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About

"I started this blog for 2 purposes. 1, to chronicle my days and experiences in Malaysia's National Service for my own future references, and at the same time, 2, to provide a personal insight into the life of a National Service trainee for whoever who would care to read."

Recent

"Back from NS, and updating this blog bit by bit. I wrote almost every single day in there!"

Archives

Reading in Malaysian National Service: My Brief Encounter With Tuan Komanden Sunday, August 23, 2009 |

I HAVE to write this down. My brain is still running high on virtual dope right now, hours after i left the place where they sell the dope. Can't help it. I'm ecstatic! I got 18 books for a mere RM60 from the Times Clearance Sale at Hartamas Shopping Centre! Wo0t!


I kept to the "3 for RM10" area the whole time, picked out mostly non-fictions, plus a couple of Sci-Fis. Dad paid for it of course. Bless him. I've never been to this shopping mall before, neither has he. It took some googling of a map plus a couple of wrong turns before we found the building nestled amongst other buildings which was under construction. So bless my dear darling daddy for chauffeuring me all the way here and paying for the books ^^

Okay i realise this blog's supposed to be about NS. So...

I remember reading in NS, a lot. I brought 2 books, one was Ryu Murakami's Coin Locker Babies (it was an impulse purchase, one that i couldn't let go after reading the short excerpt on its cover. I've never heard of Murakami and wasn't aware of the cult film adaptation of his novel Audition back then...).

The first few days in camp, i buried my nose in my book all the time, living an unsocial reclusive life. Nah, actually it serves as a kind of refuge for the moments when nobody approached me for a conversation. I'm the more passive type. I slowly retreat to my shell if nobody initiates a conversation with me but i'd gladly join the party if only someone else other than me speaks first :P

I totally get it that i give people the first impression of being this nerdy stuck-up girl who'd rather read than talk to people. Couldn't care less back then.

Anyway, there was once when i was sitting on the benches beside JLB (i think it was during the Kelas Rohanis), and all of a sudden Tuan Komanden showed up! The man himself! He commended me for reading an English book, then took the book from my hand and flipped through it, pausing on this page and that for a little while.

The horror.

I tried finding the exact page he read but i couldn't be sure which page was it. I'll be damned if he came across any sexual depictions. That grim book was filled with stories about the dark side of the society, and more.

When he asked me what the book was about, i was at loss for words for a moment. I definitely couldn't tell him that it's about 2 abandoned babies, one who grew up to be a pole-vaulter and the other a bi-sexual prostitute. For chrissake, the first sentence of the book was
The woman pushed on the baby's stomach and sucked its penis into her mouth; it was thinner than the American menthols she smoked and a bit slimy, like raw fish.

Now you see why i was worried.

Putting it as vaguely as i could, i told him that it was a novel about the "adventurous journey" of two young men.

Then, my heart still pounding, he handed the book back to me, and mentioned something about how glad he is to see someone finding the time to read even while in NS *beam*

Phew...

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Malaysian National Service: How My Friends Did or Didn't Get Exempted/Deferred Saturday, August 8, 2009 |

I got tired of updating my NS posts from last year.


It's fun to read my own journal and post it up in this blog cuz i get to revisit my past while putting it in proper prose (read Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita a week ago and now i can't help getting depressed over how limited my vocabulary is), but it kinda felt restraining at times. Like all i'm writing is what i felt then and there, and i'm neglecting the objectivity that only became clear to me after i have been through NS. Like i'm writing about bits and pieces of my life when i could and should be writing something more organized, using the fragments of my memory and experiences collected from my time in camp.

So i figured i'll write about something more specific, something i wanna get off my chest but probably never came up in the diary entries. I dunno. Something about... erm, getting exempted from NS, or as Malaysians like to say -- "escaping" from NS for example. Not so much about how to dodge it, but more on how friends i made in camp who registered (lapor diri-ed) either failed or succeeded in getting out of it.

