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JUMPING IN WITH BOTH FEET
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SIX
November 1966 and passed. Being inclined to shoot from the hip when he ran into anything
that he thought was dodgy, he hit several stone walls during his career, leaving the service as
a Lieutenant-Colonel; but he also acquired a law degree on a part-time basis and went on to
a successful practice in New Zealand.
After separation from Malaysia, about a third of the strength of Singapore’s two full-time
infantry battalions, mostly from Malaysia, had chosen to either resign or be repatriated to
Malaysia. The Singapore Government urgently sought to fill up the ranks and had mounted
two recruitment drives code named ‘Boxer I’ and ‘Boxer II’. Ajit Singh Nagpal had been one
of those with a School Certificate who were selected. Either his Officer Commanding or his
Platoon Commander had been looking out for him; the Boxer intake had not been the best
of society, being made up of many who had had scrapes with the law. So Ajit was advised to
apply for the officer cadet programme and was selected. He was to enjoy a satisfying career
in the Armour and specialise in logistics, which on his retirement, led to further prospects
with a major trading firm in Singapore.
Chan Seck Sung had already finished his HSC and was working with the People’s Association
as its Organising Secretary, putting in 14 hours a day. Mornings were spent undergoing
leadership and organisational skills training and evenings on duty at Community Centres
until 10.00 pm. He jumped at a chance for a commission in the SAF and was the first among
the First Batch to be picked for Ranger training. Together with his hero in the brochure
who owned the red sports car, he was sent off one month before the course ended to Fort
Georgia in the US as a Second Lieutenant, thereby being the first graduate of SAFTI to be
commissioned.
The People’s Association also lost at least two other valuable staff to the SAF. Chan Jwee
Kay and Tan Lai Hock, both good friends of Seck Sung, also signed up. Jwee Kay would end
up as Colonel, Chief of Artillery, and Divison Commander while Lai Hock joined Armour
and retired as a Lieutenant-Colonel following a number of senior posts in the Armour
formation.
Kwan Yue Yeong too, was at something of a loose end after his HSC at Raffles Institution
where he had enjoyed all manner of sports, excelling in rugby in which he captained the
combined schools fifteen. So, he applied casually, without ruling out a university education
were he to change his mind. He didn’t. Laid back, clean of cut, firm of jaw, with an ever-
present grin, he became a contender for the Sword of Honour, but only from the beginning
of the officer cadet phase. He duly claimed it from under the noses of Gurcharan Singh
(Best Officer Cadet in the Course), gymnast and graduate Lee Song Chong, hot favourite
Timothy James De Souza and his own platoon mate Hee Kam Yong. He also attained a
Master’s degree in history from Duke University, North Carolina, courtesy of an SAF
scholarship later in his career, together with Ng Jui Ping and then Major General (MG)
Winston Choo, Director, General Staff.