Recruitment Drive at Tamil Methodist Church Brickfields

On one fine Sunday, 17th January 2016, a handful of us conducted a Recruitment Drive at the Tamil Methodist Church, in Brickfields. Yes, it is that time of the year again when we go aggressively recruiting members. Just the day before, 23 Senior Section recruits and 8 Junior Section recruits came to the YMCA. It was a good start, but there was certainly need to push harder to spread the goodness of the BB to the community. 

Getting ready to give out brochures after service

It was certainly quite an experience being in a Tamil service, a beautiful language, especially when sung. In terms of understanding, I guess there was no difference compared to times when I'm in a Chinese service (I can't understand church-Chinese. It's too advanced). During worship, I'd try to sing along to anyway following the "translations" or pronunciation of Tamil words spelled in alphabet. 

Mr. Ng taking time off to message GF

So why do recruitment in this particular church?

I've passed by this church for YEARS and have countless times thought about how great it would be to start a BB company here (yes, I strangely think about this kinda things as a teenager.. no surprise why I eventually ended up in full-time). Even in 3rd KL, there have been countless talks about asking for an opportunity to do recruitment here, but it was mainly lip service.

LCpl. Justin Lum manning the BB booth

Opportunity presented itself when new YMCA Director, Rev. Victor Vethamani, who is also 3rd KL's new Chaplain, who served and worships in the church, introduced us to Rev. Justin, the church's pastor and district superintendent, who allowed us to speak to the church. 

The first phase is to recruit Boys as 3rd KL members. Once a stable membership exist, officers can then be trained from the church and perhaps one day, we will see a revival of the BB in the Tamil Methodist Church. In the past, there were two companies up north which existed in the TAC (Tamil Annual Conference), 1st Sungai Petani and 4th Penang Company. Both had since went defunct. 

I was given the opportunity to speak at both main services to introduce the BB. Fortunately, the 2nd service was in English, which enabled me to participate more wholesomely in the worship. At the end of service, brochures will be given out and we got the opportunity to engage with several parents. at the end of the day, we had 10 sign ups, which to me is a very good start!

I also got a chance to meet several ex-BB members from 1st Klang, 1st Ipoh, 1st Kuantan, 1st Sungai Petani, and of course, 3rd KL itself. Which such a BB presence already existing, perhaps starting a BB here in the future is not a far fetched idea at all, God willing.

Special thanks to those who helped out today and sacrificing some sleep; LCpl. Rishi (who attends the church), LCpl. Justin Lum, SSgt. Chan Kai Mun, Mr. Jarod Kok, Mr. Ng Jiehan, and Ms. Ruth Boh. 

Recruits 2016

A new year. A new start. A new batch of Boys. 

Same Objective. 

3rd KL Year End Camp at Port Dickson

Haven't had a BB entry for while. It's been a rather discouraging past few months. But that's a tale for another time.

From the 5-8th December 2015, the Senior Section of the 3rd Kuala Lumpur Company held it's annual year end camp at Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. It was once the favourite destination for the Company, which frequented Methodist Centre, but it has since went up drastically in price to be able to afford going back there. Fortunately, we were able to find a new alternative - Golden Sand's Baptist Assembly. It's an old campsite which is slightly run-down, but it had a beautiful beach front. 

This camp was initially meant to be a Pre-Pesta Camp. To a small extent, that was carried out.. but it pretty much focused on fellowship amongst the Boys. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be at the campsite throughout as I had another event at the same time at the Methodist Centre, just 5 minutes drive away as I was representing as TRAC's BB Rep. So it was back and forth for me, but at least I was kinda able to have the best of both worlds. 

The activities were mainly focused on team building, coordinated by Mr Wong Kin Phan who recently came back to help as an instructor. The games ran throughout the entire camp based on a "shop" cum points system where points were awarded and "power ups" can be purchased to give your group an advantage during other games. The Boys also paid a visit to a lighthouse, about 45 minutes walk from the campsite. Thank God, Mr Lawrence decided to pay the Boys a visit from Seremban and one of 3rd KL's former officers, Mr Sim Guan Jiann so happened to be passing by from Muar to the airport - giving us just about enough cars to ferry the Boys. 

They also watched two movies the first two nights, Ah Boys to Men 1 & 2 (it was my first time watching.. pretty good), and almost watched the 3rd instalment, but sadly there was no Redbull available to keep us awake. On the last night, the three groups ingenuously came up with sketches which caused some of us to literally ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing). 

Overall, it was a simple camp programme but one which was quite enjoyable. Well done to the camp committee led by SSgt. Chan Kai Mun who put everything together. 

And of course, we carried out the tradition of causing some form of harm to "baptised" Jiehan

Mr. Wong Kin Phan (most right in red) organised all the enjoyable game programmes

Group photo outside the Teluk Kemang lighthouse

3rd KL's Senior Section Attendance, October 2014 - July 2015

Tribute to Debbie Cheah (1990-2015)

Last Sunday, I received tragic news over phone message that one of my childhood friend's, Debbie Cheah Pei Yung, was killed in a tragic car accident close to her home at the tunnel junction exiting the NPE leading into Kuchai Lama. According to accounts, the accident occurred at 1.30pm when her Myvi crashed into the divider.

I was absolutely gutted by the news. Not only because we used to be good friends, but also because I was on that same stretch of road an hour before the accident, after sending one of my Boys home after a BB-related event.