As you would have imagine, this topic is frequently discussed among those of us who obviously did not" escape" from NS, while we're trapped inside. I can still remember the echoes of
"I rasa nak balik aje lah..."
"Sial betul kena NS ni..."
"Terpaksa datang juga..."
to quote a few. I hear them Malays whining about it every day. Same goes for us Chinese. Don't understand a single word of Indian but i'm pretty sure they gripe about it among themselves too.

This went on not just during the first couple of days or the first few weeks. Throughout the course of the program, it remained a hot topic of discussion.

The first two weeks, a number of our fellow NS trainees who registered and reluctantly showed up at the camp managed to get exempted, much to the envy of the rest of their peers who're still stuck in camp trying to figure out how to get out of the shit hole.

Some of those who left got their free ticket to liberty (and pursuit of happyness) because they were declared physically unfit by the medics. These are the ones who're leaving permanently, never having to come back again.

Some left to pursue further education. It's like this, if you leave camp before completing something like half the duration of the program (there's a specific duration, i can't recall the exact number of days), you're deferred. In which case you are required to join the later NS batches after you have finished with your studies. If however, you leave after a certain number of weeks, you get to end your National Service training for good, permanently, as in tamat latihan with your NS certificate and all, despite not having gone through the full 3 months term.

In one case, this friend of mine, after having spent a fair amount of time in the camp, finally managed to get her family to enrol her in some IT course. Rumor has it that she's not planning to study IT at all. Her family just paid a small deposit, have the school issue a formal letter that says she's enrolled, and use the letter as proof of her furthering her education so that she can end her training way sooner than us. It worked for her.

Of course, there's also a lot of talk about just paying the RM3000 fine and get the hell out of there. But that's just talking crap since none of them can afford it, even if they are willing to pay. It's just a kind of fantasy they like to indulge in once in a while.

Since i'm in the Group 3, officially Kumpulan 3 Siri 5/2008, many of my friends are aged 18 and above. Quite a number are primary/high school dropouts, or having went through Remove Class, then had to defer because they were in Form 5 when they were called to register for NS. Basically, whatever the reason, most of them have already joined the workforce already, and not just for a mere few months.

I found out that some of my friends in camp actually came all the way back to Malaysia from Singapore for NS training. Not because they're so keen to join NS or anything like that. Uh-uh. But because they got a letter from JLKN that says they are not allowed to defer any longer. So this friend of mine had to quit her job in Singapore and come back to Malaysia for NS. Who is to say she'll get her job back 3 months later?

She's not the only one. Another friend confided in me that he's the breadwinner of the family and now that he's in here, he wouldn't be able to work for 3 months. How the hell is he going to support his family? I'm not sure whether he's exaggerating his predicament but fact remains that there will be a fraction of the impoverished society's younger generation who are going to be picked for the mandatory National Service. RM300 allowance ain't gonna feed their family for 3 months.

Way back before i kena NS, i recall hearing some acquaintances of mine joke about getting pregnant just so they can dodge National Service. Well, this girl in my dorm has a 2 year old kid already (who came to visit once, with the dad) and yet she's still in here with us. So much for getting pregnant.

Just realized i'm writing a way too lengthy post. More on NS in future posts ^^

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Post-NS quick update Saturday, August 1, 2009 |

Good lord, i haven't been updating this in ages. Got lazy. That's me. I just can't seem to stick with one project for long. Initially i'll get all pumped up at the idea of doing something but sooner or later, usually the former, me and whatever i'm working on, we'll just somehow, grow apart and lose touch with each other.


Damn. I was there for almost 3 months and this blog is only up to day no. 10!?!?! Damn.

Okay since i'm having a semester break now i might as well update it a little. I have 3 burned CDs and a DVD full of NS photos and videos but i'd rather not put them in this blog, for anonymity's sake. But really, if anyone would wanna figure out my identity, it wouldn't be that hard anyways.

