Kita harus mempunyai kebimbangan apabila melihat petanda-petanda bahawa 4 kawasan ekonomi terbesar di dunia akan menghadapi kejatuhan ekonomi yang paling parah dalam sejarah mereka - USA, China, Jepun dan Eropah. Dari petanda-petanda dipasaran, ekonomi USA diramal akan jatuh pada tahun 2013 dengan parah sekali, sehinggakan The Great Depression pada tahun 1930an boleh diklasifikasi semula sebagai The Mild Depression jika berbanding dengan 2013. Atas sebab ini, ekonomi negara China akan jatuh terhempas kerana amat terikat dengan export ke Amerika. Pada masa yang sama, ekonomi Eropah sedang jatuh sejak 3 tahun yang lalu dan tiada petanda yang menampakkan ekonominya akan pulih. Sebaliknya, banyak lagi negara di Eropah yang akan menurut musibah seperti Greece, yakni Itali, Sepanyol dan Portugal.
Oleh itu, kita turut bimbang kerana Malaysia ialah negara ditangga ke11 pengeksport terbesar ke USA. Export Malaysia ke Eropah sudahpun jatuh sebanyak 4.5 % sejak 3 tahun dulu dan petanda menunjukkan ia akan terus jatuh dan jatuh. Export Malaysia ke Jepun mungkin juga akan turut terancam terutama sekali yang melibatkan industri yang banyak mengeksport ke USA dan Eropah. Eksport Malaysia ke China telahpun jatuh sebanyak 10% pada August 2012 lepas kerana kejatuhan ekonomi China.
Apa yang harus risaukan :
1. Penutupan kilang-kilang Multinasional di Malaysia yang berasal dari Eropah, China dan USA
2. Penutupan kilang-kilang kepunyaan Malaysia yang memberi sokongan kepada kilang-kilang Multinasional tersebut
3. Kejatuhan kadar eksport Malaysia ke Eropah, China, USA dan Jepun.
4. Pengurangan kedatangan pelancong ke Malaysia kerana kejatuhan disposable income mereka
5. Impak negatif kepada semua sektor industri Malaysia oleh kerana 4 perkara di atas.
Jumlah penduduk Malaysia yang bekerja dan membawa balik wang untuk rumah ialah sekadar 6 juta orang sahaja. Jumlah ini tidak cukup untuk menjana aktiviti ekonomi tempatan yang boleh menampan impak negatif ekonomi.
Akibatnya jika berlaku ialah :
1. Ramai yang mungkin kehilangan pekerjaan
2. Hasilnya, hilang keupayaan mereka membayar hutang, bil-bil, perubatan, pendidikan dan perbelanjaan rumah.
3. Akibatnya, boleh meningkatkan kadar jenayah, maksiat dan masalah sosial yang buruk sekali.
4. Lantas boleh menghanguskan banyak duit rakyat dalam tabung kerajaan untuk mengurus isu-isu berkaitan.
5. Akhirnya, kerajaan terpaksa meminjam lebih banyak wang dari buaya perbankan untuk menampung defisit GDP>
Malang sungguh rasanya kerana :
> Kita masih tidak dengar apa-apa jua strategi penampan dari pihak kerajaan mengenai ekonomi dunia yang boleh memberi kesan dahsyat pada kita. Kita juga belum mendengar apapun bising-bising dari pihak pembangkang. Saya juga agak terperanjat kerana tiada langsung diskusi di dalam media arus perdana oleh pakar-pakar ekonomi tempatan. Sebaliknya saya melihat kelompok pemerintah dan kelompok pembangkang dok sibuk dengan GEMBAR-GEMBOR memancing undi sahaja. Seolah-olah Malaysia ini KEBAL dari sebarang kesan. Tak mungkin KEBAL. Hanya orang yang terlalu bodoh sahaja percaya bahawa Malaysia ini KEBAL dari sebarang kesan ekonomi dunia. Saya amat kecewa dengan kedua-dua pihak ini kerana LALAI dari REALITI yang bakal menimpa rakyat.
> Setakat ini saya sanjung kebolehan mantan semua PM dan pasukannya yang mampu membawa Malaysia ke tangga 20an ekonomi dunia dari 183 negara. Tapi apakah tindakan yang patut pemerintah seterusnya ambil untuk menghadapi sebarang KEJATUHAN TEROK EKONOMI DUNIA yang bakal menimpa kita dan anak-anak kita?
>
> Kita perlu bersiap-sedia dengan langkah pro-aktif dan berjaga-jaga dari sekarang. Tapi apa?
>
> Saya bukan orang yang bijak dalam hal ekonomi. Oleh itu, saya perlukan nasihat. Mungkin sahabat-sahabat yang lainpun turut memerlukan nasihat. Dan mungkin juga segenap rakyat Malaysia yang mencari rezeki memerlukan nasihat yang boleh membantu.
>
Monday, October 15, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
KESAH KEDET SEBATANG KARAH KE RMC
KESAH KEDET SEBATANG KARAH KE RMC OLEH ABD RAHMAN TEOH
PART VIII – FROM POTENTIAL CADETS (PRE-OCTU) TO BECOMING CADETS (RMC)
By the time the 6 long dreadful months was to come to an end, and all the selected ones who did not drop out and survived were sent packing to go to RMC. How happy were we, knowing life would be much better there!
Again how wrong were all of us, the lucky few who were selected to continue their training abroad would never know what the rest went through for another dreaded 6 months!
But, before we could pass out from Pre-OCTU Sebatang Karah to qualify to become a cadet the training grew more academic and the physical part was sharpened as well.
