Pantomime revives memory of Perak police chief Khoo Chong Kong

A pantomime has revived the memory of former Perak police chief Khoo Chong Kong, nearly 51 years after his death. Performers staged it on 6 October as the Muallim District Police Headquarters opened in Tanjung Malim. His eldest daughter, Datin Rita Koo Swee Kim, 78, watched.

She said the performance rekindled memories of her father and left her deeply moved. She also saw the official car he used and the blood-stained uniform he wore when gunmen shot him. Bernama reported her reaction.

Khoo was Perak police chief when communist gunmen attacked him in Ipoh in November 1975. This piece looks at who he was, how he died and how Perak still remembers him.

A pantomime at a new police headquarters

The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, officiated the opening that morning. The pantomime took place in conjunction with the ceremony. Bernama did not name the performers or describe the script.

Rita still remembers when the news reached her. “I was 25 at the time and living in Seremban (Negeri Sembilan) after getting married,” she said. Seeing the car and uniform again brought those days back. “It really takes me back to those days,” she said.

The new headquarters also carries police history. Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah told the ceremony that area policing dates to April 1952. The communist insurgency was under way then.

Shamsul said ambushes led General Sir Gerald Templer to move the district administration to Slim River. Templer was then the British High Commissioner. The Slim River force had “just one corporal and three constables”.

Khoo: From Ipoh to Perak police chief

Bernama says Khoo was born on 12 November 1925 and raised in Ipoh. He joined the Sarawak Constabulary as an inspector on 5 November 1952. He became Perak police chief on 7 January 1975.

Rita remembers a father who was rarely home. “He was always very busy,” she said. She said he served with the Special Branch and in anti-communist operations. He sometimes left for an operation and stayed away for one or two months.

His time as state police chief did not last long. Two gunmen from the Communist Party of Malaya, riding a motorcycle, reportedly attacked him at a junction in Ipoh. It happened at about 1 pm on 13 November 1975, as he travelled home to Jalan Tawar.

The gunmen also killed his driver. Khoo died the next day at Ipoh General Hospital, aged 50. Accounts of his funeral say about 20,000 people attended, including Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. Mourners buried him in Seremban.

Remembered in honours and street names

The state honoured Khoo after his death. He received the Panglima Setia Mahkota award in 1975, which carries the title Tan Sri. In 2015, the Sultan of Perak conferred the Seri Panglima Taming Sari on him. It carries the title Dato’ Seri Panglima.

A road in Ipoh carries his name. Spellings vary, since people write his surname as both Khoo and Koo. Wikipedia also lists a road in the police quarters in Cheras.

Earlier displays have kept the story alive. A 2025 Rakyat Post article described an exhibition built around a replica of the car he used. The 2026 pantomime adds a live performance to that record.

Rita said she felt touched that the police, especially in Perak, still remember her father after all these years. If you want to follow his story, start in Ipoh. Look for the road that carries the name of Khoo Chong Kong.