AUSTRALASIA lost a soldier, scholar, secret service agent, sleuth, independence advocate and educator in Leon Comber after he died peacefully in Melbourne on May 11, aged 101.

A son of the world to his last, London-born Leon was at ease with everyone he encountered in his multi-faceted life, from fighting behind enemy lines with the British Indian Army against advancing Japanese forces during World War II to communist guerrillas during the first Malayan Emergency (1948-1960), independence advocate with Singapore’s David Marshall, and later a book publisher and academic in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.

The countries Leon most identified with were Malaysia and Singapore, where his last official appointment was as senior visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.

His abiding research was on espionage and the secret service, where he had been at the forefront of the Special Branch on the return of the British Military Administration to Malaya after World War II through to the first Malayan Emergency. 

Among the books he had published was his doctoral thesis titled “Malaya’s Secret Police 1945-1960. The Role of the Special Branch in the Malayan Emergency”. He obtained his PhD from Monash University in Melbourne at the age of 84.

A book of consequence less of Leon’s doing was A Many-Splendoured Thing, a novel by his then wife Han Suyin, which was a bestseller on its publication in London in 1952. Leon and Suyin advised in the filming of Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing that the book inspired, which on its release in 1955 won multiple Oscar awards, including for the eponymous song. 

The humanity in Leon surfaced in his love of culture and languages during his time in the British Indian army and continued to flourish after his active service in the military service and police. He threw himself with as much vigour and commitment into education, most notably as head of Heinemann Asia, where he helped writers of the two emerging nations.

Leon encountered Hindi and Urdu during his India campaign. He learnt Cantonese and Mandarin in the time he was with the Special Branch in Malaya, and studied Bahasa Melayu in the Jawi script. He was proficient in all of these to the end, transitioning from language to language with ease.

He appointed Malaysia’s first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman to be a co-director with him at Heinemann Asia Sdn Bhd together with Professor Hamzah bin Sendut, then Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Penang. Tunku was godfather to Leon’s daughter.

Heinemann Asia also collaborated with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka in Kuala Lumpur on school text books in Bahasa Melayu.

Leon leaves behind wife Takako Kawaii and daughter Dr Lois Akii Comber. – May 14, 2023.

The Comber family reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.