After 6 years attempting to send a message that Lieutenants are equally as capable as Captains, I decided to take on the appointment as 3rd KL's Honorary Captain on 26th July 2026. More on that below.
Honorary Captains in BBM is a controversial rank by design. Honorary positions are typically non-executive and symbolic. One example are Patrons, given to a VVIP who you won't expect to come down on the ground to do the hard work - though they are very welcome to do so. To be blunt, organisations usually appoint Patrons as they hope to leverage upon their influence (and some cases, power) for fundraising and credibility.
Honorary Captains in BBM (and I emphasise that this is more a BB Malaysia phenomenon) have one major criteria - they must have served as a Captain before. Following which an Officer's Council can recommend a former Captain to the Sponsoring Body to appoint the indvidual as a Honorary Captain. It is not an "automatic" appointment and the position can be terminated upon resignation or even be revoked. There are no limits to how many Honorary Captains a BB company can have (but most companies, by practice, have a limited number. Why? Because Honorary Captains are also required to pay annual subscriptions. As such, Honorary Captains in BBM is an "active" position - eligible to vote and entitle to the whole works (kinda makes the whole point of going honorary a moot argument).
In other countries, when a captain retires, they will always be remembered as a former captain. It is merely a symbolic gesture - an honorary position. When invited for BB programmes, they are welcome to attend in uniform and will be wearing their red rosetted glengaries - not change to an orange one. This was BBM practice at one time before the orange rosette and lanyards were introduced sometime in the early 2000s.
There is also a very weird mindset among BB officers that a Lieutenant is less capable than a Captain, Honorary Captain, or a Chaplain. This has shaped our national structure - where only the forementioned 3 ranks can ascend into National (and even State) EXCOs. Something about a "How can a Lieutenant be a State Commissioner or be in the National EXCO and "outrank" Captains? That's illogical." This mindset is problematic for BBM for several reasons. As mentioned, only the 3 ranks can hold office - but Captains are already leading their own companies. Honorary Captains are Honarary Captains because they can no longer be active in their own companies in the first place. Chaplains have pastoral duties in church. Under these circumstances, not opening up our pool of volunteers to Lieutenants is not so different to swing an axe and chopping off our own limbs. It is not surprising that our national direction is unclear and overwhelmed - there's just too much for the National (and state) EXCO to worry about in their own companies.
I remember hearing of a Brigade Council Meeting where the 1st KL delegate, Michael Lor, was arguing a point. He was hushed by the then Brigade EXCO and other delegates. They were belittling his rank - apparently only the words of Captains held authority and weight. What they didn't realise was that he was the CEO of a bank and has a "Datuk" title. If it is about who had the "bigger set of balls", it was certainly his. He was quite humble and dignified about the mistreatment, but it had a lasting impact on me. While I found the whole incident extremely amusing, it was also a demonstration of how silly this whole ranking craze in BBM has gone out of hand.
For the past 3 years, I reverted to a Lieutenant hoping to make a point that I didn't suddenly "have a drop in IQ" or whatever it is some in BBM saw as a problem for the LTs to take on higher national and state office (though apparently none of the message got through).
I'd like to make a shout out to some individuals I know who took the same path (though perhaps not trying to make the same political message), such as Wong Siew Ling and Vincent Loh. We don't need to be a Captain or Honorary Captain to serve young people.
So why I am taking uop the appointment now? Well, partly cultural - in 3rd KL Honorary Captains are not expected to be on parade all the time. I have been fairly irregular because of childcare duties at home on a Saturday. This seems fair as expectations of a Lieutenant is to have decent attendance.
I will take this up for now. But someday when my kids grow up, I will definitely give up the Honorary position and serve as an Officer once again.
