CRUSADER CHONG CARRIES ON

Negotiating with gangsters, tracking down runaways, rescuing
prostitutes and mediating family disputes are really none of his
business. But it matters not to Michael Chong, head of MCA's Public
Services and Complaints Department as he believes the job has to be
done. CLARENCE CHUA speaks to the man who has taken his battle to the
latest Ecstasy menace.

A FEW days after the MCA waged war on Ecstasy, a desperate mother
walked into Michael Chong's office hoping to wean her 17-year-old
daughter off the pills.

"When she found out that her daughter and her boyfriend were on the
pills (Ecstasy), the mother stopped her from going out. The daughter
retaliated by destroying things in the house,'' says Chong, adding
that the daughter's boyfriend also came around demanding that the
daughter be let out.

He had also forced her to take Ecstasy to entertain her customers and
had threatened to beat her up if she refused.

"She said patrons liked GROs who were on drugs as they would be perky
and accommodate their advances. It is sad that such young lives are
being destroyed this way'' says Chong.

Over the past 13 years, Chong, 52, has seen them all. Drug addiction,
petty squabbles, death threats, betrayals, tearful reunions, tragic
deaths and happy endings. The list goes on.

Handling such matters requires guts, strong willpower, compassion
towards humanity, lots of patience and also a sense of humour to keep
one's sanity. Chong has acquired all these through his years of experience.

When Chong assumed his post in 1987, he found out the hard way just
how dangerous his job is. He suffered a broken arm while negotiating
with a pimp for the release of a girl who was lured into
prostitution.

"The man whacked me with a piece of wood during the negotiations. That
was the end of my first attempt. I had to go to the hospital,'' he
recalls.

But his most exciting case was also similar. He had to save another
girl from prostitution in Macau in 1996.

"With the help of the Malaysian High Commissioner in Hong Kong, two
colleagues and I managed to locate the girl in a hotel room where
gangsters were hiding her.

"It was a very dangerous situation. When the gangsters found out about
the rescue attempt, a large group of them started chasing us into the
streets.

"Fortunately, a local Asian TV crew who were also interested in the
case followed us. When the gangsters saw the cameras pointed at them,
they backed off. We could have been hacked to death that night!''
Incidentally, Chong's entry into the department was a result of his
inherent kay poh (busy body) nature.

"Before the department was set up, people with problems just came to
the office of the MCA president to seek help.

"I was then personal assistant to Tan Sri (then Datuk) Lee Kim Sai,
who was Rawang assemblyman. I usually went up to them to find out
about their problems.''

When Chong proved his prowess at solving problems, the party decided
to set up the department in September 1987. The rest is history.

Now almost every day, about 20 people, regardless of race, religion or
creed show up at the department's doorstep to seek help.

Chong's emergence as a social crusader was partly by accident and
partly by the events he experienced as an adolescent.

Chong, the eldest of seven siblings, was born in Batu Gajah to poor
but pious Catholic parents. They moved to Batu Arang, Rawang when he
was just a child.

"In 1964, when I was 16, my father died of cancer. It was the worst
time for my family and me. All of us had to break our piggy banks, as
we had no money for father's funeral.

"I can vividly remember holding RM16 in my hands, and the whole family
just started crying.''

It was precisely at this moment that God revealed his guardian angels
in the form of St Michael's church leader Albert Fenelon and principal
of the Tuanku Abdul Rahman School, A.R. Rahman.

"Both of them helped me raised some money, enough to bury my father
and cover our household expenses for two months.''

Chong's mother then started work as a washerwoman for the teachers in
the school to feed the family.

"At times, my mother would fall ill and we would go hungry for a few
days. Without food and being a thin, sickly boy in school, nobody ever
picked me to compete in sports,'' he adds with a grin.

Chong's failure in sports prompted him to find solace in
music.

"In school there was this rich kid, Ah Fook, who was three years my
senior. He was my guitar sifu (master). The girls just loved him.

"To attract the girls, I decided to learn how to play the guitar from
him''

He however, did not say whether he succeeded in winning the girls
over.

In 1967 he joined Venus, a three-man band. He and his
bell-bottomed-pants-wearing friends were soon playing the Beatles and
the Rolling Stones at private parties for RM10 a show. Three years
later they disbanded.

Over the next four years, Chong worked as a laboratory assistant at
TAR school earning RM145 a month.

"I had no ambition in life at that time. Being poor, you just take
life one day at a time''.

However, the hardship Chong suffered as child was a blessing in
disguise as it helped mould his character, making him one of the most
recognised men in Malaysia.

''You know, when my father was diagnosed with cancer, our family was
financially sucked dry by sinseh (Chinese medicine men) who promised a
cure. We had to borrow money from our neighbours and relatives to pay
for the fake traditional medicines. It was only during the last stages
of his illness that they referred him to hospital.

"I cannot forget how it feels like to be deprived of a father's love,
to be angry with the crooks (medicine men) who cheated us of our money
and the suffering my family had to go through because of that. I
remember telling myself, given the chance, I'll never let them go,''
Chong recalls.

In 1974, like a country bumpkin in a 70s Cantonese drama, Chong,
bundled a pillow, a mattress and some clothing into his Mini Minor and
drove out of Batu Arang, heading for the bright lights of KL in search
of a better future.

In 1980, through a good friend, he was introduced to Lee who was
coincidentally looking for an assistant who could read and write Mandarin.

"I conned him into believing that I could read and write the language
but later when he discovered that I couldn't, it was already difficult
for him to sack me. With a job paying RM680 a month, my skin had to be
as thick as an elephant's. I stayed on even when there were calls for
me to resign. Instead, I tried to make myself useful,'' he confesses.

In 1981, during the era where baggy pants and bad hairdo were
fashionable, Chong met his wife-to-be, Magdalene Lim at a party in
Shah Alam. He adds that his job as a personal secretary to a
politician helped a great deal in getting him to woo his wife.

After two years of courtship they eventually tied the knot on Sept 25,
1983. The following year Chong was a proud father when his first
daughter Marina was born. After Marina, who is now 15, came Melissa,
14, Melinda, 11 and Marcus, 9.

As a father, he says it is depressing to find out that so many young
lives had been destroyed by the Ecstasy menace.

Chong plans to retire in three years and is looking for a suitable
job.

"I would like to go on but I fear that my health will not permit me to
do so. It's a stressful job and only suitable for people with no
political ambitions. You have to be sincere and genuine, here
(pointing at his chair).''

Chong attributes his success to MCA cabinet ministers and government
officials whom he said, 'were very supportive' and made it easy for
him to carry out his duties.

"Without their support, the department could never be this big and
successful.

"When I retire, I just want to take it easy and spend time with my
family. Maybe I'll venture into a small business, a car showroom or a
petrol kiosk,'' says Chong.