STATE LEVEL COMPETITION FOR KADET BOMBA - PART 1

waiting for the transport at Taman Universiti Fire Station

Monday 29th April ~ We made our way to Bandar Penawar Fire Station in the morning to take part in the state level competition for Kadet Bomba. 10 boys and 5 girls represented the Johor Bahru district but we were the only 15 participants from Johor Bahru. Supposedly there should be 40 in a team. (It was a long story to tell why this happened). We took part in two events which were knots and rescue & first aid.

briefing for the contestants

EVENT #1: RESCUE AND FIRST AID

We were the first team to perform in the event.

The victim was ready to be rescued.

The rescue team arrived in the fire truck.

The chief first went to see the victim and the venue of the accident whether it was safe or not.

The rescue team running to help the victim.

The team was busy giving first aid to the victim.

The victim was taken away for further treatment.

The judges evaluating the whole rescuing procedures.

THE END.

TO BE CONTINUED...

SPENDING MY SUNDAY MORNING AT THE FIRE STATION

SUNDAY 28th APRIL ~ A group of "Kadet Bomba" (Fire Brigade Cadet) boys and girls went to Larkin Fire Station to undergo training sessions with the assistance and guidance of a few officers there. We will be taking part in the state level competition tomorrow. These students have been training throughout the week and they are going to compete in two events: knots and first aid. 

There are a lot of other skills a fireman has to master, not just to put out fire. Aren't they lucky to be taught such skills much earlier?

a pose with a superbike

time to go home

Just pray my students will not forget what they have learned. And most importantly, hope that they will not panic during the competition. Good luck, everybody!

JUDGING A PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION

SATURDAY, 27th April ~ My name was suddenly in the list as one of the judges for district level Public Speaking Competition. The event was held in SMK Tanjung Adang, Johor Bahru - 40 kilometres away from home.

a contestant came with props

judges receiving souvenirs

the winners

I also managed to meet two old friends who are now teaching at SMK Tanjung Adang. Pn Zaharah is now the Head of Department while Puan Hajah Fatimah Hadi is now the Principal.

with Puan Zaharah Harun, an ex-SMKTUN teacher 
 who is now in Tanjung Adang

with Puan Hajah Fatimah Abd. Hadi,
another ex-SMKTUN teacher who is now 
the Principal of Tanjung Adang

Everything went well and I actually had enjoyed myself observing and evaluating the contestants from the chair of an adjudicator. But still, I don't mind if someone else is willing to take over that place next year.

BALI DAY 3 - WATCHING THE SPECTACULAR KECHAK DANCE AT DUSK

To be sitting here waiting for the Kechak Dance to start while observing the sky turned from red to orange and then the light in the sky disappeared was definitely a significant moment of my stay in Bali.

Uluwatu is the best place to watch Kechak Dance performance (according to our guide). We had to enter the venue earlier just to get the best seats. We thought we were early but there were many more earlier birds than us. If you arrive late, you will then have to sit on the floor near the half-naked men chanting "kechak, kechak" and that would not provide you with the best view throughout the whole show.

meeting my fellow countryman, Effy

There was some sort of ceremony being carried out before the dance started. And by that time, the place was full of I think more than one thousand excited tourists.

The sky was a bit cloudy so we could not really see the sun setting against the horizon.

Kechak Dance is a traditional dance that does not require any musical instruments. Those shirtless men were chanting words that we could not understand (or were they just meaningless words?) in different tones that mixed beautifully to provide the music the whole routine. It was actually a dance theatre that consisted of a few acts. Even though we might not be able to understand the story line but we were just mesmerized by the uniqueness of the dance and the vocal ensemble of the men.

The most popular character in the story would be the white monkey (known as "Hanuman Si Kera Putih"). He was very mischievous and playful in manner and would suddenly appear from nowhere and sit among the audience. Small kids might find him scary though.

There will be video recordings of the dance show later. Make sure you will come back for more.