Congratulations...and welcome to our world

I just got back from Tioman Island. Weather was good, viz was good...kind of makes up for the 1 hour wait for the ferry to start moving.

It was a good trip...well....any dive trip is a good trip for me. I had students with me, open water students. Land walking creatures converting themselves to aquanauts. The anticipation was high. The excitement was reflected in their eyes.

BEFORE 'conversion'

My hats off to the following students...oppss...I meant divers...Amanda Kay Zeltner, Ardy & Ryzah Hisham... who have crossed over and become part of the underwater community. They have done well and made my job easy.

A special mention also for my other student, Siew Lian, whom at the last moment could not join us for the trip as her grandma passed away (My condolences to her and family). She is small sized (the tank is ¾ of her) but has an enormous amount of determination to do the course.

A special mention for Nathan, Amanda’s significant other, who has been a driving force in setting the pace for her venture into the underwater world. All of us liked the couple as they are among the nicest ‘mat salleh’ couple we had ever met.

For the graduation dinner, I wore the nicest tshirt I had with me. The feeling is like a father giving away his daughter's hand for marriage. I saw them migrate from being the helpless students in the pool to being graceful divers in the sea, even at 18m. When I handed over their temporary diver’s certification cards, I could see the satisfaction in their eyes. As an educator, that’s the most satisfying reward for me and urges me on to continuously strive to be a better instructor. After all, that's what education is all about...continuous learning.

AFTER 'conversion'
(with the rest of the gang)

Again, congratulations.
P/S: Photos contributed by Lyn & Ryzah

Good bye 2007

Wahh….its been a long time since I had posted anything here in my blog. The last entry was April 2007. I missed out on this whole blogging concept. I was procrastinating every time I came back from a trip or operations. By the time I planned to start blogging, it was time for another trip or operations. This was also true when something major occurs in my life.

Well, this year, I made a vow, though not a strong one, but a vow nevertheless, to at least blog once a month.

Lets summarize 2007….

2007 has held a few significant changes in my life. I have backed out from a biz venture, one that was started based on my ideas and my dreams. I planned it for 2 years and invited 1 good friend on board. Then we decided to invite another ‘friend’ (at that point of time) because we don’t want him to ‘kecik hati’. I was running it FOC for almost 3 years as Operations Chief.

Huh…at first I had remained quiet…handed over the running of the shop and just kept quiet. I minded my own biz but guess what? Taking the shop was insufficient for these people. They had to bitch me also. They started to be bolt and wrote some stuff about me on their blog. Then I guess that’s not good enough and they decided…hei! Why don’t we write it on the company’s website…which they did. Now I am contemplating to sue their asses off but since they don’t worth s**t, I couldn’t be bothered.

This is typical example of a malay proverb “kacang lupakan kulit”. Even another malay proverb “kera dapat bunga” could also be used to describe these people. But you know what? God is GREAT…I don’t feel a thing. In fact, I just laughed…honest truth…I just laughed. “Ibarat membuka pekung di dada”…another great malay proverb. Its pity when you have eyes but you can’t see, you have a heart but you can’t judge (ada mata tak boleh melihat, ada hati tak boleh menilai).

I sure wish that they would grow up. Even though they are old, but they are not a penny wiser. Legally I still have a share in that company. I haven’t seen any biz financial report. I haven’t signed any legal documents for some of the transactions they had made. Maybe its time I get ‘someone’ to have a look. Maybe that will shut them up.

2007 was also the year when I finally bought my own 4 wheel drive. It’s not new, but I had modified it and now I call it ‘anak gajah’ simply because it is built like one. It’s my life long dream to own one. This year I decided before I die, I have to get one. You see, I love the outdoors, be it the forest or the sea. It’s where one goes to be part of nature, to look and admire the beautiful creation of the Al Mighty. Then we can reach into our inner soul and discover who we really are. Then we can laugh off the stupidity and the arrogance of other people who try their might to hurt us.

Mind you, I am not pious, I don’t go around telling people “I nak gi solat jap” or asking people “you dah solat dah?”. To me, the relationship between us and our creator is so sacred, pure and intimate that no one should know. Why should they? I know people who may look ‘modern’ but they are way better in terms of ethics and morals.

2007 was also the year I was directly involved in some major operations. One of the infamous one was Ops Nuri, the ill fated helicopter that crashed off Genting Sempah. What I saw was a very big group of people, from various backgrounds, converging to help out. We (JPAM-Malaysian Civil Defence Force), a total strength of 138 was there at Institut Aminuddin Baki under the command of Maj Gen Dato’ Soheimi, Panglima 4 Div. Combined with the Malaysian Armed Forces, there were more than 1000 in strength. Every unit was represented, the PASKAU, PASKAL, Green Berets, Para…even the combat sniffer dogs were there. The spirit of our Armed Forces that I admire is the Esprit de Corp. They look after one another….AND…they never leave anyone behind. The JPAM guys were there side by side. Ops went on for 24/7, day or night, rain or shine.

2007 was also the year where I went diving overseas the most. I was there in Hin Daeng (Thailand) twice, Similan (Thailand), Tulamben Bali (Indonesia), Lembeh Manado (Indonesia) just to name a few apart from the various local dive destinations. What amazes me is the level of awareness about tourism among the population. Almost everyone has the mentality to be helpful and courteous to the tourist. Their roads may not be the widest in Asia, some as big as our kampong roads and their buildings definitely not modern looking, but their logistics is surprisingly efficient. Maybe we can learn from them as to how they inculcate these values among the people.

