My First KL ANTS as Headcoach

Once again, it is NCOs Training School season, as this time around KL State Council decided to have it at the Methodist Boys' Secondary School Kuala Lumpur between 23-25th March 2013. Having it at MBSSKL-KL Wesley Church brings back many fond memories as I had my first BNTS here as well in 1998 (yes, first.. because they were supposed to give us a test, but somehow it never happened, so I had to go for another one the following year in Melaka).  We opened our ANTS program to other State Councils as well and had participants from Selangor who made up two-thirds of the participants. Apparently Penang, Sabah and Johor were also running their NCOs' Training Schools simultaneously. It was certainly a very busy BB weekend!

Despite being around for more than 3 years as a full-time officer in BB and being the ANTS headcoach in Perak and Johor, it is actually my first time headcoaching in my own home grounds. It was a relatively big group this year for KL standards.. 39 ANTS participants under the care of 11 officers, instructors and site administrators. The BNTS side had 25 participants and 6 officers, which is rare because the size of participants for BNTS is usually two times bigger. Oh well, first time for everything.

I don't consider myself a very good headcoach. A headcoach needs to be strict (which I am) and fierce (which I am the total opposite). But I was the only one in KL who knew the whole modus operandi of the ANTS, hence me getting the procedures for the year. I think in terms of program and carrying out instructions.. it was alright. Next year, hopefully someone who isn't a comedian and who doesn't feel bad making people cry can take over as headcoach. 

Now about the trainees. We had three squads this year with Giok Hui, Andrew Tan and Edward Tai taking one each. Somehow, these bunch took awhile to get to know each other. Initially, not very cooperative too. That's with each other and with ME. Some of them were quiet as well. I'm the type that gets genuinely pissed off when easy questions are asked and I don't get a reply.. cause I'm angry at the fact I was ignored and that they are insulting their own intelligence by not telling themselves they can (we're talking about kindergarten level questions, like "How was breakfast?" btw). 

There are several factors to this. (1) Clash of culture - These was clear "Kebangsaan School" and "Chinese School" mentality. Kebangsaan School trainees were generally participated and interacted more with each other and with the coaches. The ones from Chinese Schools are very reserved and at times, refused to cooperate. Makes me wonder what's the teaching MO in these school - Sit down and shut up = good? Anyway, towards the last night most of them stepped out of the cocoon.. but hopefully they'll learn that to survive in the working world, you need to impress and interact... unless they do some kinda data entry job or something. 

Another factors was (2) Language - some participants were Chinese-speaking-only members. While on the form, it has already mentioned that the course was in English and I've even email some companies back ill-advising them to send their members and instead recommended them to go to another State ANTS which provides for the lessons in Chinese, naturally these companies think I was just kidding as well and sent their members anyway. Next time, KL State will try to open a Chinese-language squad but until then, and if the course is conducted only in English, we're going to put a nice check-box with a "I hereby acknowledge that I can speak and write English, failure of which the organizers reserve the right to expelled me from camp."

The (3) company of which they came needs to shoulder some blame as well. We have been so obsessed with numbers, membership retention and showcasing that we have compromised initiative with our members. That is, officers have been doing the work for their members. Organising event, planning, whatever - all these are done by the officers nowadays. It was even evident during the ANTS itself when I had to restrain a certain officer from giving too many tips (more giving instruction) than tips to the trainees. Officers, these are kids .. of course they will make mistakes. But it is best they make mistakes now than out there in the working world. These experiences are necessary for learning. If you don't allow them to try now, where the heck are they gonna find their own self-esteem??

Last factor is (4) mindset. We are living in an age when everything comes easy. Computers, smartphones and the internet enables us to do something with far less effort than we needed just 10 years ago. Things like communication required more effort. Even food can be ordered and delivered to your doorstep, for a fee which a talking, breathing money dispenser will take care off. Being a kid in the 21st Century has little consequence. It has even reached a point when they are confident that their parents will take care of them despite them reaching a working age. Yep, they only get screwed when their parents move on I guess .. but we need another few decades to be able to observe that last bit. 

Well, problems are problems.. they will always be there. The job for me is to find a solution to it. Eventually, they all did get along and it was alright towards the end.. despite the massively slow start.  