By the way, my NS mates? Some of us still do keep in touch ^^ Mostly SMSes and some rare phone calls once in a while between me and them. And a couple of them who have since been working in Singapore do sometimes gather to yum-cha and reminisce the old times. Can't believe it's been almost a year since i was in NS.

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Hungry Ghost Festival Holiday for NS Trainees Thursday, August 14, 2008 |

Came home by bus yesterday. All Chineses are given 3 days holiday sempena Perayaan Hantu Lapar--Hungry Ghost Festival.

At home. Just chilling, listening to music, watching movies, animes, catching up, doing the things i wanna do.

Life is good.

Btw, gonna start collecting photos. Here's a sneak peek at my collection: pic of our camp's padang kawad taken by my friend.


And a pic of the wirawati dorms.


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NS holiday 17th - 20th July Friday, July 18, 2008 |

I kept a diary during NS, and i wrote in it every single day. So rest assured, i'll be posting them bit by bit when i finished my services in Kg. Baru Camp in September. This 4-day holiday isn't much when you consider it took our bus 5 hours to get us back from Manjung, Perak to Klang, Selangor on the 17th, and it's gonna take more than that to get us back to camp on the 20th.

So yesterday, i was woken up at 5.30 am by the usual "Wira dan wirawati bangun, bangun, bangun". I hit the pillows and continue to sleep till 6.10 am or so while my muslim dormmates climb out of bed to bersuci and line up in front of JLB to go for their Fajr prayers.

"Wira dan wirawati yang akan menaiki bas ke Selangor dan Ipoh dikehendaki beratur di padang kawad dalam satu kosong minit lagi." was heard at 7.05 am, at which 3 of my fellow dormmates and i dragged our bags out of our dorms while hugging, kissing each other on the face, and wishing goodbyes. Before having our bags checked (to make sure we're not bringing any celorengs--the army-striped uniforms home), we had another hugging, kissing, goodbye-ing session with most of the girls, and plain waving goodbyes to some of the guys.

After that, off we go on the bus which brought us to Manjung, Lumut bus station. Everyone was extremely cheerful on the bus, due to the fact that it's been more than a month since we've seen home. I don't really know how to describe how great i felt looking out the window while listening to the guys singing this song:



I'm not sure why, but the guys from our camp are crazy about this song.

Those leaving for Ipoh, their bus took off before 8.30 am. The rest of us going back to Selangor waited at the station with Cikgu Wahab and Cikgu Yus accompanying us. Some guys went to the back to have a smoke...

Even though the time on the ticket says 9.15 am, our bus arrived at around 9.45 am. It stopped twice on the way to Klang, once at a Petronas petrol station, and once at a small bus stop off the highway at Slim River. About 5 Ethiopians who are here on vacation got onto the bus for a short distance, and i chatted with one of them a little ^^ On the bus, it was all jokes and chatters amongst guys and gals... Good times.

We reached Klang bus station a little after 3.oo pm. Bought tickets to go back, RM19 each. Cheap, considering the alternative is driving, and that's gonna cost a bomb with the fuel prices up and the toll fees and all. We'll be meeting back there on Sunday afternoon.

Dad came to pick me up. And we went straight to Da Fei for their famous mee huen kueh. Best real human food i've had since i went to NS.

I feel like i'm in heaven right now. Doing the things i wanna do while listening to music on the laptop. That's not much, i know. But it's a lot considering i've been imprisoned in a small camp for more than a month. It's not the chores that makes me wanna leave camp, it's the lack of freedom. So, ciao for now :)

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Day 13.4: An Atheist's Conversation With My Muslim Teacher Thursday, June 26, 2008 |

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During kelas rohani/kelas kerohanian today, i went to the "pondok" beside JLB instead of getting cooped up inside the air-conditioned JLB with a bunch of teachers. Brought along with me today's newspaper i asked MakCik to help me buy from outside camp. She got me NST instead of Star because they only sell The Star in Manjung, not in Kg Baru, and PakCik didn't go to Manjung today. So much trouble just to get myself a copy of an English newspaper *sigh*

I just finished browsing the headlines and was starting to read the contents when a teacher approached me at the pondok. I'd rather not put his name here.

