I was asked by the two Terence's (Tay and Yap) for help finding the late Mr Khoo Oon Soo's photos. That led to some digging and reminiscing.
In August 2004, I happened to be in Sydney for a trip - tagging along with my parents who was visiting my sister studying at Macquarie University. It was a time when phones didn't have the capability of looking up the news (it didn't have 1G yet alone the 5G we enjoy today - GPRS/EDGE were around the corner) and games were restricted to basic ones like the "snake game" for the more trendy Nokia phones. Mine was a large yellow Alcatel that only had a single row on its display. One had little choice but find something to do.
I've heard about the legendary1st KL founder who resided in Sydney and was encouraged by Terence Tay to seek him out. I remember turning to the Australian version of the Yellow Pages (that's a big physical phone directory each household gets for free, for you young people who've never seen one before). Finding his name and address was fairly easy - there was only one individual who fit the name (it likely had Khoo, O. Soo, rather than the full name). He lived in Castlehill (all the Hillsong fans would immediately recognise this location), a suburb southwest of Sydney.
My dad and I made two visits - because the first time, there was no one home. And at the time, we were not even sure if it was he. I left a simple note beahind - wedged between a netted-screen door, requesting if he was 1st KL's former captain (or founder - can't remember exactly what I wrote) to contact me. I left with my mobile behind - hoping that a Malaysian number would add legimacy to my credentials vs the average brush salesman.
I got a call a few days later - it was indeed him. We had an appointment to return to his residence. The interview itself has been detailed in a MyBBKul article (you can see below) - but what was not captured was how nervous and clueless I was conducting an interview. We stood the entire time, which on hindsight was poor judgment on my part forcing an older gentlemen to be on his feet for 45 minutes (then again, it was his home - can't just invite myself to be seated). Fortunately, he was very friendly and lovely, which helped me relax.
I recall very little from our pleasant discussion. He showed me photos of his time in service - not much of him in uniform - many were black and white photos of moments of fellowship (but on hindsight, I should have taken photos of some of them). He named-dropped individuals a young BB officer like me would not have known, especially when many of them were from Penang. An older and far more exposed to BBM me today would have appreciated the conversation much more with him if he were still alive.
One of these individuals was his own father - Rev Khoo Cheng Hoe. In 2004, it was merely a face from old photos. Today, I understand that this individual was the reason 1st Penang (and by that extension - BB in Malaysia) began. It was Rev Khoo who gave the idea to another one of his sons, Dr Khoo Oon Teik, who himself learned about the BB when he studied medicine in Singapore.
I was holding a recording device - either an Aiwa Cassettte player or a Creative Muvo Slim MP3 player that captured a glimpse of our conversation (the part he talked about his father), giving us a glimpse of the man's voice (I can share to you if you like - drop me a message).
The below is my original write-up for MyBBKul.org published on 7th March 2005 (putting this here before Wayback Machine decides to expunge it from its archives). Further down are all (but one) of the photos taken during the meet - some not shown to publish before.
There were a few errors in my article. It mentioned a rough age range - but to be precise, he was 85 the year I met him, not his 90s. And if the date stamp on the photo is correct - I actually met him on a Thursday, on 26th August 2004. His middle name is spelled Oon, not Onn. Here's an opportunity to publicly apologise for the errors made.
Meeting the first BBM President
Mr. Khoo Onn Soo had a very interesting beginning with the BB. It seems that he was to follow the footsteps of his father, the late Rev. Khoo Cheng Hoe and his brothers which decided to join the Brigade earlier than he did. His father was the first Chaplain of the pioneer BB Company 1 st Penang Company in the year 1946. He decided to follow suite later on when he volunteered as a helper for the Methodist Church . Mr. Khoo Onn Soo took over the captaincy of 1 st Penang from Geh Hun Kheng and became the company's second captain.
Before long, the Methodist Church decided to station Mr. Khoo Onn Soo in Kuala Lumpur at the Wesley Methodist Church in 1954, where he took no delay in setting up the 1st Kuala Lumpur Company where he became the company's first captain.
After the separation of Singapore from the Federation of Malaya, Mr. Khoo effectively took over the helm of BBM. He remembers how it was like when the first EXCO was formed, and the plans they had for The Boys' Brigade Ministry.
Mr. Khoo was appointed the Youth Advisor for the Methodist Church in Malaysia . With that advantage, and also being the BBM President, he was able to spread the good name of the BB to more churches (which would reason why the BB churches are so common among the Methodist Church in Malaysia ).
He immigrated to Australia in the year 1970 coinciding with his retirement. He found it appropriate to live in Sydney as job opportunities were plentiful at that time. He worked at the correction center. His wife continued her career as a teacher in one of the Aussie schools.
He has not been attached to any BB company in Australia , but Mr. Khoo was still deeply involved in the church ministry, offering his home to church members to conduct activities such as Bible Study and worship.
Personalized Message From BBM Correspondent, Kenny Voon of 3rd Kuala Lumpur:
Although in his 90s, Mr. Khoo is still healthy and strong. When I got to Sydney I wasn't even sure if he was still alive as I only had a address with no phone number nor email. Thankfully, he lived only two grids away from where I stayed in Sydney . He wasn't in when I paid him a visit to his home in Castlehill the first time I visited. I left a note, hoping it'll do some good, and it did. Mr. Khoo rang me up on my mobile and gave me the warmest welcome to his home two days later. He was away on a holiday back to Singapore for a family reunion before I met him.
There on a lovely Wednesday morning, I saw for the first time the man whom has served the Brigade which much dedication till the days of his retirement. A friendly man, so anxious to tell his story of his works for the Lord through the BB ministry.
I had to say farewell to our first BBM president after a quick 45 minute chat. I was to catch a plane to Melbourne within the hour. He came up to me and shook my hand with the familiar BB handshake, saying “this is how we do it in the BB” and encouraged me not to give up serving the Brigade. Mr. Khoo Onn Soo has obviously not forgotten the Brigade even though he has been away from it for more than 30 years.