After the day-in & day-out grilling on the parade square and all the aerobic runs, James Bond bag runs, the gruelling Jalan Lasak ( into the sea and out into the jungles and roadways). All the cadets had a secret concoction prepared for the big event ….. the 25 mile road march aka JALAN LAASAK! It was a mixture of ‘bawang merah kecik’ and cooking oil, and it was supposedly to prevent our virgin sole of the feet from giving way and suffer from blisters. Guys it never worked high and fat hopes!
How can it work when the first thing you do as you leave the camp is to head towards the sea, ohhhh pantai PD…..batu ompat!
Hancus, soak wet in your socks and with salt water from the sea, it’s a SURE guarantee the feet will be doomed!
By the time you arrive back at camp 5-6 hours later all Cadets were walking like ‘ada telor bosar’ in between the thighs & legs! None escape this condition!
We all sorts of competition: shooting, obstacle, drill and off course all the games at inter-company level, after which those who shined were selected to represent the unit and play the KNK Cup against the RMC Intake 33 Cadets.
We were beaten squarely by them, I do not remember winning any of the games played. But being the TUAH COMPANY yang BERTUAH we got to wear the YELLOW LYNYARD in RMC because Rahman Company was the Champion Company in RMC!
The tail end of the training in Sebatang Karah wasn’t going to slow down, even though we were about to break camp. We did have small parties at the Cadets Mess, first by Company later as an Intake! Just to get to know about the mess etiquette and all that stuff. We were given a free hand to organize mess do’s and that was the part of the training as well, which we later became superb experts in getting ‘impromptu parties or YAY YAY” nights done with a flicker of a finger!
Those all night LONG’s!
The Remnants
I can’t remember the exact total number of us all reporting to RMC, maybe Cadet CO can make up these figures, because he was the CO then, now and forever!
The drop-outs were due to health reasons, injuries and just could not make the grades! The only figure I can never forget is we started out with 234 yoyos!
Nobody died in our INTAKE – that is for sure, but the latter intakes i.e. as in Intake 37, three of them succumb to the first day ‘HELL PT!’
Happiness Turns To Sorrow
We were a bunch of hopefulls looking forward to nicer things, knowing farewell to Pre-OCTU means a better life in RMC, how wrong again! The two most unwanted personalities decided to follow us to RMC..hancus harapan KEDET semua!
Yes, our beloved Capt Rozli and S/Sgt Ismail was posted there as well, how can this all happen, was it intentional or just coincidental? Only God has the answers!
But the very first day we reported to RMC was so different, I thought so, but we had another round of baptism of BUKIT again…counting the number of steps of the famous RMC pathway at Kantin Philip! We carried our Kit-Bags on our shoulders and ran the hills so many darn times, totally forgotten how many rounds, it was endless so to speak!
Off-load at the guard room on the word GO – pick up the kit-bag and run like Hell! Off course Mat Kerapu was always the 1st.
So, after the many gruelling hours we were assembled and given a welcoming address, the Tuah Company turned ABDUL RAHMAN and we were to occupy the Dhoby Block, down below the valley!
Syed Putra was Kasturi and they occupied the Main Block, so did Jebat which became Alam Shah Coy.
Another Chapter – RMC Days
Any ways the next six months were different from Sebatang Karah, I almost did not want to be commissioned, thanks to our Cadet CO who was adamant that I should not QUIT! Reasons which he knew better why I almost threw in the TOWEL!
Well, it has since passed, incidentally we all were enlisted officially on the 20th FEB 1978, this I found out because when I wanted to retire, they say take the exact date of enlistment for the purpose of calculations for my pension and gratuity as well! So for those of you now I guess it does not make any difference since most will retire by age factor, unless there are a few who are to retire before the compulsory age retirement scheme.
They say the second part of cadetship was to make us Officers! The first part in Pre-OCTU was to make a civilian into a basic soldier, yes that was what we were made to believe!
I think they did it right! The polishing at RMC was to make us all Gentlemen Officers, the virtues of an Officer & A Gentlemen. They did a real good job I guess, but there were moments & time that wasn’t that fun either.
Rahman Company – The Licking of The Shovels & Cangkuls
This incident will forever be remembered by all the Rahman Coy Cadets, including the brave CO himself! We were all lazy Cadets, after finishing the previous field exercise, the dirty shovels and pick-axes were just thrown back into the Q-Store, what else! Come the next exercise we just took it out and distributed it again, as the company orders were delivered, our good friend Capt. Norizan (RRD) took a stroll outside and saw what was to his shocking eyes - ‘dirty dozens of shovels on our packs!’
The next thing we knew was, Cadets to crawl on all fours and lick the shovels all CLEAN of mud and slime! Walah – one after another, we did the clean-up JOB, until the shovels all were virtually dripping with our own saliva, all cadets from the company skipped lunch, nobody could eat! That was a big lesson learnt, the Cadet Q was B. Gen Azizon back then ..he he he! Ultimately he was fired!
Mak Yew & Mansoor Tailor
Cadets have foster fathers and mothers too! I remember those who did not have weekend passes would get good food from Mansoor tailor and sometimes credit also from MAK YEW! But they did a good job with all our smart uniforms though.
Bukit Belimbing
Compass Marching & Map Reading was fun, we had a jolly good time feasting on the best Star Fruits one can find in this country back then, Sg Besi is renowned for its best fruits. We had the whole farm to ourselves, not only eating but also to take away, must one day apologise to the Apek and Nyonya, if there are still around…..?
The next stories shall be………!
RSM MAT JOE – HIS LOVELY GIRLS (ada yang cuba mengurat)
Philip Canteen – his daughters
The Barber – Weekend Chops
The Globe – Ops Orders
Weekend Company Balls – Cari Partners
The Dance – Dewan Tun Templer (DTT)
Ceng ceng ceng....?