We tried something different this year, which was getting the ANTS guys to cook their own meal. I thought it'd be more logical to do it this way since we get them to bring their mess-tins every ANTS. So finally, we are getting them to use it again. Members are given an allowance, asked to budget and plan their own meals. Incentives for the best dish came in the form of a significant reduction in accumulated starjumps (which they forgot to claim). 

As per tradition, the last night proved to be a long one with trainees jumping their socks off until the wee hours of the night, almost hitting daylight. This year's entry clocked it at 38 "lots" which finished at 5.30am. 

The punishments in the end of the day was just another form of motivation to get them to produce results. There were certain rewards too in the camp, the most significant is the knowledge and experience. It is my hope that everyone that's been through the ANTS can serve their company and community better by realising their leadership potential. 

1st Seremban's First Enrolment Service (Since reformation)

On a lazy Sunday morning, the 24th of February 2013, my fellow 3rd KL officer Mr Sim Guan Jiann and I attended 1st Seremban Company's Enrolment Service held at the Wesley Methodist Church Seremban. The event begun at 8.30am, but someone we were told it started at 9.00am, probably a miscommunication, so we missed the Guard of Honor (if there was a Guard of Honor) and worship, but was in time for the service message as well as the enrolment proper itself. 

I've always enjoyed these occasions, getting to see how companies are doing. 1st Seremban recently acquired a new school base in the form of the near by ACS Seremban, which this church shares the same compound with. In time, it is hoped that the company will expand and develop more members and leaders. It's not even a year since 1st Seremban revived officially, but I'm optimistic that with care from it's officers that the company will continue striving forward. 

So why am I here today, apart from pure curiosity and to encourage? 1st Seremban has been put under the care of the KL State Council, until a time when Negeri Sembilan has enough companies to form it's own State Council. So yeah, I was to "check up on things" too. 

An article of the event can be found here, written by LCpl Tan Wai Khan.

1st Seremban BB and GB posing for a group picture

3rd KL's 55th Anniversary

On news year's day, 1st January 2013, the 3rd Kuala Lumpur Company hosted a dinner to celebrate it's 55th Anniversary. Though we kinda got the wrong year by a day, we still called it our 55th birthday. The company held it this time at the HGH Convention Centre, which is essentially a very high class Chinese Primary School hall.

It was a much "simpler" line up of events for 3rd KL's standards, which is more accustomed to theatrics and an expensive show. Due to the nature of the event as a fundraiser, the cost had to be kept down. Still, there were many performances lined up for the night.

Altogether, 70 tables were up for grabs, which profits are the funds raised. My table was a little depressing. It was just four of us - Paul Tan, Terence Ng and Yun Hau. So you can guess the amount of food we have.. and the "personal donation" made by an "anonymous" someone. Special thanks to the three who came and to How Ran who couldn't make it but still donated.

It was great seeing old friends and 3rd KL Boys from my era. My seniors. My juniors. Even my recruits when I was an officer. Occasions like this provide a glimpse into how some of us are doing after BB. It is great that most are doing well.

3rd KL Year End Camp at Tapah

Ah, what a relaxing trip this has been as we journey to the SUFES Campsite in Tapah, Perak for 3rd KL's annual year end camp. I had to miss the first day as I was helping out at my mom's kindergarten concert the night before. But I was glad to make it for the second day. I left KL with Sim around 9am, reaching the site slightly two hours later after grabbing a couple of free McDonald's and stopping at the Rawang rest stop for breakfast.

When we arrived, the Boys were preparing lunch - self-cooked (and apparently it was the only self-cooked meal of the entire camp.. how pampered.. that'll change if I were in charge!). From what I could tell, the campsite used to be a durian, cempedak/nanka estate with its numerous trees around all loaded with durians just waiting to fall for our pickings! We had so many while there, some pretty darn good (1 totally sucked though). After resting up after lunch, we prepared ourselves for river trotting.

SUFES Campsite.. is really a durian plantation..

