Forever Yung

Anuar Ghani is a lawyer and a veteran of the Sabah 4X4 scene, having been a key player since the Trans Borneo expedition series of the 1980s. He was a founding member of the Kinabalu Four Wheel Drive Club (KFWDC) and has served as its president. This was his eulogy delivered at the wake for his old friend, the legendary Fred Leong, who passed away suddenly on 29th November 2016.

My condolences to Alvin & Tammy, Alex & Cindy, Veronica, Kenneth Jayaraman and family, Patricia Leong, Stella and Tim Brophy, Evelyn Leong and Amir Datuk Arif, Maureen and Frankie Ho , and the rest of Fred Leong’s family.

We have all suffered a great loss, a father, a brother, an uncle, brother-in-law and a good friend.

I never called him Fred. He and I always called each other Yung. We both believed it means "Brother" in the sungai dialect and that was fine with us.

He was one of a kind. What made Fred Leong what he was?

Fred Leong grew up in Keningau. His father was Leong Ten Fook. His mother, Angeline Tann, was apparently very strict with him. I think she instilled a lot of discipline in Fred. "Kalau suruh bikin kerja, mesti bikin punya".

Sometimes Fred would be playing basketball instead of doing the chores and his mother would show up in the middle of a game, a match, and chase Fred off the court with a cane, in front of all the other players and coaches.

I don’t know whether such treatment made him the great man that he is, but it could be an explanation. This probably instilled the work ethic that made him a top journalist in his field. The "go to" guy for everything sports related.

He related the story to Wen, George Irwin's and Salamah's son, when telling him to be tough and not to be afraid of ghosts, or "hantu". Kids today are too soft, he said. He even gave Wen the name “Lisa” to force him to become more manly. And Wen decided he didn’t want to be called Lisa, and is no longer afraid of hantu.

Fred Leong was not so much of a father to his sons, Alvin and Alex. He was more of a friend and a person who gave advice, sometimes, mostly even when unsolicited.

He loved his two boys dearly and understood their strengths and weaknesses. He would talk to me often about them. He wanted his sons to learn from their own mistakes, to gain experiences.

He was very proud of both of you. He wasn’t much of a father. He was a great father. 4x4 has helped create a special bond between sons and father.

Anuar and Saran looking forward to a
large helping of the signature chicken
 rice cooked by Fred Leong at the end
 of Borneo Safari 2016.

Uncle Fred, as he is also known, was Kung-Kung to every little kid from Tawau to Lawas to Kuching. He knew how to make kids laugh, he would tell jokes, tease them, reprimand them when he was in the mood. If you want to know whether someone is genuine or good inside, see how kids respond to them. And every kid loved Uncle Fred.

Keeping his promise to the late Labo, Fred arranged for his daughter Deborah Saran to take part in Borneo Safari this year despite her being underaged. He fought for her inclusion in deference to Labo’s wish. And as usual, Fred got his way.

Talking about his way, he single-handedly created the 4X4 landscape in Sabah.

One day I said, “Fred, you are responsible for the formation of 12 to 14 clubs and associations in Sabah.” He said, “Yeah, why?” I said, “Don’t you think this is divisive?” He said, “Why not, why stop them from having fun? Anyway, not everyone likes to be controlled, let them have their own club".

Through this, and his unceasing and relentless news coverage of 4x4 events and activities in Sabah, Fred created the impetus and momentum that has brought Sabah 4x4 movement to the powerhouse that it is today.

Fred was well-loved everywhere. Sitting in his camp at Lawas, he gets duty-free whisky, sitting in Kuala Penyu, everyone was dropping crates of beers at our camp.

I don’t think Fred was a wealthy man but he was a rich man because he had many, many, many friends everywhere. He was the richest man I know. And what does it take to become a rich man like him?

First and foremost, if you want friends, you must be a friend.
He helped develop the 4X4 scene by helping every aspiring district to form their own club. He would draft their constitution, personally go to the ROS or Sports Commissioner to register or plead their case.

WRS, Tawau, Kota Belud, Tenom, Kota Marudu, Labuan, Sandakan, and many others owe their existence to him. The existence of SFWDA, the Sabah Four Wheel Drive Association, is due to him and Edward Lingkapo. He was also responsible for finding and raising and finding sponsors for the club and association.But  he was still upset that Keningau, his home town, haven’t registered as a club. So Lolou, Atun, Cheng, and Hamid, if you can, do please do so in memory of Fred Leong.