PART VIII – FROM POTENTIAL CADETS (PRE-OCTU) TO BECOMING CADETS (RMC)
By the time the 6 long dreadful months was to come to an end, and all the selected ones who did not drop out and survived were sent packing to go to RMC. How happy were we, knowing life would be much better there!
Again how wrong were all of us, the lucky few who were selected to continue their training abroad would never know what the rest went through for another dreaded 6 months!
But, before we could pass out from Pre-OCTU Sebatang Karah to qualify to become a cadet the training grew more academic and the physical part was sharpened as well.
After the day-in & day-out grilling on the parade square and all the aerobic runs, James Bond bag runs, the gruelling Jalan Lasak ( into the sea and out into the jungles and roadways). All the cadets had a secret concoction prepared for the big event ….. the 25 mile road march aka JALAN LAASAK! It was a mixture of ‘bawang merah kecik’ and cooking oil, and it was supposedly to prevent our virgin sole of the feet from giving way and suffer from blisters. Guys it never worked high and fat hopes!
How can it work when the first thing you do as you leave the camp is to head towards the sea, ohhhh pantai PD…..batu ompat!
Hancus, soak wet in your socks and with salt water from the sea, it’s a SURE guarantee the feet will be doomed!
By the time you arrive back at camp 5-6 hours later all Cadets were walking like ‘ada telor bosar’ in between the thighs & legs! None escape this condition!
We all sorts of competition: shooting, obstacle, drill and off course all the games at inter-company level, after which those who shined were selected to represent the unit and play the KNK Cup against the RMC Intake 33 Cadets.
We were beaten squarely by them, I do not remember winning any of the games played. But being the TUAH COMPANY yang BERTUAH we got to wear the YELLOW LYNYARD in RMC because Rahman Company was the Champion Company in RMC!
The tail end of the training in Sebatang Karah wasn’t going to slow down, even though we were about to break camp. We did have small parties at the Cadets Mess, first by Company later as an Intake! Just to get to know about the mess etiquette and all that stuff. We were given a free hand to organize mess do’s and that was the part of the training as well, which we later became superb experts in getting ‘impromptu parties or YAY YAY” nights done with a flicker of a finger!
Those all night LONG’s!
The Remnants
I can’t remember the exact total number of us all reporting to RMC, maybe Cadet CO can make up these figures, because he was the CO then, now and forever!
The drop-outs were due to health reasons, injuries and just could not make the grades! The only figure I can never forget is we started out with 234 yoyos!
Nobody died in our INTAKE – that is for sure, but the latter intakes i.e. as in Intake 37, three of them succumb to the first day ‘HELL PT!’
Happiness Turns To Sorrow
We were a bunch of hopefulls looking forward to nicer things, knowing farewell to Pre-OCTU means a better life in RMC, how wrong again! The two most unwanted personalities decided to follow us to RMC..hancus harapan KEDET semua!
Yes, our beloved Capt Rozli and S/Sgt Ismail was posted there as well, how can this all happen, was it intentional or just coincidental? Only God has the answers!
But the very first day we reported to RMC was so different, I thought so, but we had another round of baptism of BUKIT again…counting the number of steps of the famous RMC pathway at Kantin Philip! We carried our Kit-Bags on our shoulders and ran the hills so many darn times, totally forgotten how many rounds, it was endless so to speak!
Off-load at the guard room on the word GO – pick up the kit-bag and run like Hell! Off course Mat Kerapu was always the 1st.
So, after the many gruelling hours we were assembled and given a welcoming address, the Tuah Company turned ABDUL RAHMAN and we were to occupy the Dhoby Block, down below the valley!
Syed Putra was Kasturi and they occupied the Main Block, so did Jebat which became Alam Shah Coy.
Another Chapter – RMC Days
Any ways the next six months were different from Sebatang Karah, I almost did not want to be commissioned, thanks to our Cadet CO who was adamant that I should not QUIT! Reasons which he knew better why I almost threw in the TOWEL!
Well, it has since passed, incidentally we all were enlisted officially on the 20th FEB 1978, this I found out because when I wanted to retire, they say take the exact date of enlistment for the purpose of calculations for my pension and gratuity as well! So for those of you now I guess it does not make any difference since most will retire by age factor, unless there are a few who are to retire before the compulsory age retirement scheme.
They say the second part of cadetship was to make us Officers! The first part in Pre-OCTU was to make a civilian into a basic soldier, yes that was what we were made to believe!
I think they did it right! The polishing at RMC was to make us all Gentlemen Officers, the virtues of an Officer & A Gentlemen. They did a real good job I guess, but there were moments & time that wasn’t that fun either.
Rahman Company – The Licking of The Shovels & Cangkuls
This incident will forever be remembered by all the Rahman Coy Cadets, including the brave CO himself! We were all lazy Cadets, after finishing the previous field exercise, the dirty shovels and pick-axes were just thrown back into the Q-Store, what else! Come the next exercise we just took it out and distributed it again, as the company orders were delivered, our good friend Capt. Norizan (RRD) took a stroll outside and saw what was to his shocking eyes - ‘dirty dozens of shovels on our packs!’
The next thing we knew was, Cadets to crawl on all fours and lick the shovels all CLEAN of mud and slime! Walah – one after another, we did the clean-up JOB, until the shovels all were virtually dripping with our own saliva, all cadets from the company skipped lunch, nobody could eat! That was a big lesson learnt, the Cadet Q was B. Gen Azizon back then ..he he he! Ultimately he was fired!
Mak Yew & Mansoor Tailor
Cadets have foster fathers and mothers too! I remember those who did not have weekend passes would get good food from Mansoor tailor and sometimes credit also from MAK YEW! But they did a good job with all our smart uniforms though.
Bukit Belimbing
Compass Marching & Map Reading was fun, we had a jolly good time feasting on the best Star Fruits one can find in this country back then, Sg Besi is renowned for its best fruits. We had the whole farm to ourselves, not only eating but also to take away, must one day apologise to the Apek and Nyonya, if there are still around…..?