Debbie is the eldest daughter of Mr Richard Cheah and Ms Lilian Lee, both who also serve as officers in the 10th Kuala Lumpur Company. Richard only recently began serving as the Kuala Lumpur State Council Treasurer.  We worked very closely on several BB projects, most notably the Bowling Competition of which Richard was of great help in the committee. Her mother, Lilian, also worked closely with me when I was in BBM as she dealt with uniform logistics. Debbie's sister, Dena Cheah, recently won the President's Badge during the recent "garden" Founder's Day. She also has a brother, Brandon.

Debbie and I weren't close. In fact I've only found out her full name after the accident. But we did spend a fair amount of our time in The Boys' Brigade together while I was in college and university, while she was in secondary school, hanging out on cyberspace. We have had countless of conversations on MSN Messenger (back in the day when it was still popular), talking about crushes (Yew Hon used to be crazy about her, but she totally wasn't interested) and the silly little things people in their youth would normally talk about.

She was often teased by peers for her "humble" height, but she proved to be a real chilly padi, going through the ranks in BB and eventually becoming a Sergeant, serving as an inspiration to her company mates and fellow NCOs. She was into art, often posting entries into Deviant art. Her online accounts will also bear the username, justbeingblu3 (none of her old accounts are currently active).

Years after she has left BB, we have since lost touch as she apparently doesn't use Facebook, but we would often talk with one another if we bump into one another during BB events, where she would sometimes be the photographer, or just to support her friends and family.

I don't have  many pictures of Debbie as she was extremely camera shy (to me anyway). But here is whatever I have.

Debbie (right) playing the snares during the 10th KL's E&A in 2005

Debbie (in brown t-shirt) during 10th KL's Drill Camp in 2006 

Backstage during Pesta 2006, 10th KL's Singing Team

Front row, 5th person in suit from the left

10th KL Pesta 2006 Team performing. Debbie is 2 from the right 

Debbie (front right) playing the 24 Season Drums during the Pesta 2006 Opening Ceremony. 

Final pose. Debbie is one of the two persons at  the front row. 

The only picture with Debbie and I in it. My farewell in 2007 when I first went over to Melbourne for studies. Special thanks to Ps. Mark Tan for reminding me of its existence. 

Deb, we'll miss you. Thanks for the good times and memories. Stay quirky and enjoy your time with the Lord. See you sometime at the end of the century. 

My deepest condolences to Mr. Richard Cheah, Ms. Lilian Lee, Dena Cheah, and Brandon Cheah for the loss their loved daughter and sister. I would also like to extend my condolences to her boyfriend of many years, Chow Jun Hsiang. I pray for comfort and strength for the family.

Picture credits: Pesta 2006 Pictures from The Boys' Brigade Malaysia.

3rd KL Goes Back to Nature!.. Sort of.

Marching on from the bus to the campsite

It's been a long time since 3rd KL BB went camping. Apparently, the last company camp was way back in 2006.. eight years ago! So it wasn't that hard a decision to make when we choose to make this year's annual year end camp out in the jungle. Off we went between the 12-15th December 2014 back into nature. 

We decided to go back to a campsite we last used exactly a decade ago, Sungai Congkak. Located just an hour away from Kuala Lumpur, Sungai Congkak is located in Hulu Langat, a town near the Titiwangsa Range. As the name hints, it is indeed by a sungai (river), which was clean and refreshing (or at least I think it is. Not that I want to think much about what was up stream). It was a well developed campsite which had very good facilities, including the ever so crucial toilets. Now its just, well, sufficient for our use. 

In my opinion, camps like these should be a mandatory annual (or at the least bi-annual) affair. The things guys can learn from such camps is immense. Not only are they forced in an environment where they need to work together, but also, they'll realise that their individual contributions matter a lot to the team. This forces them to change. At least for the duration of camp and slightly after. Ultimately, it gives them a taste of what it (kinda) means to take care of themselves. '

"Positive activities good for upbringing" aside. Camps like this is pure fun. When I say "fun", it depends on how you see it. Such as the part where you get bitten up by leeches, such as the above photo when my foot got bitten up by 3 leeches at the same time. 

 Some how, camp food always taste awesome. It's usually the unhealthiest crap around, but something we all look forward to three times a day. Sometimes more. How could we not? We spend almost the whole day preparing for food and water. Such is the struggle of city-folks starting a fire and keeping it going.  

Then of course its the fun and fellowship. Getting to know your company members much better and just hanging out. My observations post-camp is often that the mindset and attitude of Boys who go for camp, somehow, seem to be more mature and serious than they were before. 

Anyway, done with another project. On ward to the next event!

1st Kuala Lumpur Company's 60th Anniversary - Arise, Shine!

Our brothers and sisters from the 1st Kuala Lumpur Boys' and Girls' Brigade put up a great show entitled, "Arise, Shine!" on the 29th November 2014. 

The event started at 6.30pm with dinner, but not the usual 6-8 course dinner on a round table which we were accustomed to, but instead the orgnaisers got 60 different food types and converted the car park of Wesley Legacy Centre into one massive hawker centre. Very fresh and interesting idea!

At 8pm, the show began, with three young Despicable Me-like minions taking the stage, looking for the light - their source of strength. Performance from the 1st KL BB band, 1st KL's GB hand bell, Junior Choir, and street dancing were part of the nights show. A shocker for me was during the BB band performance where they placed a pair of cymbals under the seat of a random person in the audience to play part of the nights song piece. Yep, it was me. Thanks Mr. Terence Tap and Mr. Derek Chan for the "random" selection and the opportunity to be directly involved in the night's programs! 

The night ended at 9.00pm with a grand finale to an excellent performance by both the Boys' and Girls' Brigade. A team will be sent to the Philippines as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations for mission works in the coming weeks. Please pray for the safety and that lives will be changed!