‘The bravest of men are always the gentlest’ is engraved on the tombstone of retired policeman Superintendent Desmond Godfrey Lawrence. V. SHUMAN speaks to a colleague who, alongside Lawrence, fought the communists in the jungles of Perak in 1981, and can attest to his gentle demeanour

The late Supt Desmond Godfrey Lawrence was never an armchair commander

Bernard Lawrence says his father liked a laid-back lifestyle

DESMOND Godfrey Lawrence, together with former Supt Paul Kiong and DSP Sia Boon Chee, both of whom were featured in this series earlier, fought the communists in the jungles of Perak in a series of operations codenamed "Ops Catfish" in 1981.

Lawrence, ranked superintendent, was the deputy head of the Special Branch unit in Perak and was the ground commander in two operations, one on March 4, 1981, and the other on March 26, 1981. He worked closely with Kiong and Sia, who were both inspectors at the time.

"He was never an armchair commander. He was always on the ground, either helping out with covert operations or giving us moral support," recalls Kiong about Lawrence.

Lawrence led Kiong and Sia in the two Perak operations. The first was in Tanah Itam and the second in the jungles of Changkat Kinding.
In both operations, 10 communist insurgents were arrested without blood being spilt on both sides.

"Lawrence planned the operations thoroughly. The welfare of his men were of utmost importance to him. He always made sure there was no bloodshed on both sides (communists and police) during operations.

"For those of us who fought the communists, an operation was only considered successful if there was no bloodshed.

"If there were casualties, then the operation was considered a failure," said Kiong.

He recalled the operation on March 26 where Lawrence led a team to capture a notorious insurgent known as Cheong Lum, leader of the Kledang Saiyong group. The group's name is derived from the forest area where they were active at the time.

"We camped at the fringe of the forest for several days prior to the arrest and had arranged for a reformed insurgent from the Ninth Armed Forces to approach Cheong Lum when he arrived at the camp.

"It was about 3am when we got a signal from our informer that all five insurgents were asleep in their hammocks and it was time to move in. There were about 10 of us and we broke into groups of two. Lawrence went with Sia while I paired with another colleague.

"We crawled several hundred metres on the jungle floor towards the insurgents and sprang into action when we closed in on them.

"The communists were armed with pistols but could not react in time as they were caught by surprise."

After their capture, the task of rehabilitating them awaited the policemen. Lawrence took it in his stride.

"At meal times, he would sit at their table and talk to them as if they were his friends. Never did I hear him raise his voice at them, and this caused their tough outer shells to crumble eventually."

The insurgents liked Lawrence for his soft and gentle approach.

"Even now, when I visit some of the insurgents who have reformed, they talk highly of Lawrence and ask about his family's whereabouts."

Kiong added that even if the men under Lawrence's command did something wrong on the job, they did not get a scolding.

"He would pat us on the shoulders and ask us not to repeat the mistakes."

Kiong described Lawrence as a specialist in psychological warfare.

"He had many years of experience in dealing with the Orang Asli community from serving as a fort commander in Ulu Perak and Ulu Kelantan, before 1980.

"The communists were trying to influence the Orang Asli to join them.

"Lawrence did an excellent job in winning the hearts and minds of the Orang Asli and in getting them to be police informants instead."

Lawrence was born on April 3, 1931, in Seremban. He joined the force on June 1, 1953, as an inspector after completing his MCE.

During his career, Law-rence served with the Forest Police (now known as the General Operations Force) and at the Ipoh and Perak police headquarters.

He was promoted to the rank of superintendent on Jan 20, 1981, a post which he held until his retirement in April, 1986.

He was awarded the Panglima Gagah Berani medal on June 1, 1983, by the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Lawrence died aged 71 on Sept 24, 2002, of old age complications. He is survived by his wife Jill, a son and two daughters.

DAD 'EXCEEDINGLY THE GENTLEMAN'

BERNARD Hilary Lawrence still remembers being separated from his father for weeks, sometimes even for months on end, because his old man was in the jungle "fighting the bad guys".

"I was a toddler back then, maybe two or three years' old, but I remember seeing him at home after long periods of time.

"I was not old enough then to understand that he was sacrificing his family life for the country. But, I eventually did," recalls the only son of the late Supt Desmond Godfrey Lawrence.

Bernard, 41, said the family was, at that time, based in a village in Ipoh that was bordering the jungle.

"My father's men would knock on our door at anytime of the day, still clad in their uniforms and carrying rifles, after their duty time was over.

"They would ask my father's permission to rest there for a while and he never refused," said Bernard, who has been running a law firm in Mont Kiara for the past seven years.

Bernard said his father always treated his men like friends.

"My father was exceedingly a gentleman, who never scolded anyone for no reason, be it his men or his family members.

"At the same time, he was a brave policeman who would never hesitate to pull the trigger at a criminal if the situation called for it."

According to Bernard, inscribing the quote "the bravest of men are always the gentlest", on his father's tombstone was his mother's idea.

"My mother never complained whenever my father was away for months.

"She understood him and his job well."

His mother, Jill, 63, is a former teacher who now divides her time with Bernard and her second daughter, Evelyn.

"She also travels often to see my younger sister, Michelle, in New Zealand," said Bernard, who has an eight-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter from his marriage to former actress Ramona Rahman.

"After I completed my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, my father asked me, 'Do you want to be a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer?' I hated both mathematics and the sight of blood, so I became a lawyer.

"Following in his footsteps was never an option for him and I'm sure he had a good reason for it."

"The patriotism of the men in blue in my father's time was amazing.

"They lived and died for the job. I don't know if policemen nowadays possess similar qualities," said Bernard.

He added that his father's favourite pastime after retirement was growing bougainvilleas.

"He loved a laid-back lifestyle, and spent hours daily grooming his plants.

"When he passed away, so many of his former colleagues turned up to pay their respects that it seemed like it was a Special Branch officers' reunion."