The next stories shall be………!
RSM MAT JOE – HIS LOVELY GIRLS (ada yang cuba mengurat)
Philip Canteen – his daughters
The Barber – Weekend Chops
The Globe – Ops Orders
Weekend Company Balls – Cari Partners
The Dance – Dewan Tun Templer (DTT)
Ceng ceng ceng....?
KESAH MASA KEDET RMC
KESAH MASA KADET RMC OLEH ABD RAHMAN TEOH
RSM MAT JOE – HIS LOVELY GIRLS
Ini al-kisah dan cerita lama tetapi ‘benar’!
Our beloved RSM Mat Joe (deceased) had lovely and pretty daughters during our Cadet days in RMC, apa lagi ada kutu hantar ‘Surat Cinta’ secara ‘Drop Mail’ kepada mereka. Surat dihantar semasa lari petang beb! I can’t remember correctly how many daughters and who did IT, but rest assured it was done with a purpose! Sila maklumkan kepada saya jika ingat who that daring Cadet is!
Whoever walks through the gates of RMC at that time will never ever forget our flamboyant RSM, he is one hell of a character, maklumlah Orang Lama dan Askar Lama type!
He will walk the corridors of all the 3 Wings including our dorms, classrooms, the canteen and cookhouse. Nothing can go unnoticed by HIM, with his peak cap, pace-stick and stable-belt, all shined to perfection. His voice can boom across the parade square like a lion roaring into any space! His favourite spot is at the foyer below the RMC HQ block, his eyes will scan the area like an eagle, anything that moves will catch his attention, who so ever caught not marching or walking up-right shall measure the parade square *(ukur padan kawad)!
I will always remember the Kawad Pedang or Sword Drill sessions just before the commissioning parade proper was conducted and rehearse for do not know how many donkey times! One day one of us, while doing the drill was a bit ‘sloopey’, his remarks were: “Kedet Aku akan cucuk perut kau sampai MATI”! One day he was so annoyed with our Kawad that he threw his pace-stick and it broke into 2 pieces, he shouted: “Kedet Aku Debit Kau Semua Sebatang Tongkat Kayu Ni”!
Another incident was when we were all marching out the parade ground as we completed the rehearsal, he was standing at the side and was supposedly to SALUTE US ALL! This was in fact the marching out after the commissioning parade where we were deem as commission officers! He shouted:”Tak ingin aku Tabaik Kau Semua Kedet Lopong”! But on the actual day he did us all proud, he was our mentor and father, he gave his smartest salute with pride and honour! Incidentally, he was appointed as our first RSM TD after he left RMC. We shall never forget this wonderful character call ‘MAT JOE’, semoga rohnya bersama orang-orang yang beriman, amin.
Philip Canteen – his daughters
This is another icon in RMC, his food is good and reasonable, the only setback is when he is Mabuk! Cadets will miss the good food, and will lapaq during the weekends! The other problem is when his wife gets angry with him, sudah kalah judi pulak..no funds to buy the grubs!
Otherwise, kita makan sedap selalu…nasi lemak with telor, ikan bilis, timun and one air sirap all within budget of RM1.50, if I am not wrong! My buddy Zamani (Yod) can verify this. His Nasi Ayam ala Hainan is also the best in the West Bank, simple sauce cili and kicap cair sahaja, sure satisfied and kenyang!
The other food we get from him is rojak and burger at times, not to mention assorted accessories for our daily usage as well.
He had a daughter too, I can’t remember her name, a good looking girl and always helps her parents, this Amoi was schooling back then. By The way, don’t all girls looks good when we were cadets, all confined to barracks, even the Kanak-Kanak OR’s that plays in the Astaka looks pretty!
Nasi Lemak Special – Abdul Rahman Block
Ini cerita khas untuk Kedet Rahman Coy, setiap malam ada Makcik buat nasi lemak, sambal ikan bilis dan ¼ telor dengan sekeping timun aje, dibalut dengan daun pisang off course, itu yang buat sedap sekali. Mahu tidak, lepas makan malam kena pi Prep-Time kat Astaka Block ( classroom Rahman Coy ), so tentukan dah “Tau-Pau” siap siap masuk didalam beg ‘Briefcase’ ala doctor warna hitam atau coklat yang banyak rahsia!
Sampai kelas apa lagi, mum-mum dulu, lepas tu beli air kotak “Teh Bunga” dari kantin bawah pulak, that is the routine of Cadets of Rahman Coy, and there are those that will eat their Nasi Lemak bungkus in the room after prep-hours! Every night that full basket of Nasi Lemak will be ‘sold-out’ for sure, memang sedap, maklum kedet sentiasa lapar, mana cukup makan di cook-house, zat badan tidak cukup, keluar lebih dari masuk tenaganya setiap hari!
Cadets from Rahman Coy seldom would venture into the Cadets officers mess, unless required to, after dinner all will congregate at prep-room till roll-call at 2230hrs, kena panjat tangga dan turun lagi!
No one Lepaks those days - unless those whose names comes up for duty to polish the guns aka ‘meriam’, the floors and clean the toilets.
The Barber – Weekend Chops
Hair-cuts are a must, no matter what happens, if not mistaken once in two weeks, we would line up near the canteen and wait for our turn, the barber is officially open for business during weekends only, otherwise we have the option to do it yourself or there is one OR that comes around too! The chop was RM2.00 only, kalau tidak silap!