Thompson Teoh, President of  WRS told me how the WRS team got stuck in the jungle for 4 days and nights without food n water and it was uncle Fred who came and rescued and saved them.

I hear similar stories from the time he was involved in football in Sabah. But his true calling was in 4x4.

Fred Leong lived his life to the fullest. He never wanted to go home and would continue chatting away into the wee hours. He loved people.

He was a ladies man. We can only watch in envy and admiration when he comes along with some chick 20-30 years his junior. I think he learned the skill of mastering women because he was the only boy with 5 sisters. So I guessed he learnt early how the female mind works.

Apart from being good  at how to please the ladies, Fred was also a very good cook. His Hainanese Chicken Rice is legendary. At Borneo Safari last year in Kg. Kolorox, we ate his Hainanese Chicken Rice listening to stories of how he lost his virginity at 16 with ... I won't mention who here.

There was an Indian reporter who was enthralled by the stories and asked many, many questions. So, we got the juicy details.  Fred also cooked the best dish I ever tasted in my life at camp Togop Darat when he cooked Pelian in foil with hot river stones. With Fred, you will get lamb, prawns n chicken in the jungle.How he managed that was an art by itself.

Fred could also be very critical and merciless with his criticism. But one thing, what he says behind you, he will say it to your face. He could be direct and brutal, and sometimes petty. Sometimes, listening to him was like listening to a recorder.

But as Paul Si says, Fred has paid his dues, so we can accept his idiosyncrasies.

Among all his friends and achievements, I know one close to his heart are his “Lawas boys”, the Lun Bawang from Lawas. They are his family. He adopted them. George Irwin Leong, Rick Leong, Nelson Leong, Michael Leong, Yung Leong , Pariel Leong and the rest. To him, they were the most capable, most hardworking, most dependable group in the 4X4 community. He was very close to Labo and was working to making the first Labo challenge in Lawas in February 2017. I hope this can still happen. He was so proud of the Lawas boys including Salamah and Wina.

Fred, Yung, You have been taken to a better place. It will never be the same without you. We will all miss you terribly. You were the brother that I wished I had. And I hope that by calling me Yung, I was the younger brother you never had. It was a privilege and an honour to have known you. We all love you,   Yung.

Rest in peace, Yung.

Fred Leong - The Legend

Frederick Charles Leong (1952-2016) - The Legend

It's been 27 years, almost to the day, since I first walked into the office of the Borneo Mail in Kota Kinabalu. Aside from the fiery-tempered editor, C.C. Pung, the other person I remember well from that fateful first day was the equally straight-shooting and hot-blooded Fred Leong.
Coincidentally, I had just turned 27 then, so I have now known Frederick Charles Leong, also known as Dick, for exactly half of my life.
At work he did his job and I did mine. After work, we shared many good moments together. Those who know him, and me, would know that these were pretty wild moments. I was young, he was 10 years older, but then again, he never grew old. Some would say he, like Peter Pan, never grew up.

Two old timers from an ancient era.

I had been interested in 4X4 adventures for some years then, having covered the Trans Borneo series of expeditions that explored both my home state of Sarawak as well as Sabah. When those trips evolved into the Borneo Safari, Fred and I followed their activities with keen interest, as journalists and also as enthusiasts ourselves.
This interest culminated in my participation, as a journalist, in Borneo Safari 1992, with Fred's keen support and endorsement.
I recall he was already driving a 4X4 back then, a Daihatsu Feroza, when I could afford only to dream of owning one. Some day. (That day did come while I was still in Sabah, albeit just a couple of months before I packed up and moved off to seek my fortunes with The Star in the peninsula.)
In those pre-social media days when even mobile phones were a luxury, Fred and I did not stay in touch regularly, although we did bump into each other occassionally, on the job.

Happy times at Kuala Penyu, BS 2008

In 2008, one of these bumps took place at a 4X4 jamboree at Ulu Yam in Selangor, while Fred was a member of the delegation from the Kinabalu Four Wheel Drive Club.
It was then that he invited me to make a long-overdue visit back to Sabah for that year's Borneo Safari. And when Fred invites one to the Safari, he really wants you to go. Which means you don't really have much of a choice.
A few short weeks later, I was on a plane from KL to KK, and soon after, driving a D-Max as part of the Media team, with Fred as Chief Media. That was when I got to know Fred much better, especially a side of him that I had not seen before.
As Boss, he tolerated no nonsense. What he says, goes. And he commanded the total respect of the team he assembled and led, a team comprising many members whom I count among my closest friends in 4X4. Sadly, several of them, including the late Andy Wong, David Wong and Clarence Labo, have since passed away from illness.