I one and only time I came to Tapah was in 1998 (or 1999, can't remember) with 3rd KL also. We went river trotting as well, but had to bail halfway through due to the rain, which has a risk of causing strong torrents. This time it was clear skies and a heck load of fun. The stream was pristine clear and was quite clean. It was fun looking at Boys just roughing it out, getting their clothes and shoes get, some even damaged going through the stream. Some were even bitten by leeches, which is really part of the fun. At the end of it, we made it to a beautiful waterfall, where we all took nice dips in the rushing water. Classic fun! I feel sorry for some of them who rather stay dry(er) and missed out.

Ruth and I at one of the streams near SUFES Campsite, Tapah

The "Younger Officers Club" taking a picture at the Tapah, Waterfall. Breathtaking place. 

The rest of my stay was relatively straightforward, just catching up with the other younger officers and just having fellowship. There was a dinner BBQ and a botched campfire (which didn't light up no matter what we tried. Even Sim and I failed to get it going.. so frustrating).

On the last day I had to rush off more than an hour earlier than the rest to make an appointment. But I glad I came for camp and high praise to the committee members for a relatively smooth one. Outdoor camps like this are getting lesser due to simple inconveniences and the effects of a pampered lifestyle. BB needs to attempt to reignite the sense of adventure in its members, otherwise risk being an organisation known for producing soft wussies.

Stedfast Association KL Retreat at Marina Island

I joined the Stedfast Association of Kuala Lumpur for their annual retreat cum family camp this year which was held at Marina Island Best Western Hotel. Very nice modern looking place. Being my first retreat with them, I'd say it was very relaxing.. just 3 hours worth of an intensive meeting, the rest of it was free time.

It was good spending time with some of the SAKL members and getting to know them better. Despite being  a life member, there is still much have I have to learn an understand about this alumni. I believe in their role for our past BB members and hope that we can work together more to promote the BB Object.

KL State Drill Camp

The KL State Council organised its first Drill Camp (since it's formation as a State Council.. it is unknown if the former KL Battalion ever had one before) which was held at the Wesley Methodist School Kuala Lumpur in Sentul. 31 participants from 1st KL, 3rd KL, 6th KL, 10th KL and 12th KL took part in a three day camp starting from November 2nd, 2012.

Mr Sim giving the first lectures of the day

Mr Sim on practical, second day of camp

I've never been to a drill camp before, let alone organise one.. so this was pretty unfamiliar territory for me. Good thing I had Sim and Steven who apparently do this in Kota Kinabalu quite often. This camp was spread-headed by Mr Nicholas Yeap, the captain of 12th KL, who was desperate for his Boys to receive drill training.

It was very straight forward, a couple of meetings, a few email correspondences and we had a drill camp. Sim, Steven and Ka Weng (10th KL) handled the drill matters of the camp while I focused solely on logistics.. my easiest and favourite responsibility (I just think its easy). Though there was one major hiccup that really pissed me off regarding the drill manuals, which I'm still not sure if its my fault or the idiot who called what was really a 2006-2007 version a "2005 version" when it was clearly not, where I mistakenly printed the outdated 2005 version.. 15 copies of it.. which basically wasted us some money.. and for me A LOT of time. You see, to reduce cost, I've only sent the the manuals for photocopy and did the binding myself. There were also coloured pages which I inserted, literally page by page. So getting this wrong really infuriated me. I did manage to rectify the problem before camp ended, but it require me spending more money, running to the office, printing, re-punching, re-binding and basically putting in another 4 hours of manual labour. Apart from logistics and administration, I was also prepared Saturdays morning devotion on and gave a message on "laying the correct foundations" based on the Parable of the Sower and the Seeds - in relation to the drill camp where the correct techniques must be learnt before one can thrive, which also can be applied to every aspect of their lives.. where if they want to do well, they need to be positioned correctly. A special thanks to Xin Wei for leading worship and Brendan Eu for playing guitar.

GOH pratical

Not quite punishment free, is it?

There's not much to say about the camp really as it went pretty smooth. Punishments were not emphasised during the camp, in contrast to what the participants feared, probably expecting endless amounts of push-ups which was almost non-existent (well, there still were.. but very little), as the committee decided that it was pointless to waste energy on physical workouts when it was really a knowledge intensive camp. Though the drill officers knew their stuff, knowledge impartation was rather slow as in certain areas, participants needed to wait their turn before being able to try out something new (eg. Colour Party - limited Colour Pole - just one piece OR measuring alignment - need to use pace stick to measure one by one). I thought of some ways we can make the teaching more efficient, but that's for another time.. that is if we do this again in the future.