The Globe – Ops Orders
The tactics and appreciation phases of war was interesting, the Fatique Group who is nominated to do up the sand model will have hours preparing the model, only to be mutilated by the Instructors when the orders is given by “Lopong Kedet”! The long pointer stick drove fear in all of us, it could just come flying at anyone that falls asleep, I remember very well OC Syed Putra throwing it one day, something which I remember and he forgot, hope some of you have this incident registered! The incident was mentioned in one of our reunion in the MP Officer’s Mess 2 years ago, the OC says me make up stories! He he he! Otherwise he is taking me to the COURT!
Weekend Company Balls – Cari Partners.
This could be the start of all our social adventure as a Cadet and preparing us all to become Pakar when we become officers, the art of ‘MENGURAT’. Can you imagine, some of us came from the “hulus, the kampungs and tempat jin bertendang”, not like some who were already CITY Boys! Not to mention some were already husbands and fathers when they reported for training! If not mistaken ada 3 orang bapak antara KITA! Nama tidak ingat, sila maklumkan skotee!
All the Ex-OR’s, Boys, AFATS etc were One-Up on the rest of us, budak kampung, maybe Cadet CO sahaja ada lain sikit, budak EC dari Johor Baru. Already pakar mengurat, apa tidak weekend dari PD boleh dating kat KL, masa itu sudah canggih pak! Ini RAHSIA BOSAR…hari ini baru di dedahkan, harap tidak kena saman malu le dari Kedet CO!
The Dance – Dewan Tun Templer (DTT)
There were only a few of us Cadets that could actually dance to any kind of music or rhythm, the rest semua kaki joget lambak sahaja, so the CI had a big headache! What was to be done, way back then, to become ‘an officer and a gentlemen’ there were a few criteria which although unwritten but by tradition were expected out of an officer!
So to recollect some QUALITIES:
a. Mesti boleh menyanyi.
b. Mesti boleh berjoget semua jenis tarian – joget, zapin, samasau, disco, waltz, foxtrot, tango, entah apa agi?
c. Mesti pandai mengurat sampai “dapat”!
d. Mesti pandai ‘carry your drinks’!
e. Mesti pandai bercerita!
f. Mesti pandai make a lady feel proud and important, even though she is a ‘nobody’!
g. Pandai sign Cheques dan tentukan dia LOMPAT!
h. Pandai Hisab Rokok dan Cigar!
i. Minum Port & Madiera dan jangan PUSING Kepala!
j. Pandai buat dan jangan kena TANGKAP!
Made to do the dance steps by a very professional dance instructor at the DTT, we were there almost every night before the company level balls started to spin. Not to embarrass ourselves when the “D-Day’ came all of us were preparing for the big party, so we all started to ‘cari nombor talipon’, mana tahu ada yang memang kaki Mess Pegawai Kedet dari Intake yang lepas, veteran group. There were actually a few who were successful in gathering these so called regulars for company balls at Cadet Wing. There were others who weren’t so lucky, and had to “sewa gadis joget” pro dari Bukit Bintang!
I was lucky, kakak ipar saya ada kawan sekolah yang masih bujang di KL, apa lagi kasi kau-tim lor! She was my loyal partner until the last day, commissioning ball pun dia jugak! Now, she is happily married with kids and has migrated to the Yankee Land.
I do not know about the others, heard ada yang offered adik perempuan sendiri kepada skot pun ada, sekadar jadi teman aje pak, nothing more than THAT, mana boleh caya sangat Kedet ini, dulu pun ada kaki hentam pak!
All our OC’s & Instructors
OC Rahman Coy – Major Muslim Yussof (RAMD), the most decorated officer, with all his wings and collar tabs, RANGER, AIRBORNE, PARATROOPER dan Pingat KPK, his story of how he captured a CT alive during operations. He used to say if he had killed the CT maybe he would have got his PGB instead! Well, those days all infantry officers wanted was to go into the jungle and get a shot at it – PGB (Pingat Gila Babi)! Apa tidak ingat senang mahu jumpa CT dan bunuh dia, mesti buat kerja “Gila Babi” beb, mesti berani GILAK brother, they are not like ‘anak ayam’, boleh halau gitu dan sembelih, silap haribulan kita punya kaki pun terbang!
I did asked him why his parents’ named him as such, he said: “they wanted me to become pak IMAM or Ustaz! Anyway, he was a cool guy, seldom gets angry and always a gentlemen, cuma orang kiri-kanan yang buat HAL selalu, itu perkara biasa! Dato’ Muslim retired as a Maj Gen, his last post was the Commander of the Trg Div.
His 2 i/c - Kapt. Hatta(RAMD), that guy is very explosive and expressive, kalau dia mengamok siap lah, habis semua kena hentak sahaja, black board jadi mangsa, zaman dulu belum ada lagi ‘white board’, kena tepuk kuat kuat dan dihentaknya, nasib baik kepala Kedet tidak jadi sasarannya!
Capt Basri Omar PGB (ENGR) – ini kelasik punya instructor, suaranya halus sahaja, orang pun halus jugak nasib baik bukan ‘orang halus’ sampai hari ini masih halus tetapi jiwanya bosar! Berani punya manusia, itu lah sebab dapat PGB, al-kisahnya semasa operasi di GUBIR! He remains one of the most faithful DS who never fails to turn up for our reunion and functions.
Capt Norizan (RRD) – pasal dia lah yang kita 1 x Coy jilat shovel & cangkul! Hish mana boleh lupa pak. Ini semua Ranger punya pasal! Tiap kali ada hal dia yang cari pasal nak lanyak Kedet. Kena rendam, kena extra drill, show parade… I think he was tasked to be the Bad BOY
OC Syed Putra – Maj Kahiruddin (RAMD) this is another terror in RMC, jangan silap sikit kawan mangamok sakan punya. Tanya lah Kedet Syed Putra semua! Today he is our most honoured Guest, all the time never missing out on gatherings and golfing maklum-lah Orang Kampun Sect–Gen! Oiyee! Dato’ Kahiruddin retired as a Lt Gen, as the Corp Commander.