(L to R) Andy Wong, Fred Leong and Clarence Labo.

One particularly memorable incident was when we had struck camp and moved off when a report came in over the two-way radio, pointing out that there was still a fire burning. Despite Fred's stern instructions on trash disposal, someone had decided to burn some rubbish and, worse, did not ensure the flames were completely doused before leaving. Furious, Fred made the convoy turn around and return to the site, and saw to it that every member of the crew scour the whole areas, leaving not one piece of litter. That was so Fred.
After a memorable Borneo Safari 2008, I returned to my base in the peninsula, and we communicated intermittently. He did ask me a couple of times to return for the event in later years but things did not work out because of my then work commitments.
It was not until 2012, when I had moved back to Kuching, that I returned to the Borneo Safari, and reconnected with Fred as if I had never left Sabah at all. Since then, I have not missed a Safari, plus made numerous other trips to Sabah. On several of those trips, I stayed at his apartment but even if I did not, there was never a trip when we did not catch up for his favourite activity (and mine, truth be told), which is shooting the breeze over beers. Lots of beers.
His sons, Alvin and Alex, who were just kids when I first knew Fred, are now all grown up, married and have families of their own. And, in many ways, they took over the roles that Fred used to play as he gradually took a back seat.

Doting grandpa Fred with Nathan, son of Alvin.

Fred had become a doting grandfather. But he was still, as ever, the inimitable Fred. Outspoken, firm in his beliefs, and ready to stand 100%, and loudly, by his principles and his friends.
We did not agree on everything. In fact, we argued a lot, and he seemed to enjoy these animated bouts as much as I did. Or maybe it was the beers that fuelled these debates which we enjoyed. But we had fun, we had great memories.
Along the way, we spent a lot of time doing what we enjoyed the most, messing around with our 4X4s, and exploring the hard-to-reach places that we could reach only by 4X4, and only with great difficulty.

Fred enjoys cooking ...

In the latter years, Fred decided he, as an elder in the fraternity, would no longer suffer the hardcore bits but would still pull the strings and put the pieces in place, and then drive into the last camp site to greet us as we emerge, muddied and wearied, and treat us to some of his fabulous cooking. Those who have not tasted his unique version of Hainanese chicken rice, well, you will never know what you are missing.
Stories about Fred would fill a book. Of several volumes. But it is not my intent to tell his entire life story, just a few anecdotes from the moments we shared on the journey, and the impact these had on me.
Just after 4.00pm on Tuesday, 29th November, 2016, at 64 years young,

And everyone enjoys his cooking.

“Angkol” Fred has driven his last safari, in his beloved Toyota 80-series Land Cruiser “Ninja”.
He was supposed to have flown over to Kuching the next day, to join me in the SAKTA (Sarawak 4X4 Adventure and Travel Club) Sarawak Jamboree.
In the off-roading fraternity, there have been many strong characters, each of whom have stamped their own unique mark and left indelible legacies. Still, we do not use the term “legend” lightly.
Fred Leong, you are Legend. Rest In Peace.

As Malcolm Jitam (left) said: "The total age of these 4x4 off roaders span back to time before the Spanish inquisition."

Borneo Suffering at its worst, and best

It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times.

We were chilling in an idyllic campsite in the rural heart of Sabah, with a cool, clean river to bathe in. We had great food worthy of a five-star hotel, because it was cooked for us by a chef who used to work in a five-star hotel. Steaming hot fresh-brew coffee in the morning, with home-cured bacon, sausages and eggs.

Mother hens and chicks, and mummy sows and their piglets, wandered all over, scrounging for grub. Pastoral scenes don't get much better than this.

Bacon and eggs, anyone?

Yet, we were not content. We were impatient. We couldn't wait to get on with it. We had to wait for it.

“It” was Borneo Safari 2016. Specifically, the hardcore section that some eager beavers complained was “only 40 kilometres” long. Some of us, who had taken three days to traverse just six kilometres in previous editions, reserved comment, looking forward with equal measure of trepidation and anticipation.

