Posted on 24-Oct-2014
Written by Sergeant Jack Lim Kuan Wei of 12th Kuala Lumpur Company
October 2nd, 2014
“Within a wink of an eye, it has been 3 years since I first joined 12th Kuala Lumpur Boys’ Brigade. Ever since I joined BB, I have learned a lot along the way and gained so much from it. My friends kept asking me how I came to enjoy BB meetings and be so committed to this uniformed unit, and I always ended up telling them about how I got into this the first place,” echoed Corporal Nicholas Ng with a warm gesture.
Nicholas was first introduced to The Boys’ Brigade, three years ago, when he first enrolled into Wesley Methodist School Kuala Lumpur as Form 1 student. After the informational presentation made by the Captain, he decided to join the uniformed unit. He recalled that he was anxiously anticipating for the Saturday even though he wasn’t used to getting up early on Saturdays. Hence, he actually missed his first ever BB meeting on that Saturday. Rather disappointed, Nicholas was still motivated and put a reminder so that he would not miss the next parade on the next Saturday.
Keeping his spirit high, Nicholas couldn’t wait for the following weekend to come so that he could attend the first BB Parade ever. And soon, that big day came and this time he was there as a Recruit. He recalled saying, “The first parade was rather awkward for me. I was in a totally different environment. For the first time, I was following random orders and did pushups for any wrongdoings.” He admitted that he actually regretted then having to join BB as drill was never his cup of tea in the first place. However, his friends managed to persuade him to stay on and he stayed on. From then, he hardly missed his BB parade or events. In fact BB has been part of his Saturday’s routines ever since.
Nicholas’s love for BB grew and his perceptions on the uniformed unit took a fresh view after he attended the PESTA 2012 in Johor Bahru. With gleaming eyes as he recalled, “PESTA 2012 made me fell in love with BB again and for the first time I felt that this was what I’m suited for. I turned over a new leaf; completely changed from a Private who never or hardly polished his uniform parts to the one who takes pride in having the shiniest boots and belts and neat and tidy uniform.”
When he heard on the promotion from to an NCO, Nicholas’ spirit was spurred and getting the promotion became his short term goal. Then Private Nicholas Ng (now of course a Corporal), joined on board of my Company’s Leadership Team – a team of boys who are committed and wanted to serve the Company in various ways, volunteering to help the Officers to run the Company. He was determined to work hard and to learn as much as he could. Gradually, Nicholas has gotten what it took to be a leader, making progress towards NCO along the way. His hard labour reaped some fruits when he was announced as the best Recruit in 2012 during the Awards Day 2012. Subsequently, he enrolled himself into BNTS and he was confident that he would be an NCO one day.
“God was with me all along the way and soon enough the BNTS results came out. I passed BNTS and was the top scorer among other participants,” said Nicholas in a confident tone. But that was just the beginning. As the top scorer our captain, Mr. Nicholas Yeap had high hopes for him and gave him bigger and heavier responsibilities. Nicholas remarked, “The day came where everyone would receive their badges and I was crossing my fingers, hoping to get promoted. When my name was called among those getting promoted, I jumped for joy as I have achieved my goal! That was where I began my journey being an NCO.”
When asked on expectation, Nicholas has this to say, “As expected, I was given loads of tasks and responsibilities and sure enough it got tougher and tougher, yet I still stay committed to the post I held, even when it took most of my studying time.” The then Lance Corporal Nicholas Ng was chosen to be the commander for our Drill Team during our internal drill camp. Everyone was pressured as the KL State Drill Competition was only about 3 months away and the heavier responsibility fell on Nicholas’ shoulder. After loads of hours of tiring practice sessions we had as a team, the day had dawned in and we were prepared.
Nicholas said, “I was confident yet nervous as it was my first time. Although we did not win the competition, it was an experience that I would never forget.” And the same goes for the rest of the Drill Team Members – it was an experience that none of us would forget.
Apart from drill, Nicholas is also an active drumline member. He is glad to have joined the Drumline Team as it gives him more opportunities to perform and so far the team had performed in about 4 events this year. It was tough balancing drumline, drill and my NCO duties. But God was with me and blessed me through hardship.
One of the memorable moments this year is Pesta Kampar 2014. Everyone, including Nicholas, was really excited. For Nicholas, it was his second Pesta. He made many new friends as well as enjoyed having great fellowship with the Members. Nicholas said, “I even met some of my old friends who were in BB in another company in my old church, and one of them is already a Primer now.”
Thank God that we have few other NCOs, namely Lance Corporals Siew Hui Zhuan and Nigel Ng to help out taking charge of Drumline and Drill teams, while Nicholas focus more on uniform.
Before he ended his sharing, Nicholas made this remark, “It has been a great 3 years as a BB Boy and I can tell that blue blood runs through my veins. There were times where I felt I have to give up, followed with criticism from non-BB friends, but I still stayed true to my heart. I was glad that I made the decision to be a BB Boy.”
One thing that we all could agree is once we join BB, definitely we would have learned to be disciplined as well as to discipline others. BB has taught us so many valuable life lessons that one may not develop without BB. To all the BB Members out there reading this, Nicholas echoed, “Right now all I want to say to the others is to keep believing and never give up even when we face trials, because if we have hope, even it is a little, we will be able to achieve our goals. And most importantly, we should have faith that God is in control and He is always by our side standing watch, blessing us along the way. As always, be Sure and Stedfast in everything you do and that way nothing is impossible.”
Page Created: 24th October 2014
Late Updated: 24th October 2014