His 2 i/c – cannot be too sure who it was, maybe Capt. Rozli or Capt. Kamsani, anyway Capt. Rozli never changed, he remains what he is, still terrorising cadets in RMC, wonder who was his favourite Cadet? As for Capt. Kamsani, sekali sekala boleh tahan jugak mengamok sakan jugak!
OC ALAM SHAH – Maj Zainal Yan (RAMD) this is the coolest OC, tidak pernah marah atau naik temperature, until today masih kekal dengan senyuman yang manis. How lucky all the Alam Shah Cadets were! A typical Sandhurst MA trained officer, the best student and sword of honour recipient indeed deserving! But he retired real early as a Lt Col only, the forces lost out on an excellent true officer and gentlemen.
2 i/c never could remember who….. there was the late Capt. Rahman Koya (RRD), Capt. Ali (CDO) and one more…..! Capt Ali was the guy who broke the ear-drum of Subit Chuan, kena pelempang JEPUN, mind you Subit was a RMAF cadet! Luckily, no serious damage and Subit still flies till this very day!
RMN Cadets in RMC
This group of Midshipmen lead by none other than Dato’ Jamil & Dato’ Musa was to be commissioned together with us as Intake 34, they were Intake 20 RMN. Imagine after almost 2 years of training, they were sent to RMC for the last 3 months prior to commissioning, they were told to carry packs and ‘dig trenches’! What a cultural shock, but those were the days when an officer is expected to know everything, may it be land, sea or air battles and how it was fought. At least they have and insight as to what their brother officers are doing on the ground inside the BUSH! I think it was the right thing to do!
SO, one fine day the bunch of RMN Cadets absent morning PT, apa lagi@ kawan baik kita mengamok le: “Kedet Navy semua forward roll turun BUKIT”! So the story goes, hope they learnt their expensive lesson not to fool around with HIM!
RSM Mat Joe also had some pening kepala with RMN Cadets, apasal tak boleh hentak kaki semua, cacat ke? Tak boleh CIK ! Kapal tenggelam nanti kalau hentak kaki! Tarik boleh CIK! Lantak le kamu semua – JONAH!
Anyway, we had a short stint as a group and it took some years before we were reunited again with a fostering of brotherhood with them participating in our most recent 33rd & 34th Reunion Gathering. Hope many more would come forward the next do!
Cadet Rank Holders
Cadet CO – Akhtar Zainuddin ( Rahman )
Cadet Adjutant – Shamsuddin ( Syed Putra )
Cadet RSM – Kandiah ( Alam Shah)
OC Rahman – Ibrahim LABU
CSM Rahman – Samsuddin ‘Jonah’
OC Alam Shah – ??????
OC Syed Putra - Mutalib
I can’t recall all the rank holders – please those who can…insert their names, TQ!
The other officers in RMC the likes of Rozi Baharom, Adri Johan, Che Rose, still a few more, there were two RMAF officers – one was a Singh and another China man..apa nama dah lupa…..?
Off course the Comdt, Col Nik Fakaruddin and CI, Lt Col Hussin Ali Piah
Nanti sambung cerita….
RSM MAT JOE – HIS LOVELY GIRLS
Ini al-kisah dan cerita lama tetapi ‘benar’!
Our beloved RSM Mat Joe (deceased) had lovely and pretty daughters during our Cadet days in RMC, apa lagi ada kutu hantar ‘Surat Cinta’ secara ‘Drop Mail’ kepada mereka. Surat dihantar semasa lari petang beb! I can’t remember correctly how many daughters and who did IT, but rest assured it was done with a purpose! Sila maklumkan kepada saya jika ingat who that daring Cadet is!
Whoever walks through the gates of RMC at that time will never ever forget our flamboyant RSM, he is one hell of a character, maklumlah Orang Lama dan Askar Lama type!
He will walk the corridors of all the 3 Wings including our dorms, classrooms, the canteen and cookhouse. Nothing can go unnoticed by HIM, with his peak cap, pace-stick and stable-belt, all shined to perfection. His voice can boom across the parade square like a lion roaring into any space! His favourite spot is at the foyer below the RMC HQ block, his eyes will scan the area like an eagle, anything that moves will catch his attention, who so ever caught not marching or walking up-right shall measure the parade square *(ukur padan kawad)!
I will always remember the Kawad Pedang or Sword Drill sessions just before the commissioning parade proper was conducted and rehearse for do not know how many donkey times! One day one of us, while doing the drill was a bit ‘sloopey’, his remarks were: “Kedet Aku akan cucuk perut kau sampai MATI”! One day he was so annoyed with our Kawad that he threw his pace-stick and it broke into 2 pieces, he shouted: “Kedet Aku Debit Kau Semua Sebatang Tongkat Kayu Ni”!
Another incident was when we were all marching out the parade ground as we completed the rehearsal, he was standing at the side and was supposedly to SALUTE US ALL! This was in fact the marching out after the commissioning parade where we were deem as commission officers! He shouted:”Tak ingin aku Tabaik Kau Semua Kedet Lopong”! But on the actual day he did us all proud, he was our mentor and father, he gave his smartest salute with pride and honour! Incidentally, he was appointed as our first RSM TD after he left RMC. We shall never forget this wonderful character call ‘MAT JOE’, semoga rohnya bersama orang-orang yang beriman, amin.
Philip Canteen – his daughters
This is another icon in RMC, his food is good and reasonable, the only setback is when he is Mabuk! Cadets will miss the good food, and will lapaq during the weekends! The other problem is when his wife gets angry with him, sudah kalah judi pulak..no funds to buy the grubs!
