The 01 Kinta Scouts Troop's 90th anniversary served as the perfect opportunity for several old boys to return and take part in the scouting activities they had left behind for almost two decades.
From pioneering projects to backwoods cooking (cooking without using any modern utensils), at least 30 ex-students took time off from their professional lives to relive and reminisce on the good old days when they were boy scouts.
For business improvement consultant, Ramash Muthiah, 41, living more than 10,000km away was no excuse to skip the celebrations at his alma mater, SMK Methodist (ACS) Ipoh here recently.
Despite having left school 20 years ago, and living in Coventry, Britain, for the past 11 years, Ramash decided he could not miss the opportunity to meet up with his friends from his scouts troop.
Ramash, who left school in 1986, said his scouting experience had armed him with lessons which had helped him in both his personal and work life.
"I've learnt to remain calm and always be prepared. You can throw me any challenge and I would be able to handle it, thanks to my scouts education," he said with a smile.
Engineer, Kok Wee Hoong, 33, took a day off from work to drive up from Kuala Lumpur and be part of the one-day celebration.
Like Ramash, Kok too attributed his self-confidence and communication skills to the values and discipline he learnt as a boy scout.
"You gain things you cannot get from the classroom which prepare you for real life situations, giving you an edge over the others," said Kok, who received the King's Scout award about 15 ears ago.
He said his scouts training also allowed him to develop strong leadership and teamwork skills.
Pilot S. Sivalingam, 38, and information technology manager Chew Yuen Kian, 32, are still scouts at heart. Sivalingam returned from Singapore after 16 years while Chew cut short a business trip to the United States to be part of the gathering.
"I came back just to help organise the event with the junior boys and give them a few pointers," said Chew.
For Sivalingam, the adage "once a scout always a scout" is an expression that will always ring true for scouts who were members of the first scouting troop in Ipoh and one of the oldest in the country.
More than 1,000 boy and girl scouts from around the country gathered for a day to take part in activities such as drills, modern and backwoods cooking, singing and dancing, scarf and banner designing and sketches. -- By S. Ista Kyra
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