For this camp, we allowed only the 14 year old's and above to join. This is due to the fact that we didn't want to waste time teaching even the basics which can be learnt (and should be already learnt) in their own companies. If there is another drill camp in the coming years, we would probably limit this to only NCOs and above who are aspiring to be drill officers one day. But we're still trying to work out how to do this...

On Sunday, we went over, just next door, to Grace Methodist Church for service and received a message presented by Reverend Victor (can't remember his surname) who spoke on the topic of "pain". The church also specially prepared refreshments for our participants, what a treat! Special thanks to 2nd KL's captain, Mr Jacob David for making the arrangements.. though at that point we were stuffed, being just 1.5 hours after breakfast and 2 hours before lunch.

Mr McIntosh and I

We also had a special guest visiting from the United Kingdom in the form of Mr Clive McIntosh from 20th Bristol who was deeply impressed with what he saw. Clive shares that there is lack of emphasis in drill in the UK, limited to just a 10-15 minute session as Boys there find drill extremely dull.. which could lead to resignations if overdone. At the moment, we are still doing alright in Malaysia, but there are signs that this is already happening in Malaysia as well.

Overall, a great camp. Special thanks to officers who helped - Sim Guan Jiann and Steven Voo from 3rd KL, Mr Chan Ka Weng and Miss Tai Xin Wei from 10th KL and Mr Nicholas Yeap who was the camp commandant.

Drill Camp 2012 participants

12th KL's Enrollment & Awards Day

On a early Sunday morning, Mr Tony Chow, Madam Yvonne and I headed to a remote factory area in Kepong to attend the 12th Kuala Lumpur Company Enrollment and Awards Day. It was quite a challenge looking for the place, as the road name indicated wasn't listed on Google Maps and the map provided by Wesley Methodist Church Kepong where the event was held, was pretty confusing. Fortunately, we managed to stumble upon some road signs pointing us to the church - and just in time. Mr Tony was the VIP for the event and we arrived with just 5 minutes to spare.

12th KL's Guard of Honour being inspected by the State Commissioner and Pastor Tan Chew Mae

The Guard of Honor was already assembled when we arrived. I helped teach them a simple one a week before as teaching them the whole thing would take a long time. I think they did alright in the end. 

Mr Nicholas Yeap was the liturgist of the day

12th KL had a change in captaincy at the beginning of this year, where Mr Nicholas Yeap, took up the mantle. Unfortunately, he was also the only officer in the company with a growing membership, exceeding 40 Boys this year. A former 2nd Kampar Boy under the captaincy of then National President, Mr Tham Leong, who also pretty much the only officer in the company, Mr Yeap knows it is not impossible to run a company with just NCOs acting as officers. Though the foundations for that are still being laid, the results and growth of 12th KL are quite promising.

With the new batch of NCOs being promoted during this event, the company has much to look forward to as it continues to develop its leaders. The school where 12th KL recruits from, the Wesley Methodist School  Kuala Lumpur is known for admitting Top-Class students, which for me meant they are easier to train and teach (as compared to somewhere not bright where you may need to repeat 10 times before they understand you).

The days proceeded very smoothly with Nicholas handling almost everything except the praise and worship. Mr Tony Chow as well as Madam Chia, the principal of WMSKL, was asked to give out awards and chevrons to the eager Boys. Prior to that, the LCEC leader of the church, who was a very successful businessman, presented his life testimony of his careers ad ambitions to serve as an inspiration to the Boys.



At one point tokens of appreciations were given out to helpers who have contributed to the company throughout the course of the year. I was a little surprised when my name was called out as well.. as I felt I didn't do very much. Thank you very much 12th KL! I appreciate the blessing =)



It is very exciting to see what this company will become in the coming years. Definitely one we should keep an eye on. Let our prayers be with them as they strive even further. Also pray that more adults will volunteer to assist in the weekly parades as to lessen the burden from Nicholas.

All smiles at the 12th KL Enrollment and Awards Day