Otherwise, kita makan sedap selalu…nasi lemak with telor, ikan bilis, timun and one air sirap all within budget of RM1.50, if I am not wrong! My buddy Zamani (Yod) can verify this. His Nasi Ayam ala Hainan is also the best in the West Bank, simple sauce cili and kicap cair sahaja, sure satisfied and kenyang!
The other food we get from him is rojak and burger at times, not to mention assorted accessories for our daily usage as well.
He had a daughter too, I can’t remember her name, a good looking girl and always helps her parents, this Amoi was schooling back then. By The way, don’t all girls looks good when we were cadets, all confined to barracks, even the Kanak-Kanak OR’s that plays in the Astaka looks pretty!
Nasi Lemak Special – Abdul Rahman Block
Ini cerita khas untuk Kedet Rahman Coy, setiap malam ada Makcik buat nasi lemak, sambal ikan bilis dan ¼ telor dengan sekeping timun aje, dibalut dengan daun pisang off course, itu yang buat sedap sekali. Mahu tidak, lepas makan malam kena pi Prep-Time kat Astaka Block ( classroom Rahman Coy ), so tentukan dah “Tau-Pau” siap siap masuk didalam beg ‘Briefcase’ ala doctor warna hitam atau coklat yang banyak rahsia!
Sampai kelas apa lagi, mum-mum dulu, lepas tu beli air kotak “Teh Bunga” dari kantin bawah pulak, that is the routine of Cadets of Rahman Coy, and there are those that will eat their Nasi Lemak bungkus in the room after prep-hours! Every night that full basket of Nasi Lemak will be ‘sold-out’ for sure, memang sedap, maklum kedet sentiasa lapar, mana cukup makan di cook-house, zat badan tidak cukup, keluar lebih dari masuk tenaganya setiap hari!
Cadets from Rahman Coy seldom would venture into the Cadets officers mess, unless required to, after dinner all will congregate at prep-room till roll-call at 2230hrs, kena panjat tangga dan turun lagi!
No one Lepaks those days - unless those whose names comes up for duty to polish the guns aka ‘meriam’, the floors and clean the toilets.
The Barber – Weekend Chops
Hair-cuts are a must, no matter what happens, if not mistaken once in two weeks, we would line up near the canteen and wait for our turn, the barber is officially open for business during weekends only, otherwise we have the option to do it yourself or there is one OR that comes around too! The chop was RM2.00 only, kalau tidak silap!
The Globe – Ops Orders
The tactics and appreciation phases of war was interesting, the Fatique Group who is nominated to do up the sand model will have hours preparing the model, only to be mutilated by the Instructors when the orders is given by “Lopong Kedet”! The long pointer stick drove fear in all of us, it could just come flying at anyone that falls asleep, I remember very well OC Syed Putra throwing it one day, something which I remember and he forgot, hope some of you have this incident registered! The incident was mentioned in one of our reunion in the MP Officer’s Mess 2 years ago, the OC says me make up stories! He he he! Otherwise he is taking me to the COURT!
Weekend Company Balls – Cari Partners.
This could be the start of all our social adventure as a Cadet and preparing us all to become Pakar when we become officers, the art of ‘MENGURAT’. Can you imagine, some of us came from the “hulus, the kampungs and tempat jin bertendang”, not like some who were already CITY Boys! Not to mention some were already husbands and fathers when they reported for training! If not mistaken ada 3 orang bapak antara KITA! Nama tidak ingat, sila maklumkan skotee!
All the Ex-OR’s, Boys, AFATS etc were One-Up on the rest of us, budak kampung, maybe Cadet CO sahaja ada lain sikit, budak EC dari Johor Baru. Already pakar mengurat, apa tidak weekend dari PD boleh dating kat KL, masa itu sudah canggih pak! Ini RAHSIA BOSAR…hari ini baru di dedahkan, harap tidak kena saman malu le dari Kedet CO!
The Dance – Dewan Tun Templer (DTT)
There were only a few of us Cadets that could actually dance to any kind of music or rhythm, the rest semua kaki joget lambak sahaja, so the CI had a big headache! What was to be done, way back then, to become ‘an officer and a gentlemen’ there were a few criteria which although unwritten but by tradition were expected out of an officer!
So to recollect some QUALITIES:
a. Mesti boleh menyanyi.
b. Mesti boleh berjoget semua jenis tarian – joget, zapin, samasau, disco, waltz, foxtrot, tango, entah apa agi?
c. Mesti pandai mengurat sampai “dapat”!
d. Mesti pandai ‘carry your drinks’!
e. Mesti pandai bercerita!
f. Mesti pandai make a lady feel proud and important, even though she is a ‘nobody’!
g. Pandai sign Cheques dan tentukan dia LOMPAT!
h. Pandai Hisab Rokok dan Cigar!
i. Minum Port & Madiera dan jangan PUSING Kepala!
j. Pandai buat dan jangan kena TANGKAP!
Made to do the dance steps by a very professional dance instructor at the DTT, we were there almost every night before the company level balls started to spin. Not to embarrass ourselves when the “D-Day’ came all of us were preparing for the big party, so we all started to ‘cari nombor talipon’, mana tahu ada yang memang kaki Mess Pegawai Kedet dari Intake yang lepas, veteran group. There were actually a few who were successful in gathering these so called regulars for company balls at Cadet Wing. There were others who weren’t so lucky, and had to “sewa gadis joget” pro dari Bukit Bintang!
I was lucky, kakak ipar saya ada kawan sekolah yang masih bujang di KL, apa lagi kasi kau-tim lor! She was my loyal partner until the last day, commissioning ball pun dia jugak! Now, she is happily married with kids and has migrated to the Yankee Land.
I do not know about the others, heard ada yang offered adik perempuan sendiri kepada skot pun ada, sekadar jadi teman aje pak, nothing more than THAT, mana boleh caya sangat Kedet ini, dulu pun ada kaki hentam pak!
