The Distinguished Career of
LT. COL. KHONG KIM KONG
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by Ir Lt Col Raymond Goh Boon Pah Date: 6 July 2021 On 1st August 1952, Khong Kim Kong of the Victoria Institution was on his way to Singapore for a school holiday but was involved in an accident. He escaped unhurt but had to return to Kuala Lumpur. There, his father, a tailor who had sewn suits for General Sir Harold Briggs, General Sir Gerald Templer and General Sir Rob Lockhart, told him the good news of his successful selection in the Templer Super-12 Pioneer Group... During the early years of the British administration in Malaya, security was provided by the British and Indian battalions. But sometime in early 1920 some of the state rulers requested the British Administration to raise an army from the local population. On Nov 23, 1932, the War Office in London approved the formation of a Malay Regiment as part of the British Army. On Jan 23, 1933, the Federal Consultative Council passed the Malay Regiment Act with an allocation of 70,000 dollars to buy the Kong Sang Rubber Estate in Port Dickson for the Recruit Training Centre. It was on March 1, 1933, that the first company finally started, with 25 recruits under the command of British officers. In March 1941, two Malay battalions were raised and played a major role in the defence of Malaya during the World War 2. After the war, the Malay Regiment was reorganised into three battalions. During the Malayan Emergency in 1948, they were deployed to fight against the communist insurgents. Only Malays were being recruited in the Malay Regiment. It wasn't long before the clarion call for citizens of all races in the country to take up arms against the communist insurgents for their own security was made by the British High Commissioner in Malaya, General Sir Gerald Templer, who was also the director of Operations. He had taken over from Sir Henry Gurney, who'd been ambushed by the communists at Frasers Hill on Oct 6, 1951. On July 3, 1952, the Federation Regiment Bill was approved by the Federal Legislative Council for the formation of the first multiracial force as per Templer's vision. Many young men were attracted to the clarion call but only twelve were approved by General Templer. On July 27, 1952, dubbed as the Templer Super-12 Pioneers, these men formed the nucleus of the multiracial Malayan army. Among them were Lai Chung Wah, Victor Nelson Stevenson, Lakhbir Singh Gill, Thong Chee Sin, Ng Boon Hwa, N. Selvarajah, Gui Poh Chui, Leong Siew Meng, Khong Kim Kong, Asna Mohamed Sutan, Abdullah Samsudin, and Amiruddin Mustapha Al-Bakri. After three months of officer cadet training in Port Dickson they were sent to the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England. On 3 February 1955 Khong graduated with the highest place in the Order of Merit amongst all overseas officer cadets for Regular Intake 14 and was awarded the Commandant's prize. Upon graduation Khong was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Federation Engineers. He was one of the first British-trained Malayan Engineer officers to join the Federation Engineer Corps. From 1955 to 1956, he attended the Combat Engineer Course, followed by the Long Civil Engineering Course at the Royal School of Military Engineering in Chatham, England. From 1956 to 1958, Khong was posted to 76 Field Engineer Squadron which later became 1 Engineer Squadron of the Federation Army. During this period, he served in various road construction projects in Perak and Kedah in support of the army's counter-insurgency operations. He was also selected as one of the officers to lead the Merdeka (Independence) Day military parade and march-past in front of Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur on 31 August 1957. From 1958 to 1959 Khong served at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), Manpower Division as a Staff Captain, being responsible for army recruitment and remuneration budgeting. During his service in MINDEF, he was selected to serve as a Regalia Bearer for the first King of Malaya with duties to attend to all the ceremonial functions at the King's Palace in Kuala Lumpur. From 1959 to 1960 Khong returned to regimental duties and served as Second-in-Command of 1 Engineer Squadron in Tapah, Perak. In January 1961 he was selected as one of the first Malayan officers for service overseas with the United Nations Headquarters in Belgian Congo, Africa. Subsequently he joined the Malayan Special Forces Brigade HQ in Bukavu, Eastern Congo and served under Brigadier General Hamid Bidin as the Brigade Staff Captain Administration. On completion of his assignments with the United Nations and the Malayan Special Forces in Congo, Khong was selected to attend the British Military Staff College in Camberley, England. The one year course prepared army officers for senior positions above the rank of major in the Army. On completion of his Staff College course in December 1963 he was posted to 1 Infantry Brigade HQ with the rank of Major and served under Brigadier General Abbas as the Brigade Administrative and Logistics Officer. He was responsible for the efficiency and discipline of all military units under the brigade's command, the provision of honour guards for visiting foreign dignitaries and the organization of the "Trooping of the Colour" by the Royal Malay Regiment on the King's Birthday at Merdeka Stadium. The convening court marshal and board of enquiries were part of Khong's administrative portfolio. In 1964 he was appointed as the Brigade Major, being responsible for the deployment of military units in security operations and in aid to civil power in the Federal Capital of Kuala Lumpur in conjunction with the Royal Malaysian Police in public order situation. On completion of his tour of duties with the 1 Infantry Brigade in January 1965, Khong returned to regimental duties as Officer Commanding of 1 Engineer Squadron in Taiping, Perak. His operational duties included flood relief operations in the states of Perak and Kedah, the provision of engineer troops in support of infantry operations to clear mines and booby traps in the Malaysian/Thai border and the provision of engineer troop support of infantry operations in Tawau, Sabah. In January 1966, Khong was posted to Logistics Division in MINDEF as Senior Staff Officer with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During his tour of duties in Logistics Division his most challenging task was to devise a logistic support plan to carry out and sustain the deployment of Malaysian troops who were taking over the security operations from the withdrawing British forces in Sarawak and Sabah after the cessation of hostilities in the Confrontation in August 1966. The plan involved the leasing of a large sizable civilian cargo ship and converted it into a troop ship to ferry troops, arms and ammunition, rations and vehicles between West and East Malaysia as the British forces had withdrawn their troop ship support after their troop withdrawal. This task with speedily accomplished with the tacit support of the Head of Finance Division in MINDEF in the approval of the budget. In January 1968, Khong returned to regimental duties as Commander of Royal Engineers (CRE) in HQ 2 Infantry Division in Taiping. During the height of the counter-insurgency in Sarawak in July 1968 he was posted as CRE in HQ 1 Infantry Division under the command of Major General Dato Ibrahim Ismail who was the Director of Operations, East Malaysia (DOPEM). He was conferred with the state award of Ahli Bintang Sarawak (ABS) for his services in the State. In March 1970, Khong was re-assigned to Logistics Division in MINDEF as the Head of Accommodation and Works Directorate, being responsible for the construction and maintenance of all armed forces camps and bases in the country. In July 1970, he retired from the army after having served the King and Country for 18 years (1952-1970).
Prefects Board, 1951  School Captain Sulaiman b Mohd Amin (third from left) with H.M. Mr E M F Payne Khong Kim Kong is at the back row, second from left. Kwong Fook Wing - Three generations of Tailors 
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