KUALA LUMPUR: 'Lest we forget'.
And they did not, as top brass from the Police turned up to pay their last respects to honour the late retired Senior Assistant Commissioner 1 Datuk Leong Chee Woh at his funeral.
'Lest we forget' is a traditional expression for us not to forget the service and sacrifices of those who had served in wars, conflicts and peace-keeping operations.
Held behind closed doors and limited to family members owing to the strict Covid-19 pandemic's standard operating procedure (SOP), the brief ceremony at the Nirvana Memorial Centre in Sungai Besi was nonetheless befitting a warrior.
The New Straits Times was made to understand that Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sany led the honours and handed over the Jalur Gemilang and a cheque to Leong's widow Datin Liew Kim Har, in the presence of sons Leong Peng Kheong and Leong Peng Khuen.
Another son Leong Peng Kin was unable to attend as he lives in Australia and could not secure permission to travel in time for the wake and funeral, said a relative who declined to be named.
The NST was also informed that among the other senior officers from Bukit Aman who came to express their condolences at the brief ceremony were Special Branch director Commissioner Datuk Zamri Yahya and management director Commissioner Datuk Zaini Jass.
Also learnt to be present were Kuala Lumpur police chief Commissioner Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim and Selangor police chief Commissioner Datuk Arjunaidi Mohamed.
The relative said the officers had earlier sent wreaths during the wake, the last two days.
The relative added that Leong's remains were taken under police escort, to the Gui Yuan Crematorium in Section 51 Kampung Tunku, Petaling Jaya for a traditional Chinese funeral ceremony and that his ashes would be released into the sea, thereafter.
Leong, who was just short of his 92nd birthday on Nov 11, died from old age last Sunday at his home in Balakong, Selangor.
He had initially suffered a stroke and subsequent pneumonia a month ago and had sought treatment at the Serdang Hospital.
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.
In his eulogy, Warrior's History Enthusiasts Association vice-chairman Michael Choo, described how the communist terrorists never counted on having to deal with a steely and determined Leong.
He said Leong possessed a matter-of-fact attitude and an uncanny ability to read the minds of his enemies.
"He would be the 'wall upon which the communist wave broke' as we stated in our documentary 'Valour Unseen, Gallantry Unknown'.
"As I listened to Leong's post-retirement stories, his experiences came through vividly and in detail, like they happened just yesterday.
"His primed age did not slow down his machine-gun delivery or cause him to forget even a single thing. He knew the names, dates, places and times of everyone and everything.
"He remembered minute details such as the exact positions of his men who surrounded the house of the 'One-Eyed Dragon' in 1961, to the favourite whiskey of a Thai general he entertained in Singapore in 1965," said Choo.
Leong's mental alacrity, Choo said, served the former well during his career, as evidenced in his contributions to the security of Malaysia.
"As stated by his colleagues in our documentary, without Leong, the fight against the communists would have taken much longer and cost a lot more lives.
"Leong also went about his unenviable task with humanity, preferring to capture and rehabilitate the communists rather than kill them, a move that paid great dividends in intelligence gathering.
"To me, Leong represents one of the last of a dying breed, from an era long gone and never to return.
"These were the men and women who forged Malaysia, living with hardships many of us no longer experience or even can understand.
"These were the hard people who created the better times that they were able to bequeath to their children, who in turn went on to create the good times that we enjoy now," he said, reminding Malaysians to learn from the struggles, lessons and experience of a larger-than-life Leong.