So this teacher pulled up a chair and sat right in front of me, and started lecturing talking to me about how important it is for one to have a religion. How people who are non-religious can be likened to being "lost in the light" (He was speaking in Malay, so i'm not quite sure i have his words translated accurately here, or if i totally understood what he's telling me at all. But i'll do my best).

He went on and on about how i must find my God as soon as possible, whatever religion that God belongs to. How he suffered when he was a child, until he was enlightened by the God he came to embrace. How he thinks i will hold on tightly to whatever religion i'll eventually decide to follow. And he advised me that i should read books on the subject of religion, to help me in my quest in search of my God.

As he spoke, i smiled, gave polite responses where appropriate, and chuckled at his jokes. But really, i think i'd do just fine without clinging to a religion of any kind. I didn't tell him that to his face of course, lest he thinks i'm some kind of dangerous minion of Satan sent to corrupt people in his camp and coerce them into converting or something. But i am quite sure i'll be fine following societal moral values without getting terabai.

Post-NS note:
Do i believe in God? Well, as the French mathematician and astronomer Laplace said: "I have no need of that hypothesis."

In some ways, i'm more like the atheist Cameron than the atheist House. In that unlike House, i respect other people's religion (except maybe for Scientology) and vaguely understand that some people just need to believe in a God to make sense of their life, to put a meaning to their existence. Having said that, i still do not comprehend how such unquestionable faith can exist based solely on various editions of the Bible filled with myths and allegories with maybe some historical references.

I haven't been through much hardship in my life, i admit. I used to think that if one day, somehow in one single day, i lose my job, my house, and everyone i ever cared for, i just might step into this world of worshipping a supreme being and be surrounded by "brothers" and "sisters". Now i'm not so sure even if i fall victim to such tragedies, religion will be my answer. But that's all mostly hypothetical. All i can say is, for now, i'm perfectly happy without following any religious paths. And seriously, how can Earth be only 6000 years old?

I can go on and on about my lack of faith and i don't care if i'll be condemned to Hell, whether or not Hell exist. I just felt sad sometimes when i talk to people (like the teacher for instance) who were brought up in a religious family and spent their whole lives practicing a way of living adopted based on their parents delusions. It's etched so deep it's like they don't even have a choice to not believe.

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Day 13.3: Sukan Kreativiti - Wonder Pets Wonder Pets! |

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A few days ago, the teachers hid all three Alpha, Bravo and Charlie's company flag. We're supposed to track our own company's flag down but as far as i know, nobody actually made an effort to find it.

Today, Tuan Komanden warned us that if we still haven't get our respective flags back by 12.00 am tonight, the next day all of us will be required to wear full loreng starting in the morning. Worse, our handphones will not be "released" this weekend. The horror of not being able to reunite with our handphones O.O

Fortunately, all 3 flags were recovered earlier during waktu riadah. The guys spotted them in JLB (JuruLatih Bertugas' office). Yay!

...

Remember a couple of days ago i got all upset and was whining about being left out of the super fun games? Well, i finally got to play sukan kreativiti (creative sports) this afternoon.

First there was "pagar current", where we're supposed to figure out a way to get over some "high voltage electrical wires" (that forms a small topless enclosure) using only the 2 poles that were given to us. Because of my lithe and hence light body, i was the 2nd to climb onto the poles, crawl on it and land in the enclosure. Our objective was to land at the other side, not in the middle by the way. So 3 of us maneuvered our way in to provide support from the center, holding up the poles so that the rest could get to the other side.

My hands and shoulders were on the verge of crumbling under their body weight, so i decided to give my shoulders a break (no pun intended) and shifted the weight to another part of my body and rested the pole on my head, hehe. Felt like an ant holding up a mountain's weight.

