Balancing in Achieving – Story of an NCO & Prefect

Written by Corporal Brendan Eu Che-Jie, 12^th Kuala Lumpur Company

September 7th, 2014

Life in Boys’ Brigade is just like an endless voyage, probably mysterious as well because you can never expect what you are going to get. Over the years, I had witnessed the growth of many Recruits from different batches to rise to become the leaders of the company. Of all these potential Recruits, one of them is Corporal  Yap Ming Yang. It all began when Ming Yang who came all the way from Kundang, Selangor to begin his second ary education over here at Wesley Methodist School, Kuala Lumpur. “No one from Kundang has studied in Wesley Methodist. So, I felt lonely and afraid because everything seem so new to me,” echoed Corporal Yap Ming Yang. Plus, he wasn’t exposed to any uniformed unit in his primary school days. Thus, joining the Boys’ Brigade was a whole new exposure for him, and as BB is a Christian Uniformed Organisation, Ming Yang was also fresh to the Gospel. “When I was Form 1, we were required to join Chapel services on every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.” Ming Yang’s journey as a fellow Boy began officially from 14^thJanuary 2012.

It was quite a challenge for Ming Yang to cope with his syllabuses and curricular activities as everything was a fresh new start for Ming Yang. “At the beginning of the year, the English-based assignments were a challenge to me because I was brought up in a Chinese background family. Fortunately, my mother bought me workbooks and the teachers were friendly in assisting me. Soon, it wasn’t that hard anymore.” Although he experienced a brief culture shock in his first few months of studying in Wesley Methodist School Kua la Lumpur, he managed to overcome it. He said, “The school was great in every way especially the discipline. It was well upheld and there were no issues so far.”

Ming Yang’s journey in The Boys’ Brigade was just like a box of chocolates. New and interesting stuff always seems to appear, and he never knows what he is going to get. Many valuable life lessons could be learnt through Boys’ Brigade and personally I myself have gained a lot through BB, so did Ming Yang. Every Recruit in BB was first introduced to the “punishment” system, and things were definitely harsh back then. “It was pretty scary at first but I think this is the reason why I’m more disciplined than I was back then,” Ming Yang claimed. “I was very shy and quiet when I first joined. Frankly speaking, I did not enjoy much in BB as I dare not speak up in front of people. Pesta 2012 Johor Bahru was the turning point when I almost gave up. After the memorable Pesta 2012, I could see many members of our company bonded with each other better and we were more united. Everyone really enjoyed the times in BB after Pesta. It encouraged me to stay on.” Gladly, Ming Yang made this firm decision and it did not even cross his mind that he will be groomed into a future leader of the Company. 

Year 2013 was a fruitful year for Ming Yang. He was elected as a Probationary Prefect back in April 2013. Being a school Prefect was never easy as misunderstandings and conflicts will rise along the way as one tries to maintain and uphold the school reputation. Soon, even more burden was placed on his shoulders. On the annual Enrolment Day of 12^th Kuala Lumpur Company in June 2013, Ming Yang was promoted to a Lance Corporal. He illustrated these three things as fragile as glass bottles – studies, Prefect post and his NCO duties. “I was like a clown juggling three glass bottles; if I dropped any of them, a crack will be formed.” Therefore, Ming Yang was extremely careful when dealing these three delicate “bottles”, especially when he is dealing three at once. Pressure almost pressed him down when his mid-term results dropped. His parents were unhappy that he was too busy with Prefect’s duty and BB instead of doing what a normal student should do – study.

Although there were lots of tasks and responsibilities assigned, Ming Yang did not utter a word of complaint. Instead, he took on the challenge with a bright smile and gives his very best in everything he does. This was all because he had a simple principle of life which he picked up form a book he read, “The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have.”

 “I believed that even at worst of times, good packages will still be delivered by the door. Our very own Boys’ Brigade march past team had emerged champions for three years straight. After all the physical bearings that we went through, it was worth everything. I could also vividly remember that I was one of the youngest 12^th KL BB and 3^rd KL GB joint Camp Committee and I had learned a lot from this.”

Ming Yang also has joined the Drumline team at the beginning of last year when it was first introduced. However, things did not go on well because most of the members were not consistent in attending Drumline practices. Not long after, the Drumline instructor, Mr Helmi has gone overseas to study. There were no practices for few months until our Officer, Lieutenant Andrew Tan who has joined the school in June and later taking over drumline section. We managed to hire a part time instructor, Mr Haziq to train the drumline members on Fridays from 3.30pm – 5.00pm. As Year End Examinations were around the corner then, the drumline members only had approximately two months of practice before they took a break.

This year, Mr Haziq has joined on board as the school PE Teacher and it was definitely a great piece of news. With the guidance of Mr Haziq and under the supervision of Mr Andrew Tan, one of Lieutenant, practices were then scheduled to Saturdays at 1pm – 3pm after parade. Ever since then, the Drumline Team was given the opportunity to perform especially during the School Sports Day. “I was very proud when we were given the recognition.” Ming Yang remarked, “All our hard works paid off when we saw the amazed faces and heard waves after waves of thundering cheers from the audience. The feeling cannot be described through words. All have to say is that we definitely felt proud when we kept our sticks and saluted the guest of honour to mark the end of our performance.”

The three years in Wesley Methodist School have definitely made a change in Ming Yang’s life. A person who dared not speak up has changed and become one of the leaders commanding in the frontline – he has become braver. “The two uniformed bodies that I joined; the Prefects’ Board and Boys’ Brigade had imparted me many essential life lessons. I was trained in perfecting my leadership qualities, and I learned all this when I was promoted to Lance Corporal in the Boys’ Brigade and being appointed as a Lower Secondary Coordinator in Prefects’ Board. I would say it is going to be useful in the future.”

Ming Yang has been promoted to Corporal in the Enrolment held in July 2014. “More challenges await me as I was promoted to Corporal two months ago. It is going to be tough but I think it is worth it when I made lots of friends and comrades in BB and Prefects’ Board. As my life goes on, I’ll experience more and I’m sure that what I have learnt today will be useful for tomorrow,” said Ming Yang, “I’ll quote a famous catchphrase from our very own prefects from Wesley Methodist School, The Voyage Never Ends”. Keep up the good work, Corporal Yap Ming Yang!