On my 16th birthday, which was on 1/1/2006, I stated my National Service for 3 months in Kem JUara, Serian, which is a small town 120km away from my hometown. It was really an unforgettable experience for me, as I met and learnt a lot during the National Training.
When I just reached the camp site, I was quite shocked, as the camp site is situated in the jungle! I, together with more than 300 hundreds teenagers of the same age, had to live inside the camp area for three months! It was really not easy for us, because we had to withstand the hot weather in the camp site, especially when doing physical trainings and marching training. And, our rooms were actually just like a open “longhouse”. There are around 30 beds in a long room, and we had no privacy. Everyone can see what others are doing. The bathroom is actually open type. There is two big pool and around 8 toilets in each bathroom. When we were ruching time, we had to take our bath beside the big pool. At first, I feel uneasy to take bath together with so many friends, however, I was managed to accept it as my new experience. After all, it is also nice to chat and splash water onto other friends when taking bath.^^
In National Training, trainees have to go through 4 modules. In physical module, I together with other trainees, had to train our body to become fit. Thus, we had the obstacles courses, where we had to do physical exercises while passing through the obstacles, like jump over a small pond using a rope, and keeping our balance when walking on the 4m height. We also had the training and activities including flying fox, canoeing, camping, survival training in the jungle, and so on. And, before the end of the training, we had a Wirajaya camp, where we actually explore the real jungle, opened the land with parang to set up our camps. These activities were so interesting to me, as I like the outdoor activities a lot. However, to the trainees who do like to stand under the sun, these activities were nightmares!!!
Besides, we also had the National Building module, where we had our classes in classroom. In this module, we learnt more about our country, including its history, dignity, citizen’s responsibility to the nation, and so on. However, this module turned out to be the best “napping time” for us. As we did not have enough sleeping time most of the time, therefore this was the only time we can sit on the chair, with the turning fans on us, listen to the “lullaby” from the instructors. Although I tried not to sleep just what others did, I did not pretty remember the lessons taught in the classes.
There was also one more module done in classroom, which is character building module. The aim of this module is to develop and improve better inner self, while developing the communication skill with other. A “buddy system” was introduced in this module, which everyone of us had a buddy, and we had to cooperate with our buddy in completing tasks throughout the module. I still remember that we had a training on playing with three soft balls on our hands, just like a magician trick. We had to keep throwing the balls to the air, and catch them back. Although now I couldn’t do this trick anymore, it was still an enjoyable moment for me trying this during NS.
The last module in NS was the community service module, where we had to go to the nearby villages and provide our help to them. We did helped the villagers in cleaning the village, visiting their farms, and had some fun activities with the villagers. In one of the village we visited, we were “adopted” individually by the villagers, and I was brought to a Malay family. We had our lunch together, with them using hands and I using spoon. After that, I was introduced to the culture of the villagers’ life. The family was really nice to me, and I almost cried before leaving them. Through this module, I leant to be responsible to the community, and also the environment.
Although I only spent 3 months in National Service, everyday counts. There were new things happened everyday, and I really enjoyed the life together with so many friends in that 3 months. Although I lost contact with most of the friends I made during the training, I won’t forget the time we spent together. Now missing the worry-free life in PLKN, where I sit together with other trainees ,and keep complaining the bad food, hot weather, fierce trainers,tiring activities, lack of sleep, bla bla bla~~~
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The main entrance to Kem Juara, Serian. The camp is near to the Serian-Kuching highway, but the visitors have to drive through a distance of bumpy road before reaching the main entrance.  Group photo, taken together with my friends.Found me??? |
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| Boat rowing competition in a big lake in Serian, 20 minutes distance from KEM juara. I used up all my energy to row the boat, and can't even lift my hands after that! |
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| Photo of Kompeni Delta, with the camp commandent and the trainers.I can't find myself in the photo now!!! |
