Who Was Yuen Yuet Leng, the Man Who Helped Eradicate the Communists?
Tan Sri Dato Seri Yuen Yuet Leng was a Malaysian police officer of Chinese descent. His significant contributions in fighting the communists were recognized with awards such as the SPCM, DPCM, PNBS, JMM, KMM, AMN, PPC, PBS, BPT, and others. He served with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) from 1950 until 1984. He became the Commissioner of Police for Sarawak in 1984 and retired there.
Yuen Yuet Leng was born in Larut Matang on September 15, 1927. At the age of 7, he studied at the King Edward VII School in Taiping, Perak. However, his education was interrupted during the Japanese occupation of Malaya. In 1942, he joined the Japanese Youth Training Board and the Japanese Mining Engineering School in Ipoh. Later, he and his friends were sent to the Teacher Training Center at Kajang High School in 1945. After the Japanese surrendered, Yuen went to China in early 1946. He visited Lingnan University in Canton, China. Various problems he encountered, including poverty in Canton, led Yuen Yuet Leng to return to Malaya in early 1947. He returned to study at King Edward, Taiping. He received a scholarship to the Technical College in 1948 but had to decline it to support his family first.
His first job was with the Malayan Railway, but it did not last long. In 1949, he became a teacher at King George V School, Seremban. In the same year, he was transferred to the Gemas Primary School, which had just been built by the British government. At that time, the communist insurgency was intensifying with a series of civilian killings. He began as a Probationary Asian Inspector (PAI) after receiving training at the Police Depot in December 1950. He was one of 54 police trainees in 'C' Squad, consisting of 22 Malays, 19 Chinese, and 13 Indians, "a healthy racial combination."
In 1950, there was a recruitment call for police to fight the communists. Consequently, he joined the police force as a PAI (Probationary Asian Inspector). After six months of brief training, he was first assigned to the CID in 1951. He then joined the 2nd Federal Jungle Company (FJC) in Tanah Hitam, Chemor. He was later transferred to Platoon 2, No. 16 FJC, in Titi Gantung, Sitiawan, Perak. 1951 was a volatile year during which he was shot in Chemor and nearly ambushed outside Sungai Siput. In December, he was shot again and wounded at Bukit Tanggor while ambushing a Communist Terrorist camp in
Chemor
and Sungai Siput, which were well-known as black areas in the state of Perak.
From then on, the operation to hunt down
Chin Peng
, the leader of the Malayan Communist Party, began. He became a Special Branch Officer in Gerik in 1953. Among his successes was dismantling the communist terrorist organization in Ipoh. On several occasions, Yuen Yuet Leng disguised himself as a communist terrorist. He entered the jungle and infiltrated terrorist groups, engaging in ambushes and battles. His role earned him the Colonial Police Medal in 1957.
He was then appointed as an Assistant Inspector and Special Branch Officer in Sungei Siput in 1957. At that time, he planned and launched an anti-terrorist operation (Operation Jahe), an all-out effort to combat communist terrorists in Perak. A total of 156 terrorists were eliminated within 16 months. In 1960, Ipoh and Central Perak were declared 'White Areas.' This was despite the fact that several Malay MCP leaders, such as Rashid Maidin and Abdullah C.D., originated from Central Perak.
After the Emergency ended in 1960, Yuen Yuet Leng was transferred to the Bukit Aman Police Headquarters and continued to work with the Special Branch, Intelligence, and Psychology units. He attended courses at the British War Office in Belfast and studied the methods of the Irish Republican Army there. However, the ambush of Special Branch officers across the Thai border in 1966, followed by the May 13 incident and increased Communist activity south of the Thai border, marked the beginning of the Second Emergency. In 1971, ACP Yuen was assigned to Sarawak, where the communist threat from the North Kalimantan Communist Party (NKCP) was rising. In early 1972, three military commanders of the North Kalimantan Communist Party were successfully eliminated at the Malaysia-Indonesia border. He returned to Kuala Lumpur, but in 1972, Yuen returned to Sibu, Sarawak, as the head of the Special Branch and Chief of Joint Intelligence with the task of eliminating the Communist threat. This was achieved through the formation of the Rajang Area Security Command (RASCOM). As a result, 500 former terrorists returned to society. He returned to Bukit Aman at the end of 1974 as the Deputy Director of the Special Branch. He began strategic tactical planning and counter-terrorism warfare, specializing in underground communist organizations.
In 1975, disaster struck in Perak. Chief Police Officer (CPO) Datuk Khoo Chong Kong was assassinated. In November 1975, Yuen took over as CPO of Perak. All CPOs and their families faced death threats from communist terrorists. His daughter, Susan, had armed guards. Specific kidnapping threats led to her being sent to Britain for her safety. The assassins of CPO Khoo were successfully captured, tried, and hanged. After 5 years, he was transferred again to Kuala Lumpur, Pahang, and subsequently to Kelantan.
Tan Sri Dato Seri Yuen Yuet Leng passed away on October 1, 2015, at the age of 88 due to a heart attack. The late Yuen passed away at his daughter's home in The Mines, Seri Kembangan.
