A History of Scouting in the V.I. (PART vi)

by Loh Kok Kin

CONTINUING TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY

As members of the pioneer Scout movement and as pupils of the premier school of the region, the V.I. Scouts were called on to perform many community services. In School, they would often act as orderlies during School functions such as Sports Days. To get a feel of how active the Scouts were in their public duty, the table below lists those functions recorded as in The Victorian of that epoch.

These extraordinary contributions by the V.I. Scouts did not go unnoticed. For instance, after the Shantung Relief Fund bazaar, the press published the compliments of the Chinese Young Men’s Association President. Occasionally, there was a reward, too, though the Scouts never sought it in the first place. For example, after serving at the 1929 KL Stadium football match, the MAHA promised the use of this ground as Headquarters and permanent camping site for the Selangor Boy Scouts Association. Indeed, the wider community recognised the importance of the Scouts and tried to help them in performing their public duty. In one instance, during the 1931 Census of Kuala Lumpur, the V.I. Headmaster, Mr F.L. Shaw granted the Scouts leave from afternoon classes to carry out their duty.

However, praise was not the primary reason that kept the Scouts in the service of the community. It was the pride of being available. One of the important events for which the Scouts availed themselves, and certainly very visibly, was the ceremony for the laying of the foundation stone of the new Victoria Institution. Wednesday 21 September 1927 saw the auspicious occasion unfold on Petaling Hill, newly cleared of the Chinese graves that once dotted the terrain. Just after 4.00 p.m., the whole school marched from High Street to Petaling Street, led by the Cadet Corps, Band and Scouts. At the Petaling Hill site, hundreds of guests watched as the V.I. Scouts, together with the Cadet Corps, formed the Guard of Honour which was inspected by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Alauddin Sulaiman Shah. Accompanying His Highness was the V.I. Headmaster Mr G.C. Davies and the eminent Malay Scholar and then Director of Education (and compiler of the famous Malay-English dictionary), Dr Richard O. Windstedt. Other dignitaries present included Mr J. Watson (Chief Inspector of Schools), Mr H.W. Thomson (Acting Chief Secretary to Government) and the British Resident, Mr J. Lornie. Besides giving the general salute, the Scouts must have served and attended to the guests with great pride throughout the evening's proceedings. After the ceremony, the Scouts and the Cadet Corps marched back to High Street to be dismissed.

THE WOLF CUBS

The Wolf Cubs under two officers, Cub Master Mr Chan Hung Chin and Assistant Cub Master Mr Lim Eng Kah, were also thriving. In December 1925, there were 90 Wolf cubs. The V.I. Tuck Shop Committee generously contributed towards half the cost of their uniforms which included smart green jerseys, neckerchiefs and caps, white trousers and black or brown shoes. The Cubs met regularly for an hour on Saturdays during Terms 1 and 3, and on Thursdays during Term 2.

Occasionally they would join the older Scouts in certain activities. For instance, on Empire Day 1925, the Pack gave an interesting display entitled ‘Robin Hood’; the Resident complimented the cheerful way in which the Cubs carried out their work. During the School’s Conversazione Day that year, they lived up to their motto of We’ll Do Our Best by performing a ‘Jungle Dance’ which aroused great appreciation among the spectators. In 1926, the Cubs attended the V.I. Scout rally on 5 February. The Pack contributed a ‘grand howl’ to that Rally. In a parade later that year, in the presence of the Scout Commissioner for Malaya, the First Selangor Pack (the V.I. Cubs) paraded under their officers. The V.I. Cubs also took part in competitions such as the 1928 Selangor Scout Jamboree, where they were the youngest of the seven packs competing in the inter-pack competition, but still won third place. During the same year, the District Cub Commissioner, Mr McDougall, visited the pack and expressed great pleasure at the general appearance and bearing of the Cubs. The Pack also took part in the 1929 Armistice Day Jamboree. From 1929 onwards when V.I. completely became a secondary school, the Cub Pack ceased to exist in the V.I. (though just after the War, there was in the Batu Road School, for a few years, a First KL Pack which was an offshoot of the V.I. First KL Troop. But the Pack remained separate from the V.I. of course).

TRAGEDY AND SADNESS

Yet, not everything was fun and games. There were sad episodes which clouded the lives of V.I. Scouts from time to time. In those days when the life expectancy rate was much lower than say, of the 1990’s, the Scouts were occasionally hit by sad news of the deaths of fellow Scouts or Scouters. On 24 September 1925, the Scouts learned of the death, in England, of Mr W. Towle who was so instrumental in setting up the ‘Fire Section’ of the First Selangor Troop. Then sometime at the end of 1925, the Scouts were shocked by the untimely death of Mr Hugh John who was Assistant Scout Master of the First Troop between 1915 and 1918. He was also one of the scouts in Mr Shaw's first list of V.I. (and Malayan!) scouts in the First Selangor Troop in 1910. Besides mourning the deaths of former Scouts, the V.I. Troops also shared in the grief of Scouts who had lost their relatives. For instance, The Victorian of 1928 recorded condolences to ADC Akbar on the untimely death of his sister Afzah.

Those were the days when technology was vastly underdeveloped, and being a colonial outpost, Malaya’s access to Western medicines was far from easy. Coupled with the low household incomes, and possibly some ethno-cultural suspicion for Western medicine, Western health treatment would have been enjoyed by only a few patients. As a result, frail health, illness and even death ensued. Yet, even in death, the Scouting spirit could not be broken. For instance, when Mr Lee Mun See, an old Scout, died in September 1925, the V.I. Scouts rallied and attended the funeral. As the coffin was lowered into the graves, the Troop buglers sounded The Last Post. In 1930 and 1931, The Victorian recorded the deaths of Scouts A. Murugiah and S. Vythlingam, respectively. At Murugiah’s funeral, the whole Troop was present and six Scouts, in a show of solidarity, acted as pall bearers. Meanwhile, even camps were not spared from the tragedy of death. In the 1927 All-Malayan Camp, a certain Scout from the Fifth Troop of Singapore was stricken with illness and died some weeks later.

A less tragic but still depressing scenario was faced by the Scouts in late 1925, when there seemed to be a sudden standstill in Scouting activity in the school. The Victorian of December 1925 lamented that not only had activities been suspended because of holidays, but efforts to organise Troop meetings outside those holidays were mere ‘spasmodic spurts (which) are worse than useless for any good to be derived’. As well, the ‘crying need of the moment is "ASM’s and more ASMs" ’. In order to stem this inertia, the reporter suggested that Old Scouts enroll as Rover Scouts, and thus be able to contribute to their old Troops. Truly this second epoch, though characterised by many accomplishments, still showed that the V.I. Scouting movement was experimenting with many ideas and changes to ensure its preservation and success. And one very major change was to occur in 1933.