THE ‘BOYS WING’ OF THE ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE A TARGET FOR OBLITERATION

It has been rumoured that the Boys Wing of the Royal Military College will be relocated to accommodate the expansion programme of the National Defence University (NDU).

The establishment of the NDU had earlier necessitated the relocation of the Cadet Wing, which is the training center for army officer cadets, to Ulu Tiram, Johore. The move of the Cadet Wing to Ulu Tiram was seen by many as to be lowering the status of the Army Officers Cadet Training Center, to one that befits that of a recruit training center of yesteryears. Even the present recruit training center at Port Dickson is more presentable.

The reason I say this is because the once prestigious Cadet Wing of the Royal Military College was a shinning symbol of awe and grandeur, matching that of other Officer Cadet Training Centers of other countries. Some even dubbed the Cadet Wing as “Little Sandhurst’; the British Army Cadet Training Institution in the UK. The Cadet Wing at Ulu Tiram that had now been designated the Officers Cadet School, is presently housed in semi permanent barracks that resembles buildings meant for operational camps. It is no longer the ‘Little Sandhurst’ that the older generation of officers would want to be associated with.

With the Cadet Wing gone, the authorities are now vying on the Boys Wing that is situated on a hillock with a panoramic view of almost the entire Sg. Besi garrison. The Boys Wing has produced a number of luminaries that are big names in government, as well as in the private sector. I do not want to name them here, because the list is endless.

The question that many had asked is, “why the Boys Wing, and removing it, will also obliterate the history of the institution”? And I am quite sure there will be protestations from the Old Putra Association (OPA) members whose loyalty to their Alma Mate is ‘thick’.

Should the rumours be true, and with the Boys Wing gone, the once renowned Royal Military College will therefore cease to exist.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION