuk Leong Chee Woh.
The former special branch operative, who was bestowed the country's second highest gallantry award - Panglima Gagah Berani (PGB) - was given a rousing birthday by his former colleagues from the police and armed forces at the Emico Lounge in Pudu, here.
Leong, born in Taiping, Perak on Nov 11, 1929, celebrated the belated occasion by cutting an eight-tier cake and was presented with two suckling pigs as his present.
"I am going into my 90th year and am very honoured to still be alive today, to catch up with many of my comrades who had fought along with me duing the height of the communist insurgency from the 50s through the 80s.
"I have not met up with many of them who turned up, from rank and file to senior officers, for a good number of years since my retirement over three decades ago," said Leong, whose last post was as a Special Branch deputy director (operations) at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman before retiring on Nov 10, 1984.
Among those who came to wish Leong many happy returns were retired Police Air Wing commander and police chief for Malacca and Penang, Commissioner Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye, Royal Malaysian Air Force pilot Brig Gen (Rtd) Datuk Soon Lian Cheng, Lt Col (Rtd) Ong Hoon Teck, Lt Col (Rtd) Tan Ba Too, Major (Rtd) Anthony Joseph Lim Seng Soon, retired Deputy Superintendent Chan Kok Kong, Francis Yew from Heinneken Malaysia and Leong's squad right-hand man whose name is also Francis Yew.
Leong was only bestowed the PGB last year, some 33 years after retirement.
He said he dedicated the PGB award to his E3F intelligence and counter-terrorism squad members, a close-knit team of quality operatives who worked with informants, for carrying out highly-classified missions.
“We served the country above anything else, knowing that our lives were at stake each time we went on a mission.
"Therefore, this gathering for my birthday has special meaning to be reunited with them, many of whom have aged as well," said Leong, whose squad was instrumental in the elimination of 1,744 terrorists that led to the laying down of arms of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) and the Sarawak Communist Organisation that led to the peace accord in Haadyai, Thailand, in 1989.
Leong was handpicked to lead the pioneer E3F Squad of 13 Special Branch men in March 1971 to carry out covert operations for intelligence gathering on communist terrorists’ activities.
“The brunt of collecting intelligence and working on the ground rested with us, many of whom were Chinese (to counter the Chinese-based CPM).
“As the saying goes, you need a thief to catch a thief," he said.
He recounted how life in the jungle was harsh and he and his men had to contend with not only ferocious and unforgiving enemies, but also booby traps and natural dangers from venomous insects and animals.
Leong initially worked as a Taiping Town Council clerk after the Japanese occupation before joining the force on Dec 1, 1950, to train as a probationary police inspector.
He saw action during the First (1948-1960) and Second (1970- 1991) Emergencies, prior to the formation of the Federation of Malaysia and the CPM era.
Almost 28 years after his retirement, Leong was bestowed the Panglima Mahkota Wilayah, which carries the title “Datuk”, during the Federal Territory Day celebrations.
He has written six books — Scorpio: The Communist Eraser, Scorpio: Against the One Eyed Dragon, Scorpio on the Dragons’ Trail, Scorpio in the Dragons’ Playground, Scorpio: On the Dragon's Demise, and The Invisible Invincible E3F.