The Colonel was a Gangster

I was a gangster, yes I was. Back in the 1950s. It was never by choice that I was as bad as bad could be. It was due to survival instincts and the need to overcome sheer poverty in the 1950s Malaya. I joined the local “Wall Street Gang” in Kuantan. I had stolen things, extorted money, bullied and beaten up other boys, and had fought with knives with other gangsters in Kuantan for territorial control. I was a Tiger General, a title given to those who would fight with knives. I had spent a night in the police station lokap until I was bailed out by my father.

Last week I chanced upon an autobiography “The Underworld Captain” written by Captain Alexander Shannon. I could relate to his story as there were many parallels in our lifelines. I could understand him, his actions and his emotions and what he had to do as a young man. He was the Oliver Twist as we know in the musical Oliver Twist. I feel for him.

I quote an extract from the book’s review :

In The Underworld Captain, Alexander Shannon reveals how he escaped his shady gangland past to enjoy a glittering career in the army, only to find himself back in the thick of criminal activity. His time as a soldier saw him posted to the Falklands, took him on several tours of Northern Ireland during the height of the Troubles, and to war-torn Bosnia, where he witnessed extreme cruelty and violence up close. The rigors of army life took their toll and almost ruined his marriage, and he found himself drawn back into a series of ruthless gang wars. Shannon was something of an enigma amongst Glasgow's gangsters. Few on the streets knew that he was a highly trained weapons expert, but before long the secret leaked out and he found himself involved with the criminal underworld whilst on leave from the army. He utilized his skills as an undercover intelligence gatherer to hide weapons, work for drugs racketeers, and plot a massacre, and he was offered a fortune to work as a Mafia-style contract assassin. Once back in uniform, he was questioned over brutal gangland killings and was accused of a triple murder attempt, yet his dedication and determination to succeed in the army brought him accolades and a series of promotions. In The Underworld Captain, Shannon unveils numerous underworld secrets, details of attempted murders, and assassination plots. He reveals how he managed to combine his successful army career with dangerous gangland dealings for so long and how he finally broke free for good.

Captain Shannon grew up in a shanty district in Glasgow Scotland. I grew up in poverty in Kuantan. The parallels start from there. He joined the British Army Boys Company to run away from the Police  and also to be protected from other gangsters wanting his neck. I almost ended up in the Boys Home in Sungei Besi when my school headmaster applied for me to be admitted as a juvenile delinquent. I was that bad. I did not have to run away from the police as I did not have any records of serious crimes. There ware many stories of men joining the army to hide from the police, particularly the Federation Regiment. Chinese avoid joining the army because good sons do not join the army.

I had actually joined the Navy to see the world. I joined the Naval Intake in 1963 in FMC in preparation to go to the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth UK. I was transferred and became an army cadet only after I had failed my eyesight test as required to be a seahorse.

I get goose pimples when I hear the song “Tom Dooley”. A popular condemned man’s song in the 1960s. I would have preceded Botak Chin to the gallows if I had continued to go down that destructive path. I turned good when I joined the Federation Military College in 1963. The college had taught me to be an officer and gentlemen. The college had also taught me to serve to lead.

It was a pleasure to read this book as it relates on how the how the British army sees and manages their soldiers. I could relate to the ethics and norms of the British army as I had served British Officers. Life in our artillery regiments in the 1960s were very similar to life in British regiments. Captain Shannon was still bad whilst as a OR in the Scottish Regiment, but he still rose through the ranks to become a Warrant Officer and later got an officers’ commission from Sandhurst UK. Our bad soldiers were court martialed and discharged from the army without a second chance. This is a highly recommended book if you had not experienced true soldiering.

And as fate would have it, I had a happy ending and became a Gunner to boot.

Allen Lai