It began with a simple newspaper collection but little did ex crime reporter Syahril Kadir know, that his collection would lead him to meet some of Malaysia’s extraordinary people who fought with their lives defending the country. He tells us more about unsung heroes of Malaysia.

Text by Susan Tam
Photos by Syahril Kadir

Syahril Kadir never thought much of newspapers as a child when he began collecting them for his  father to read who as a soldier spent days or weeks’ at a time the jungles of Sabah.

“My father was always eager to catch up on the news after being on assignment in the jungle.  As I pile the papers, I ended up reading them myself,” said the 39-year-old.

Through reading, Sandakan-born Syahril discovered his love for crime news stories and pursued a journalism career, beginning with a job application with Utusan Malaysia’s newsdesk.

“They held a mock press conference, testing our abilities to ask questions about a drug raid while pretending to be a crime reporter,” he said.

And credit to his knowledge of crime news, Syahril impressed his future employers by using words like, “modus operandi” and subsequently got hired. He spent the next decade in various publications and television stations, researching and chasing crime news.

As someone who still enjoyed journalism, he started a blog writing about many topics particularly about crime stories, police and security forces.  Now a businessman, he realised that there was little being reported on non-Malay police or military officers who showed extraordinary acts of patriotism.

“I began then compiling stories and details about non-Malays – the Indians, Chinese and East Malaysians – that served the country and were honoured as heroes,” he shared. Little did he realise his blog and Facebook following grew by the hundreds, then thousands.

His blog hit over 4.5 million views, while his Facebook page is clocking in almost 18,000 followers.

The father of one believed that it was his calling to post photos, old news clippings and information on outstanding acts of bravery by non-Malays.

“Everyone loves Malaysia, despite what people say. I feel it’s wrong to accuse the Chinese and Indians for not being patriotic, they don’t even know of their non-malay heroes, so it’s my responsbility to tell them.”

He felt this gave his non-Malay readers the encouragement to know that patriotism lives in all Malaysians.

Syahril shared, at one time the entire membership of an Indian youth club wanted to follow his Facebook page, thanking him for dispelling the notion that Indians are linked to criminal activities, simply by telling the stories of brave Indian police officers.

Here’s are some of the stories:

DSP S Kulasingam

Syahril told us that he was known as James Bond for resembling the slick and suave British intelligence officer from the famous Bond movies.  This tall and distinguished police officer also had another nickname – Terminator – because he survived so many attempts to kill him.

Kulasingam was considered as one of the bravest officers feared by notorious gangsters like Botak Chin, Syahril explained.

In November 1975, Kulasingam got shot 11 times by Botak Chin’s henchmen at a traffic lights in Cheras.  The police officer, who was serving as the Kuala Lumpur Deputy CID Chief of Kuala Lumpur , managed to crawl out of the car covered in blood and returned fire.  He survived this incident even though one of the bullets ripped through his right rib, tore through his liver and lungs.

Kulasingam related the incident to Syahril, “I had difficulty in breathing after being shot but I managed to drive myself to the Cheras Police Station.  They shot my chest and internal organs and could have killed me but I felt my time wasn’t up yet.”

Botak Chin or Wong Swee Chin was one of the most dangerous gangsters in the Malaysia at that time, known for carrying out armed robberies, some times involving hundreds of thousands of ringgit.  The talk of the town at that time was that he shared the cash with poor communities, making him a modern Robin Hood of Malaysia.

Five months later, Kulasingam was shot again in the stomach by goldsmith robbers in Paramount Gardens, and had acid poured on his chest and legs by the criminals.

The officer earned his reputation as being robust and a true survivor, due to other near-misses. A tree fell on his partner and killed him, narrowly missing Kulasingam.

Kulasingam also survived a knife attackby man running amok, and survived an operation in Sarawak where he nearly got shot again, sadly his teammate there was killed.

Meeting him in his home in Johor after a long search to find Kulasingam, Syahril told us that, “You would never thought he was this brave and dashing police officer.”  He described Kulasingam as thin and scrawny and living in a small house, shaking his head as he listened to Tamil classical songs.

But, having said that, the 77-year-old former cop still showed his dedicated to the force. When asked why he chose not to marry, Kulasingam said the job has its occupational hazards and needed sacrifices.

He said, “I am married to my job,” a succinct response that sums up his commitment to serve.  Kulasingam passed away in November 2007, succumbing to illness.

Tan Sri Yuen Yuet Leng

“I am Malay, I am Indian and I am also a Chinese. If someone talk bad about the Malay – it is like that someone is hurting one part of my body,” said this national hero who fought the Communists in Malaya.

According to Syahril’s post, at times Yuen had disguised himself as a communist, entering the jungle to penetrate the communist activities.

Even though he is a Chinese, Yue admitted that he had Malay and Indian “souls” at the same time, while serving as a police officer.

“I feel so close to all three of these races because I have learnt and understood their culture and traditions when I joined the force.

”In the force, we didn’t define race or religion. We fought as a team to defend Malaya from the threat of Communists,” he said.

Yuen served as a teacher before joining the force, surviving more than five assassination attempts.  He also sustained numerous gunshot wounds during operations against insurgents during his 34-year career.

“The Communists have tried to kill me many times, but I don’t want to run away.  Even when I retired in 1948, the communists were after me,” said this former Chief Police Officer of Perak, who retired as the Sarawak Commissioner of Police.

Former Inspector-General of Police, Tun Hanif Omar suggested for Yuen to migrate as a way to stay safe from the threats.  “At first I agreed, but then I told Tun Hanif, why should I run away? Malaysia is where I grew up in,” he said.

Yuen too played a key role in the Hatyai Peace Talks.  With ex inspector-general of police Tan Sri Rahim Noor, they met Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) leaders Chin Peng, Abdullah C. D. and Rashid Maidin.

The talks results in a signing of a peace treaty between the communists and the Malaysian and Thai governments in 1989.  The communists agreed to lay down arms and disband the CPM, ending insurgency activities in Malaysia after almost 50 years.

At 88, Yuen passed away in October and was given full Royal Malaysia Police honours at his burial.