NPCC

NPCC stands for National Police Cadet Corps, and it is an extra curricular activity that secondary students can pick up. Compared to the NCC or National Cadet Corps (aka student soldiers), NPCC focuses a lot more on foot drill. For this express purpose, the soles of the boot are affixed (at the student's own cost) with a metal horse-shoe at the heel and three pieces of metal at the front to produce a clicking sound when the shoe comes into contact with the ground. When marching in unison, the squad or platoon makes delightful percussion.

NPCC was not my first choice ECA in RVHS though. I signed up for NCC-Air despite already having terrible eyesight at the tender age of 13 and also despite knowing that anything less than almost perfect eyesight means not being accepted. I think I signed up because of a friend. My friend got in and I did not.

Then I tried to sign up for NCC but the Secondary 1 Squad was already filled up; such was its popularity.

So NPCC it was. And I was welcomed with open arms.

ECA in those days was on Saturdays. Our program typically starts early morning around 8am to 8.30am with a PT session. More often than not, this will be followed by frantic changing into the police uniform (there is not even time to change in the toilet) for one to two hours of solid foot drill under the increasingly hotter sun. Part of the fun was learning the Malay drill commands. Even today, I can still rememeber all the complex Malay commands. The ultimate command for most of us was for sizing, i.e. to bring about a nice V 'sized' platoon when viewed from the front, with the taller ones on each side.

Let me try to recall, lousy spelling notwithstanding, the mouthful command: Yang tinggi ke-kenan, renda ke-keri, dalam satu barisan, khra! (It means tallest to the right, shortest to the left, form a single file, move it!) There are four other commands before the desired shape of the platoon is formed, but don't let me bore you.

Related to foot drill is the exacting standards of how the shoe should shine. And that is to be able to see the reflection of one's teeth. I kid you not. It takes a few years to perfect this state of shine.

The art of polishing ventures beyond simply applying 'kiwi' to brush.

Our superior technique includes burning the kiwi covered shoe with an open flame from a candle to coat the surface of the shoe with a even layer of kiwi. This has to be done very carefully to achieve a smooth surface -- sometimes the shoe can catch fire! Next, after allowing the molten kiwi to cool and harden, use a piece of cotton cloth, dip into some kiwi and polish in a small circular motion. Sometimes, a tinny bit of water will help elevate the shine to an even higher notch. This activity typically takes place on the Friday night and can last hours. You had no choice but invest in the effort because a less than desirable standard will mean 'knocking-it-down' -- push ups! We did hundreds of push ups every week. My NCO said polishing shoes builds patience and character.

We also have lectures then on subjects such as campcraft and first aid. In real life, campcraft came in rather useful on many occasions when the need arose to tie knots for various purposes. My knowledge of the reef knot, highwayman's knot, timber hitch and lashing proved to be valuable life skills. As for first aid, I have not encountered the need to provide CPR nor tie a bandage so I cannot say these knowledge was equally valuable.