'Andy' the Landy - veteran of three Borneo Safaris (2012, 2014, 2016)

My Land Rover Defender (a four-year-old 110 named “Andy” in honour of a fondly remembered and dearly missed friend from earlier Safaris) and I, and co-driver Afonso Cerejo from Portugal, were embedded with Team Mitsubishi Motor Malaysia (MMM), which was sending in four of their new Tritons, plus four customer cars, and several other support cars of various marques and models. 
An added touch of glamour came in the person of renowned lady racer Leona Chin, also known as Malaysia's Drift Queen, who delights crowds by driving a Triton sideways.

With several members of the motoring media in our group, were placed in the convoy behind Team Isuzu, long-time sponsor of the event, who were behind the officials, photographers, competitors and the scouts who were blazing the trail.

2016 got off to a promising start, with a wide river to ford before reaching Kampung Tibabar, accessed by a track from the famous Poring hot springs, near the high-altitude interior town of Ranau.

Although the trail was mild by 4X4 standards (we came across several Perodua Kancils and Vivas), the river crossing yielded plenty of excitement and photo opportunities.

Day 1/2 Camp at Tibabar

The first night's camp at Tibabar was pleasant, if not exactly exciting. We set up camp, we dined, chatted a bit, and got a good night's sleep. That was about it.

The following day's move to Campsite Two, at Kampung Garung, added to the feeling that we could be in for some fun, with some mushy mud along the way serving as an appetiser. Nothing too hard though, and no winch rope had to be pulled out.

Kpg Garung was supposed to be home for a night, and then two, and then three. Team Isuzu, who had arrived there a day earlier, were on standby to move out since early in the morning, and then noon, and were still waiting by the evening when the plan was changed – they would stay the night.

Early the next morning, they packed up hurriedly and left bright and early for the entrance to the hardcore trail. The day passed slowly for the rest of us, chilling in the stream, until around 4pm, when the Isuzu rolled back in. They had travelled a grand total of about 2km, spent the whole day by the roadside waiting, and then decided to return to the village.

The trail was tough. The scouts reported making less than 1.7km of progress in their first six hours, and 3km in the whole of the first day.

We would just have to relax and wait for our turn.

Hurry up ... and wait

Welcome to the Borneo Safari, one of the toughest offroad vehicle events in Malaysia. Held annually in Sabah since 1991, the reputation has been a magnet for thrill-seekers, drawing about a thousand 4X4 aficionados to Kota Kinabalu for the grand flag-off at the tail end of each October.

Expectations are always high at the flag-off and, this year, participants were served extra helpings from the full menu. Even before it was over, there was already talk about it being “the best ever”, “the toughest in living memory” and “the most fun we've had in a long time”. (Having taking part in in seven Borneo Safaris – 1992, 2008, and every year since 2012, this writer would concur with these sentiments.)

This, from people who consider it fun to be forced to sleep upright in the seat of a cramped 4X4, simply because there is no space around the vehicle, or what little space there is, is shin-deep in gooey mud.

Whereas previous editions served up a couple of memorable moments interspersed with leisurely drives and pleasant camping, 2016 offered the full menu – torrential rain, mud galore, torturous holes and gulleys, and slopes so steeps that winches were mandatory for both ascent and descent, and even strategically-placed logs with a better-than-50-percent chance of slamming into.

3, 2, 1 ... BUNGEE!!!!!

The notorious “bungee jump”, alternatively referred to as the roller-coaster, will be remembered as one of the highlights as BS 2016.

After a torturous uphill climb that required strenuous winching, each car had to negotiate a tight turn with steering at full lock to the right, and then be lowered gingerly on a winch line from the car behind down a steep and slippery slope.

Released from this safety line about halfway down, each driver had to negotiate the remaining distance, knowing that a huge log lay in wait at the bottom. There was no room for error, and nearly half of all cars ended the bumpy ride with a close encounter with the log, sustaining varying degrees of damage, from broken lamps to crumpled fenders to bent chassis.

Handyplast moment - poor Andy is hurt. Bad log.

Wait, there's more. A lot more. A slanted track that sends your car sliding towards a tree. There is no way to drive across, you had to stop the car, and use the winch to pull the front end in the right direction, away from the waiting tree. Some did not make it unscathed, adding to their collections of dents.

However well prepared each participant was, no matter how much the cars were modified or upgraded in anticipation of the challenges, the strain was simply too overwhelming for some.

Minor breakdowns were promptly fixed by “McGyver” mechanics but several cars which suffered major breakdowns had to be left by the side of the track, awaiting rescue at a latter date.

Oh, look what I found!

A failed gearbox, shattered differential gears, broken winches and a wheel that parted company with its hub after all its six studs sheared off were just some of the equipment failures that prematurely ended the adventure for the unfortunate few who had to hitch a ride out of the jungle.

