The Testimony of Mr. Darryn Chiew: KL State Boys' Brigade

Written by Lance Corporal Hoshea Tiang Xuan Rong of 12^th Kuala Lumpur Company

October 23rd, 2014

I knew Mr. Darryn Chiew through one of my BB friends who introduced me to him at the start of this year. He joined the Boys’ Brigade in 1998 in the Junior Section of the 3rd Kuala Lumpur Company when he was 10 years old at the urging of two of his friends. At the start, he was just there for the fun and games and was not that interested in the badges, skills and achievements. One of the notable skills he learnt through BB in the Junior Section was sewing. Even now, he still uses this skill that he learnt in the Junior Section when he needs any tailoring work on his uniform.

After a few years, he transitioned to the Senior Section. Since he was from the Junior Section, he already had a bit of background knowledge on BB so it was quite an easy transition. He mentioned that on his first year in the Senior Section, he only managed to sit for his Target Badge at the end of the year because of some administrative difficulties. When the target results came out, he found out he had scored 100 marks in his target test (including knot-tying, identifying bugle-calls, lyrics of songs) and was deeply encouraged by this.

When he attended his first Pesta in Kuching in December 2001, which was when he was Form 1, he didn’t have any badges except Bronze Scholastics and Junior Service. He also said this Pesta was one of his most treasured memories because it was his first time interacting with people from other Companies. There, he bought 5 badges from BB Thailand which was selling some of their unique cloth badges there. This was then that he started on his official badges collection. After that, he only managed to collect souvenir badges from special events because the internet was not that common. However, after years of collecting badges, he now has badges from at least 10 different countries!

He was promoted to a Lance Corporal in Form 3, followed by the rank of Corporal in Form 4 and sergeant in Form 5. After a few years, he was promoted to an Officer. "At first it was a bit difficult. As you know, one of my main interests in BB was badges. Not being able to wear badges anymore was quite a strange feeling at first. However, we all have to grow up someday. I guess I was slightly lucky because after roughly 2 years of wearing white (I was appointed at age 19), I served as a Staff Sergeant in the 7th Bristol Company for a few months, so that gave me a short period to experience wearing badges again."

He has found a few differences between the BB in Malaysia and in the UK. Some of those differences are the activities in the UK are more laid back and their awards are given for participation rather than examinations. However, he says that he thinks its not possible all aspects directly because different companies have different systems of running, whether in Malaysia or the UK. "So it’s difficult to compare in general, but they still welcomed me as a BB member. BB family is indeed worldwide."

Page Created: 16th November 2014
Last Updated: 16th November 2014