Finally Cikgu Kaycee gave the word to change the people who're inside the enclosure. Phew! So i made my way to the other side, climbing on top of the poles and all. It was fun!

I thought we did great. The whole idea was to instill sifat bekerjasama, team-building spirit yada yada... Only about 2 or 3 girls failed to accomplish our objective, some because of their weight (can crush a Boeing 747) and some because of fear. They were terrified of it, or was it because they don't trust us people holding the poles to guide them over safely? Whatever. Anyway i thought we did great cuz SY told me that when they did the activity 2 days ago, only a few got through whereas in our case, only a few didn't get through.

After that we went to the fields to play a game of tangki bocor. Which was even more fun. Even Tuan Komanden joined us in our game as a mischief-maker. Every time he makes his way towards our tangki he cried out "Wonder Pets! Wonder Pets!" and we would scramble around trying to stop him from vandalising our tangki. We also had this thing going on, where whenever someone yells "Apa yang penting?" in a specific tune, the rest of us would in unison go "Kerjasama!" in a similar tune.

Had a great time and got wet all over. Literally soaked from top to bottom, with scraps of mushy newspapers clinging everywhere on me, plus dirt and grass all over my pants.

Post-NS note:
I had absolutely no idea wth Wonder Pets are at that time. Only after months later, i happened to come across a commercial plugging the Wonder Pets cartoon did i realise it wasn't something Tuan Komanden just made up lol.

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Day 13.2: Punk'd! |

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NS is fun i tell you. It's a blast, provided you don't err big when it comes to following instructions. Knowing what buttons not to push, and what rules can be bent is crucial to be able to thrive within the strict reign of the authorities.

Just before our CB class ends at 12.30pm today, Cikgu Yus called out the names of 3 girls and around 8 or 9 guys' name, summoned them to the front of the class, and announced to the class that word just came from JLKN that these are the ones who are going to be sent to East Malaysia as part of a racial integration program. They stood in a long horizontal line in front of everyone, completely stunned by the news.

Of the 3 girls, 2 are from our own dorm, SH and SJ. We stared at our friends. We were as shocked as they are.

Then SH broke down and started sobbing, followed quickly by SJ and this other girl T. Then some of the guys couldn't hold back their tears any longer and cried too.

In the midst of the pool of tears, Cikgu Yus, referring to the official letter in her hand, went on to tell us that they will be shipped out this evening at 5.30pm. What's more, T, a fragile looking little girl was chosen to join Singapore's 2-year military service training. Cikgu Yus gave her a chance to say her last words before she leaves.

By this time, T was shedding tears by the bucket and a number girls from our dorm were also crying their eyes out because we're so going to miss SH.

Alas, it was all just an act on the teacher's part. LOL. The teachers played a practical joke on them, or rather, on all of us. It was a prank! Nobody's leaving and there's no military training! Truth is, those who were supposedly picked to go to East Malaysia are all born in June, and today is T's birthday. The prank was the teacher's way of celebrating their birthdays! This definitely counts as one of those "my most unforgettable birthday" for those June babies, with all the drama and emotions in the room.

Me i was totally fooled initially. The news caught me by surprise but i didn't cry or anything like that. I actually envied them cuz i really longed to go to the NS camps in East Malaysia, as far away from civilisation as possible. Got somewhat suspicious when the 2 year military training in Singapore was mentioned. I was like, no way she's gonna survive that. She doesn't even participate in half of our physical exercises because her frail body couldn't cope with it, anemia or something.

Anyway it was quite entertaining and left us all with a lovely memory of one of the more interesting times in NS. I kinda hope that the July, August and September babies will get such a wonderful birthday celebration too, but its unlikely. The same trick will not work twice, unless the teachers get creative and come up with something totally unexpected.

Post-NS note:
Indeed, we were pranked again later into the NS program. But that's a story for another post ;)

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Day 13.1: Laundry Woes |

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My joint pains aren't getting any better. Damn. It's this constant strain in my knees. Am hoping it'll go away soon.

