My (Partial) NS Experience

I'm back for the Chinese New Year holidays! I'll be here until 22nd February 2007, by then I'd have to report back at camp before 1700 hours. Thanks to Bros. Ivan, Fahri, Chan, Javier, and the others who took their time and effort to update this blog during my absence. Remember, this blog is our responsibility together, and as I've learnt in Character Building classes, teamwork is key. So, here's my experience so far at Bukit Saban Camp in Betong.

Initially, when I got selected, I'd thought NS was a bloody waste of my time. It was, for the first two weeks. Especially week 1. The days were spent doing nothing, waiting for the administration to distribute our clothes, settle into our respective dorms, and uncomfortably interacting with other equally-suffering trainees. For boys, or 'Wira', haircuts on Day 2, 3, and 4. Then there's also a water shortage problem in my camp during that week. Also, I missed my home and my family a lot. In fact, you'll miss the things you took for granted, like your mother's cooking, or your washing machine, or your TV/Computer/MP3/whatever. In a nutshell, week 1 was incredibly shitty. Also you'd need to get used to the food. Initially, it looks crappy, and tastes crappy. And there's absolutely nothing to do, so the waiting's really hellish. But around Day 5 or 6, Character Building/Pembinaan Karakter(CB/PK) classes start. You'll be separated into groups into separate classrooms, and you'll be stuck with those people for the duration of the CB/PK classes. Did I forget to mention CB/PK classes have two parts? Modules 1 and 2. So if you're unlucky to end up in a class full of a-holes, you're stuck with them for about 3-4 weeks. CB/PK classes are fun, however, if the activities are somewhat childish. But personally, I think I benefited a lot from them. These classes will help you look positively at NS, and that's a very good mentality to stick to. Also, you'll need to surrender your handphones for safety reasons. You'll get them back every Saturday evening, usually after dinner(I'll get back to this later). For my camp, Bukit Saban Resort, there was absolutely NO LINE there!! No Maxis, no Digi, no Celcom! Or so we thought. After some line-hunting, we discovered some choice spots where Celcom pervades. My friend Anderson, from Delta Company had the best spot; his bed had 4 bars for Celcom. Unfortunately, it seems that Bukit Saban is Celcom Territory; Maxis and Digi had no line there. Oh, let's digress a little: I'm in Bravo Company. Each NS Camp, I heard, has 4 companies, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. Currently, Bravo Company has a strength of 80 people; 37 'Wira', 43 'Wirawati'. My camp has about 315 trainees, with about 147 'Wira'. The 'Wirawati' dorms were up on a hill, which was crappy when it rained. Us 'Wira' dorms were near the Mess Hall, so it wasn't so bad when it rained. Back to the current topic, every evening, after the phones were returned, we'd spend a good time SMS-ing and calling and hunting lines, but up to the 3 or 4th week, we knew where the 'line spheres' were. On Sundays, every religion save Muslims would go out to their respective venues. For me, Buddhists would go to the Betong Buddhist Society temple in Betong each Sunday. Then it'd be a short trip to Betong for shopping, and then back to camp. Our daily schedule was as follows:

0500 - Wake-up Call
0600 - Assembly and Physical Training(PT)
0730 - Breakfast
0830 - CB/PK (and later) Nationalism classes
1030 - Brunch
1100 - CB/PK (and later) Nationalism classes continue
1230 - Lunch
1430 - Physical Exercise, i.e., Marching, Martial Arts, Woodcraft
1630 - Tea-time
1700 - Rest
1800 - Dinner
2030 - Night activities(vary and keeps us guessing, mostly movies)
2200 - Supper
2300 - Lights out

Basically that's what I did every day, except on weekends, where we do nothing in the afternoon for Saturdays and Sundays. And every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month is Family Day, where your family is allowed to pay you a visit between 0900 until 1700 hours. Oh, and PT each morning differs. Each Monday is aerobics, while each Thursday is Pocho-pocho(more on that later) training. The other three days is open to the trainers' preferences. On weekends, there's no PT. Eventually you'll settle down to the routine, and you'll learn to like the activities. And every Thursday and Friday night is Religion Classes, so each respective religion gets it's own class taught by an outsider.

Thus far, I've done several of the activities:
Marching Competition(Bravo finished 2nd, but we got best Flag Commander)
Performed Pocho-pocho for Family Day last Sunday(The only Family Day with performances)
Did the obstacle course
Hiked in the forest beside my camp
Went kayaking
Did water confidence(basically an excuse to get soaked)
Participated in my camp flag design competition
Cleaned a school as part of the Community Service module
Visited a police station as part of the Community Service module

And here's so bonus stuff I got to do:
Visited the girls' dorms with 3 of my other buddies from Charlie C. to shift some stuff. First 4 guys in camp history to actually do that, I believe.
Dammed up the river behind my camp with 39 other guys so that the 'Wirawati' water shortage would stop.

Anyhow, there's lots more to do after CNY, i.e. M16 training, flying fox, and maybe more woodcraft. So, here's stuff you need to survive NS:
Coat hangers, about 8-10 is enough, but take some thick ones along for your combat fatigues(baju celoreng) because they're heavy
Soap, shampoo, face cream, whatever you need to keep clean
Bucket, how else are you going to wash your clothes?
Brush and detergent, preferably the block detergents instead of powders; easier to keep
Handphone & charger, in case the payphones don't work, which was in my case.
Book/Guitar, something to keep you busy during free periods and weekends
Blanket, the ones provided are scratchy and uncomfortable
Telephone Cards, when you don't have your phone and you need to call home
Nail Clippers and Earpicks/Buds, personal hygiene is important in a pseudo army camp
Shaver, for those who have beards or mustaches; in PLKN, it's a no-no
Padlock, for locking your locker
A towel, until they give you the PLKN ones, which don't dry very well though, but I use them anyway
Food, like biscuits, but keep them in the locker, because half of my biscuit supply got stolen when I stupidly kept it under my bed
Bottled water, when you're too lazy or it's too late to go to the Mess Hall to get some
Spare toothbrush and toothpaste
Toilet Rolls, unless you prefer washing with water
Lousy shoes, for water activities or when your sports shoes are wet
Slippers, for rest periods and showering
Alarm clock, unless you can naturally wake up at 5am
Code lock suitcase, for keeping your valuables - handphones/wallets when you bathe
Umbrella, when it rains and you don't want to spend your time washing your (newly) wet clothes
Pen, for classes and other stuff
Marker pen, for marking your clothes before you send them to the dobi
Exercise book, for rough paper
Most importantly, money, you'll need it for fares, supplies, canteen, etc

Oh, and keep your wits about with you. Choose your friends carefully, and quickly avoid those who annoy or use you. I think that's all for now.