2007 was also the year that I started to loose friends. No…it wasn’t due to quarreling or misunderstanding. Loose meaning they got transferred to another state, continued their education locally and overseas, got married, have kids etc. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy for them and we still do keep in touch. Its just things are and shall never be the same. No more wacky, crazy running around the country or even overseas with our heavy dive bags with an impromptu scheduling.

I won’t mention their names here, but I guess if they are reading this, then they’ll know who they are. I just want to say thank you for those good times and I shall always treasure those memories till the day I die. Even now when I look back at the photos, I just laugh by myself. Next to my own family, I guess I consider them as my ‘next-in-line’ family members’ maybe?

Well, I just wave goodbye to 2007 and welcome 2008.

X-Kenyir...challenging mind & body

Recently I was involved with the X-Kenyir. In case you haven't figured it out, it stands for "Exercise Kenyir". It was the brainchild of the Director General of the Malaysian Civil Defence Force.

There were 3 phase that the teams have to complete.

Phase 1

The teams must depart from base camp and head for Sg Cicir by speedboat. The journey takes about 1.5 hours. Upon arrival, teams must hike up the Gunung and camp for the night. The next day, they have to trek back down and head back to base camp.






Phase 2

Teams must depart from from base camp and head for Gua Bewah. The journey takes about 2 hours. Teams must complete 2 sections. Section 1 is where the team must rappel down about 100 ft, administer first aid and secure the victim, and then hoist up the victim including all team members. Section 2 is where the team members conduct search & rescue (SAR) in the cave itself, locate the 5 victims, administer first aid and evacuate them.








Phase 3

Teams must complete 2 sections. Section 1 is where the 'rescuer' must throw a life line 25m to a victim and succesfully conduct a water rescue. Section 2 is where the 'rescuer' must enter the water and swim 50m to the victim and do a chest tow back to shore.




The competition is by zone, namely the Northern, Central, Southern, Eastern and West Malaysia. The first place went to Eastern. Best leader award went to Lt (PA) Zabri from Terengganu.

Where was I amidst all these events? I was there on the rescue boat, part of the water rescue dive team. I went diving 3 times while I was in Kenyir. Collected some 'kupang' about the size of a boy's palm which was in abundance (because no one crazy enough to dive there kot). I came face to face with an ikan toman (snake head), medium size. As I was just wearing my lycra shorts and without a dive knife, I was afraid that the sight of my exposed thighs were just too tempting to the ikan toman. It just stared at me without any sign of backing off. Since I was in his terratory, I bowed out. Learn to respect other life forms...human or otherwise.

What makes them special?

The 'new' Ketua Pengarah (KP), Lieutenant General (PA) Hj Nasir bin Mat Dam has continuously emphasized on the need for better training and preparation in face of disaster. He also emphasize on the need to get recognized trainers to run such training programs. Recently, JPA3 had recruited more than 300 new officers to fill in the various vacancies in the department. As 'permanent' staff, KP had ordered that they have to go through 6 months of intensive training, covering all aspect of operations.

One of the course is the Search and Rescue (SAR) course - Jungle Survival phase, which I had the pleasure to witness. The course was conducted by PASKAU - Pasukan Khas Udara, the Royal Malaysian Air Force elite commando unit somewhere in Perak.

I was asked to accompany some high ranking officer, acting in capacity as ADC. On the morning when we were supposed to depart, KP decided to pay a visit as well. So on the spot, contingency plans were put in motion. In the Fortuner was just me and Bada the driver, while Colonel rides with KP in his Perdana.

Our first stop was ITU, or Institut Tentera Udara. We were greeted by the Commandant and his senior officers. After lunch, we had a session at the shooting range. Surprisingly, our KP was quite a marksman. One thing that strikes me is his perseverance in trying to achieve perfection.

After that it was off to the training site, about 2 hours away. The participants had just completed the Mangrove Survival phase for 2 weeks. On the day we arrived, they had started the Jungle Survival phase and had gone nearly 5 days without any 'proper' food. Armed with just a parang and the clothes on their back, they were left to live off the land. They had to make their own shelters, utensils, 'bubu' and animal traps. It was a test both mentally and physically.

(Left) - Participants taught the different types of plants
(Centre) - Participants taught how to make traps
(Right) - Participants treated to their 1st solid food in days. Some even shed tears.

It makes me wonder at times as to what drives a human to endure pain, hunger and suffering for the benefit of others.

(Left) - Participants tested in identifying the different types of plants
(Centre) - Me with 'Pak Yeop', a veteran retired commando. A true Malaysian made 'Indiana Jones'.
(Right) - Only practical style of training here...no classrooms. Nature is the ultimate classroom for survival training.

Someone worth mentioning...Pak Yeop. He is a veteran green beret (Commando). He is 60+ years old but he still goes into the jungle to look for herbs. He even outpaced us 'younger' people. You can just about ask him anything regarding herbs...ie. what's the remedy for this, what's the remedy for that. The good thing is, he process the herbs that he collects and sells them in capsule form. Looking at his 'very healthy' condition, I can't help but believed in his remedies.

One thing that came to my mind...will he pass on his knowledge & wisdom to someone else? I sure hope so as its very priceless.