Earlier this morning, i raised my voice for the 1st time since i've been here, i think.

You see, those who wanna take advantage of the free dobi service (which will only clean our National Service issued clothes, the celorengs and socks and towel etc., strictly no undergarments and clothes we brought from home) have to put their dirty clothes in a white plastic bag, mark the bag with a marker pen so we know who's who's, and then chuck the bag into this big black plastic bag in a basket. I, the Ketua Dorm will then bring the basket full of filthy clothes to this designated area behind the classrooms. A laundry van will come pick it up and return them clean and fresh the next day. That's standard procedure.

So why did i raised my voice at my dear dorm mates? Cuz they can't even complete the simple task of following ABC instructions! How hard could that be? "Put your clothes into the white plastic bag -> label the bag -> put it in the black plastic bag" That's it. 3 simple steps.

But no. Those dim-wits have to chuck their clothes OUTside of the bag plastic bag. So what, they're expecting me to pick them up one by one and put them nicely into the black plastic bag? Uh-uh. Who do they think i am? Their maid? And it's amazing how long the 3-steps could take them to complete. It's like watching a 2 hour movie in slo-mo.

So i tried hitting the fast forward button, by raising my voice a little. Okay, maybe not so little. But its for the best interest of everyone. Them moving slow = me being late to deliver the dirty laundry to the staff = the dobi van gone = the dirty laundry will have to spend the night cocooned in its own sweat and filth until the next day.

I would've understand if it's the 1st couple of days and they're still not used to these procedures and thus moving a bit at the snails' pace. But it's been 2 whole weeks already and they've yet to quicken their pace. All i ask as a dorm leader is for them to complete this 1 simple task and they failed miserably.

What pisses me off most is this girl in my dorm who once commented that i'm "senyap aje" as Ketua Dorm. So i may not like yelling at people, especially my friends, my dorm mates. But then a minute ago when i shouted for a legitimate reason, this same girl scolded me for yelling at them. F*** her.

Post-NS note:
Looking back, i feel so silly for losing my temper over such a small matter. I'm not usually that easy to get to. I guess incompetence really gets on my nerves, like a pin pressing on my balloon.

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Day 12.3: Watched Kem Kampung Baru, Air Tawar Kumpulan 1 Siri 3/2006 video Wednesday, June 25, 2008 |

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The teachers played us a video, sort of like a montage of shaky handheld camera recordings of the 2006's Kumpulan 1 Siri 3 undergoing the various NS activities complete with cheesy background music and the oh-so-familiar Windows Movie Maker transition effects. Started from their 1st day of lapor diri, to their one-day-in-the-"jungle", to their closing ceremony performances...

Not much difference between the 2006 batch's and us 2008 Kumpulan 3 Siri 5, comparing from what we've already been through and the beginning of the video. Different faces different trainees, same cikgus same activities.

It's also rather obvious that the Kumpulan 1 trainees consists mostly of the typical youngsters fresh out from school, some nerds and geeks here and there. You know, those who actually graduated from high school and probably are going to move on to pre-university studies, getting their diplomas or degrees. Unlike us Kumpulan 3 people: lots of high school and even primary school dropouts who have since joined the work force, and quite a number of those who deferred earlier and is now forced to join NS or risk fines. Which explains the comparatively large number of older than 18-year-olds.

Anyway, back to the vid. It made me look forward even more to the outdoor activities, the building huts in the woods and firing M16 rifle. w00t!

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Disclaimer

*All names have been changed to protect the identity of the people involved. Usually i'd just avoid putting names and refer to them as 'friends' instead ;)

"While every care has been taken to provide my readers (if any) with most accurate information and candid accounts, please note that the author would not be bothered to update this blog following the end of her NS days, and that all accounts only reflect her views alone over the course of her NS days. If the author has presented comments that may be deemed harmful, rest assured that they are not meant to offend anyone, and she may not be held liable for sharing her opinions on this blog."

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