KUALA LUMPUR: Communist-era hero Tan Sri Yuen Yuet Leng was given a grand send-off, with full honours.
Police officers in their ceremonial white uniform marched alongside his cortege from the main gates of the Xiao En Centre in Cheras, where his remains were, to the main road.
From there, the hearse carried Yuen’s body for burial at the Nilai Memorial Park.
Earlier yesterday, the service, which was held around 9.30am, had heartfelt speeches by family and friends, including former Inspector-General of Police Tun Hanif Omar and former Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen.
While everyone painted him as a patriot and policeman, Yuen’s daughter Susan Yuen Sumin, 56, spoke about a loving father.
“When I was young, he would tell me stories about his time in the jungle,” she said.
“He would tell me that you can use your logical mind to plan but when it comes to execution, leadership comes from the heart.”
She said she was grateful to have been brought up by a great man who always gave selflessly.
“Today, daddy, I give you a thousand salutes. Thousand salutes that might not be enough for all that you have done,” Susan said.
“I salute you for being a wonderful father, most understanding and nurturing but still allowed me to grow.”
Hanif, who struggled to hold back tears, said that he would miss his friend dearly.
“We fought together. He was a good friend and a warrior,” he said.
Ng, a family friend, said that Yuen was concerned about the disharmony in the country even on his death bed.
“We always spoke about the country and politics and even two weeks ago when I visited him at the National Heart Institute (IJN), he asked about the state of the country,” she said.
The service ended around 11.30am before Yuen’s remains were taken to the memorial park to be laid to rest in full Royal Malaysian Police honours.
Yuen, who had served as the Perak chief police officer and Sarawak police commissioner, died of a heart ailment at the age of 88 at his daughter’s residence in The Mines, Seri Kembangan, at about 6am on Thursday. He was born in Larut Matang, Perak.
Yuen had played a major role in the Hatyai Peace Negotiation with the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).
He had also accompanied the then Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Rahim Noor to China to meet CPM leaders Chin Peng, Abdullah C.D and Rashid Maidin prior to the peace accord.
As a young policeman, he survived a shot in the chest in 1951 in a battle with communist terrorists in Gerik, Perak.