All our OC’s & Instructors
OC Rahman Coy – Major Muslim Yussof (RAMD), the most decorated officer, with all his wings and collar tabs, RANGER, AIRBORNE, PARATROOPER dan Pingat KPK, his story of how he captured a CT alive during operations. He used to say if he had killed the CT maybe he would have got his PGB instead! Well, those days all infantry officers wanted was to go into the jungle and get a shot at it – PGB (Pingat Gila Babi)! Apa tidak ingat senang mahu jumpa CT dan bunuh dia, mesti buat kerja “Gila Babi” beb, mesti berani GILAK brother, they are not like ‘anak ayam’, boleh halau gitu dan sembelih, silap haribulan kita punya kaki pun terbang!
I did asked him why his parents’ named him as such, he said: “they wanted me to become pak IMAM or Ustaz! Anyway, he was a cool guy, seldom gets angry and always a gentlemen, cuma orang kiri-kanan yang buat HAL selalu, itu perkara biasa! Dato’ Muslim retired as a Maj Gen, his last post was the Commander of the Trg Div.
His 2 i/c - Kapt. Hatta(RAMD), that guy is very explosive and expressive, kalau dia mengamok siap lah, habis semua kena hentak sahaja, black board jadi mangsa, zaman dulu belum ada lagi ‘white board’, kena tepuk kuat kuat dan dihentaknya, nasib baik kepala Kedet tidak jadi sasarannya!
Capt Basri Omar PGB (ENGR) – ini kelasik punya instructor, suaranya halus sahaja, orang pun halus jugak nasib baik bukan ‘orang halus’ sampai hari ini masih halus tetapi jiwanya bosar! Berani punya manusia, itu lah sebab dapat PGB, al-kisahnya semasa operasi di GUBIR! He remains one of the most faithful DS who never fails to turn up for our reunion and functions.
Capt Norizan (RRD) – pasal dia lah yang kita 1 x Coy jilat shovel & cangkul! Hish mana boleh lupa pak. Ini semua Ranger punya pasal! Tiap kali ada hal dia yang cari pasal nak lanyak Kedet. Kena rendam, kena extra drill, show parade… I think he was tasked to be the Bad BOY
OC Syed Putra – Maj Kahiruddin (RAMD) this is another terror in RMC, jangan silap sikit kawan mangamok sakan punya. Tanya lah Kedet Syed Putra semua! Today he is our most honoured Guest, all the time never missing out on gatherings and golfing maklum-lah Orang Kampun Sect–Gen! Oiyee! Dato’ Kahiruddin retired as a Lt Gen, as the Corp Commander.
His 2 i/c – cannot be too sure who it was, maybe Capt. Rozli or Capt. Kamsani, anyway Capt. Rozli never changed, he remains what he is, still terrorising cadets in RMC, wonder who was his favourite Cadet? As for Capt. Kamsani, sekali sekala boleh tahan jugak mengamok sakan jugak!
OC ALAM SHAH – Maj Zainal Yan (RAMD) this is the coolest OC, tidak pernah marah atau naik temperature, until today masih kekal dengan senyuman yang manis. How lucky all the Alam Shah Cadets were! A typical Sandhurst MA trained officer, the best student and sword of honour recipient indeed deserving! But he retired real early as a Lt Col only, the forces lost out on an excellent true officer and gentlemen.
2 i/c never could remember who….. there was the late Capt. Rahman Koya (RRD), Capt. Ali (CDO) and one more…..! Capt Ali was the guy who broke the ear-drum of Subit Chuan, kena pelempang JEPUN, mind you Subit was a RMAF cadet! Luckily, no serious damage and Subit still flies till this very day!
RMN Cadets in RMC
This group of Midshipmen lead by none other than Dato’ Jamil & Dato’ Musa was to be commissioned together with us as Intake 34, they were Intake 20 RMN. Imagine after almost 2 years of training, they were sent to RMC for the last 3 months prior to commissioning, they were told to carry packs and ‘dig trenches’! What a cultural shock, but those were the days when an officer is expected to know everything, may it be land, sea or air battles and how it was fought. At least they have and insight as to what their brother officers are doing on the ground inside the BUSH! I think it was the right thing to do!
SO, one fine day the bunch of RMN Cadets absent morning PT, apa lagi@ kawan baik kita mengamok le: “Kedet Navy semua forward roll turun BUKIT”! So the story goes, hope they learnt their expensive lesson not to fool around with HIM!
RSM Mat Joe also had some pening kepala with RMN Cadets, apasal tak boleh hentak kaki semua, cacat ke? Tak boleh CIK ! Kapal tenggelam nanti kalau hentak kaki! Tarik boleh CIK! Lantak le kamu semua – JONAH!
Anyway, we had a short stint as a group and it took some years before we were reunited again with a fostering of brotherhood with them participating in our most recent 33rd & 34th Reunion Gathering. Hope many more would come forward the next do!
Cadet Rank Holders
Cadet CO – Akhtar Zainuddin ( Rahman )
Cadet Adjutant – Shamsuddin ( Syed Putra )
Cadet RSM – Kandiah ( Alam Shah)
OC Rahman – Ibrahim LABU
CSM Rahman – Samsuddin ‘Jonah’
OC Alam Shah – ??????
OC Syed Putra - Mutalib
I can’t recall all the rank holders – please those who can…insert their names, TQ!
The other officers in RMC the likes of Rozi Baharom, Adri Johan, Che Rose, still a few more, there were two RMAF officers – one was a Singh and another China man..apa nama dah lupa…..?
Off course the Comdt, Col Nik Fakaruddin and CI, Lt Col Hussin Ali Piah
Nanti sambung cerita….
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