KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — At 82, Ipoh-born Datuk Paul Kiong still prides himself as a sharp judge of character, a trait that served him well when leading a high-stakes double life amid communist fighters back in the 1960s. 

The gritty Kiong always longed for adventure and even applied to become a game ranger in Kenya after finishing school. 

He did eventually traverse the wilderness  — but closer to home.

Kiong enlisted as a police constable in 1964 and served in Singapore for three years before the second wave of communist insurgency hit Malaysia in 1968. 

At that time, the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) dispatched the Fifth Assault Unit to Perak, the Sixth Assault Unit to Pahang and the Seventh Assault Unit to Kelantan. 

The deadly attacks led to the Second Malayan Emergency which was from 1968 to 1989.

In 1967, Kiong was posted as a Special Branch detective to neutralise underground communist cells in Johor. In 1976, he was deployed as the ground commander under Operation Bamboo to cripple the Fifth Assault Unit operating in Perak’s jungles.

Kiong’s biggest success was the en bloc defection of the Fifth Assault Unit while keeping the 13th Regiment — the armed wing of CPM — in southern Thailand,  oblivious about it until they surrendered in 1989.

“For six years, the 13th Regiment was supplying weapons and funds to the Fifth Assault Unit whenever they asked at our behest. They had no clue!” Kiong told Malay Mail, after his guest lecture at Universiti Malaya here recently. 

“Whenever we caught communist terrorists (CTs), we treat them well, give them proper meals like what we eat and repeatedly talk them out of communism.“We would then use the turncoats to lure more CTs to defect. Gunfight was always the last resort,” he explained.

Kiong’s undercover life began as a courier driving the communist fighters to deliver secret messages or “roll-slips” to other guerilla units.

He also delivered provisions to them but would deliberately reduce certain items and delay the deliveries to maintain frequent communications. 

“We would purposely give them less salt to induce muscle cramps. 

“If they asked for condoms and old newspapers, it meant the group had sexually active males and female CTs and some females were undergoing menstruation. 

“We would give them fewer condoms to trigger accidental pregnancies, which would subsequently trigger desertion,” Kiong said. 

A career built on close shaves

Kiong, a devout Catholic, always prayed at his church in Ipoh before each mission. 

Looking back, Kiong said his unwavering faith saved him during many close encounters — moments where he thought he would not survive. 

One such moment occurred in 1981 when Kiong had to accompany a CT — who claimed to have defected — to deliver a “roll-slip” to a guerilla unit at a cemetery in Chemor to avoid suspicion. 

Kiong reluctantly followed but with every passing minute, he anxiously anticipated an ambush and was prepared to pull the trigger when a group of fighters escorted the man back. 

“I was ready to kill at least two communists before I die. But, just before I fired, the guy quietly got into the car and we drove back to the police camp,” Kiong recalled.

Another narrow escape came later that year when Kiong led a raid to nab communists at a camp called Stone Coffin in Perak. 

The rebellious female fighters threathened to go hostile and crash the helicopter during the transfer but Kiong tactfully foiled the attempt. 

The Special Branch detained 43 CTs in Perak between 1981 and 1986 through covert operations led by Kiong.

Not all doom and gloom

Some light-hearted moments also remain vivid in Kiong’s memories like when he played Cupid for two defectors in his custody and got them married in 1981.

The following year, some defectors made Chinese dumplings or pau, stuffed with wild boar meat, to celebrate Kiong’s 38th birthday.  

Even today, Kiong visits some of the ex-communist members and their families to share a meal and reminisce the grim old days.

“For them, every cause demands a sacrifice and they paid their price with their loved ones. So, they don’t hold grudges now as the war is over,” Kiong said, when asked about the reconciliation.

In 1983, Kiong was awarded the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa — Malaysia’s highest gallantry award — and is currently one of the only four living recipients. 

He retired as a superintendent in Bukit Aman on Feb 1, 1998. 

Kiong obtained his honorific ‘Datuk’ title from the Sultan of Terengganu in 2011 and received a Honorary Masters in Strategy from Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) in 2014. 

He will be launching his memoir, The ‘Communist’ Role I Played: Undercover During The 2nd Malayan Emergency (1968—1989), on July 26 at the Subang National Golf Club.