Kiong, who led the Special Branch force against the communists’ second insurgency in 1968, said the captured insurgents then were never harmed or abused while in captivity.
Instead, they were rounded up in a “special place” where “psychological warfare” took place, he said in an interview with FMT.
“We told them what they were doing was wrong as it was a revolutionary war against the legitimate government of Malaysia.
“We also explained to them why they should forsake their armed struggle.
“If they accepted our efforts, they were prepared to work with us and lead us back into the jungles, their playground.”
During the struggle, Kiong went undercover, disguised as one of the insurgents for over six years.
His job scope involved infiltrating into the communist territories in the jungles and gathering intelligence that was later used to take them down one by one.
A firm believer in providing second chances, Kiong fought his battles guided by one main principle — “terminating them should be the last resort”.
“The first option was to capture and rehabilitate them so they could get back into society and contribute towards nation-building.
“So, we didn’t punish them. We rehabilitated them as they were also human beings. The problem with them was their ideology and we had to change that.
“If you can turn them over through psychological warfare, then you win their hearts, minds and loyalty. Then they will help rehabilitate the other insurgents as well.
“The more you hurt them, the more cold-hearted they become.”
It was through this method and principle that he managed to form life-long friendships with some of the communists he used to fight against.
“We started wanting to kill each other but now we have become the best of friends. We meet up whenever we can for dinners and chat about the old times.
“We talk about how we went through difficult times together and the risks we undertook.”
Kiong, who successfully captured 43 insurgents, then related a story where the psychological warfare proved to be successful and in fact saved his life.
“There was an occasion when one of the leaders wanted to reveal our undercover jungle operation. I was lucky and got wind of the impending betrayal.
“That individual confided his plans to two of the ‘converted’ insurgents and they came to see me separately, warning me of this.
“So, can you imagine what would have happened if we had not treated them well and changed their mindsets? The two would have kept quiet and I would’ve been killed.”
Kiong was awarded the country’s highest gallantry award, the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa medal, in June 1983 and also Perak’s highest medal of valour, the Pingat Keberanian Handal, in April 1988, for the part he played in fighting the communist insurgency.