The recovery teams, all volunteers who had to face the same or even tougher conditions just getting to the abandoned cars, continued struggling up to three days after the eight-day Safari had officially ended with the grand closing dinner.

Before each year's Safari gets underway, expectations start forming based on tales from the previous year's event. 2015 had been significant for being the Silver Jubilee event but the action itself had not been spectacular.

The 2016 terrain and weather conspired to serve up a “perfect storm” of challenges that had everyone raving about the toughest, and naturally, the best Borneo Safari ever.

Not everyone who signed up got to savour the experience, though, as more than half of the field did not get the chance to even enter the hardcore trail because of delays at the front.

The hills are steep, but the co-drivers are strong ...

Unlike in most previous events when those at the front of the convoy had an easier time with the obstacles, this year's was brutal right from the start, and for everyone, regardless of position in the queue. Those at the front suffered as much as the rearguard, who suffered as much as the meat in the sandwich.

The slow crawl at the front meant a long wait for those in the queue, and many chose, or were compelled, to take the easy way out – an escape to the nearby village of Kampung Sorinsim, between Ranau and Kota Marudu.

Slipping and sliding, the Tritons in my group took on each challenge in turn and overcame each obstacle, one at a time.

Driving and winching and crossing rickety make-shift log bridges in the dark, with intermittent and, at times, torrential rain, with no end in sight.

The low point, as well as the highlight of BS 2016, came around 1am one night, when the convoy was forced to halt because it had come up to the tail end of the group just ahead, who were still struggling with a particularly tough obstacle.

Good night ... not the most comfortable bed, though.

Surrounded by the jungle, and with no space to set up camp and a steady drizzle falling, everyone had to try to sleep as best as they could, inside the cars. The discomfort of sitting upright while still muddy and grimy was no match for the sheer exhaustion.
Add to that keeping on the same socks and shoes that have trudged through water and mud for the past 48 hours, even as you try to catch some shut-eye, simply because the thought of taking them off and putting them on again is worse. And you cannot walk more than a couple of metres in slippers without falling over. 

If there had been any doubts lingering to that point, it would have become very clear by now – this was the real deal, this was the Borneo Suffering experience that many had heard jokes about.

From then on, it was hardcore all the way. Each obstacle passed brought us a little closer to the end, the eagerly anticipated gravel road that would signal the end of the torment. But the psychological pressure would not let up so easily, with many a false “last one” before we could relax by the beautiful river at Kampung Sorinsim.

Are we in deep enough yet?

Eventually, all would emerge safely, and converged on the Magellan Sutera Harbour resort in Kota Kinabalu for the closing dinner. Everyone who was there wore the event shirt with pride as they shared tales of common hardships endured, who did what where, and whose car suffered which mishap.

Very few came out completely unscathed, but all agree that the memories are worth every scratch and dent and broken shaft or window, or even overturned car.

A touch of celebrity - Mitsubishi brought along renowned lady racer Leona Chin, a.k.a. Malaysia's Drift Queen.

It was not all fun and games, though. There was a lot of waiting, made necessary because of simple maths. If a car took 10 minutes to clear one obstacle, a hundred cars would need over 16 hours! And there were many obstacles, and many cars. The biggest test for many was that of patience, and not all scored well in this aspect. But while tensions might have run high and tempers frayed, all these pale in comparison to the satisfaction on a shared accomplishment – we all made it against the odds, and we did it together.

These memories are shared with like-minded 4X4 enthusiasts from all over Sabah but many came from farther afield, including Brunei, Sarawak and Kalimantan, and some drive their vehicles from as far away as Jakarta and Banjarmasin. This year, the international flavour included thrill-seekers from the United States, The Netherlands, Japan and Portugal.

The growing popularity of the Borneo Safari over the past quarter century is evident from the numbers. Starting with around 25 to 30 cars in the early years, the official registered entries have swollen to over 200 cars a couple of years ago, to 350 vehicles and about 1,000 participants this year.

As the closing dinner drew to its conclusion, the most common refrain heard was “see you again next year”. 
But wait, there's more. The eight days of the official Borneo Safari might have ended with the banquet and the toasts and the backslapping on the night of Nov 6, 2016, but the action was not over yet. 
There were still broken-down cars left in the jungle, and the rescue and recovery efforts would continue for several more days until all were successfully and safely brought back to civilisation. 
   

Ah Ngiu chops some logs to help ease the passage.