380 / 409
APPENDIX II
364
APPENDIX II
III. JURONG PRIMARY SCHOOL
IV. INTRODUCTION OF THE COURSE
After 14 months of operational duties, I was looking forward to a break of 14 days’ leave in
Kuala Lumpur and Penang. However, this did not materialise as I was scheduled for other
duties. A senior staff officer, MAJ Henry Velge directed myself and some other officers
including LTA Cedric Klienman and two others, into a waiting Land Rover for urgent duty at
Jurong Primary School. We had no idea why we were sent there. At Jurong Primary School,
the Adjutant of the newly formed training centre, CPT Ramachandra, a returned officer
from the Malaysian Reconnaissance Regiment, briefed us that we were to be the trainees of
an Instructors’ Preparatory Course to be conducted from 15
th
February, 1966. We were to
report at the School Conference Room at 0800 hours for the opening ceremony and speech
by the Director of the training centre, LTC Kirpa Ram Vij. We were also told that it would
be a residential course which meant we were to stay in during training. After reporting, we
took a short tour of the school to view the management and organisation for offices, lecture
and working rooms, quartermaster store, armskote, dining hall and barracks.
Jurong Primary School was a new concrete building of four storeys in an E-shape pattern.
We were its first users and would be occupying the school for the duration of the course—as
such, no renovations or reconstructions were done. On material quality, the premises were
far superior to the wooden, long barracks found in Temasek Camp or in most of the camps
at the time. The ground floor was used for offices, store rooms and a temporary armoury
for small arms. The second floor was dedicated to class and working rooms. The tables and
chairs were meant for young children and we needed to adjust ourselves when using them.
The third and fourth floors were designated for barracks. Officers of CPT rank and above
were located on the left side of the fourth floor while the junior officers shared the right side
of the fourth floor. NCOs had the third floor to themselves. The rooms were partitioned
with portable wooden dividers. Senior officers were housed in a room with four beds while
junior officers stayed in a room with six beds. NCOs had ten beds in a smaller room. Each
of us were used to having individual rooms. Staying here meant a change for serving regular
officers, that is, a loss of privacy. This had to be experienced with tolerance and patience.
At this time, 2 SIR troops, returning from Sabah, were living in tents at Farrer Park as
Temasek Camp, their barracks, was then occupied by the 5
th
Royal Malay Regiment that had
been ordered to remain in their current premises by authority from Kuala Lumpur. With no
proper accommodation available in the unit, the 2 SIR officers took full advantage of the
temporary sleeping bunks.
On the morning of 15
th
February, by 0800 hrs, all trainees were assembled at the large conference
room for a briefing. I saw familiar and unfamiliar faces. The ones whom I knew were from 2 SIR
and 1 SIR. The officers from the Singapore Volunteer Corp (SVC) sat in a row behind us and