Selamat Pagi, MACAM Pagi leh!!!

5.30am...the mark of another new day started. Well, waking up at this time wasn't a big problem or hoohaa for me since i used to wake up around this time earlier, waiting for the Bas Sekolah aka the Kuning(yellow) Bus according to some of my Singaporean friends who do not even have the opportunity to sit in a yellow bus.

The morning experience in an oil palm plantation is amazing. The room temperature is kind of low, probably in the 20s degree celsius. For some of us, who are usually half-naked in the morning (excluding me, i sompah), have their blanket covered over the head - the full resemblance of the Wolf with the hood on pretending to be like an old granny in the Little Red Riding Hood - reluctantly sleep-walking(i guess) to the toilet. Some of them were like drunkards, who could not even walk properly in a straight-line, like suffering from heavy hangover.

Then, around 5.25am or so, we started to trudge down the steep path (almost 20-30 degress inclination) to our Flag-Raising area. Damn it, the path was wet (due to the morning due) and slippery. We had to walk with caution as any slight error could have caused anyone to roll down from the top to the bottom, crashing against one of the oil palm trees!PS: sorry for the dramatic description.

At the morning assembly area, all of us, in our usual PT kit, would "fall-in" to our respective platoons - Alpha(Red), Bravo(Blue), Charlie(Yellow) & Delta(Green). Being a Deltan was remarkably proud. We took pride in our harmonious mix of the Chinese and the Malays and our Platoon Commanders would painstakingly instill the togetherness and the team spirit in each and everyone of us, definitely arousing the jealousy and envy of the other people.

In the pitched darkness, we would form into our usual 3 rows and almost everyone of us would look gloomy and sleepy. Definitely not enough sleep, on the average about 4-5 hours or even less during some occasions. Some of us would look unkempt and some of us would be yawning away until the commencement of the Flag Raising ceremony. Well, my first flag raising ceremony session was kind of uncomfortable with me. There's nothing wrong with the Malay commands as i had them in my school or even during my uniform group footdrill practices. It's just that the national anthem had transitioned from Majulah Singapura to Negaru Ku. Kind of funny for me at first since i had never attended a real and solemn Flag Raising ceremony in Malaysia before. My last vivid encounter with this ceremony in Malaysia was like in Kindergarten (4-6 years old), it's like 13 years ago.

Very embarrassed, i only knew how to sing the first 2 words in Negara Ku. The entire anthem i didn't even know how to sing...Haha...shame on this Malaysia who doesn't know the national anthem at all since the upbringing has been in Singapore for the last 13 years.

After the Flag Raising ceremony would be followed by the pledge for all the PKN wiras and wirawatis. Followed by the short Islamic prayers. Well, i could still remember the morning prayers caused a big hoo-haa in the newspapers among the non Muslims. Shan't mentioned much as it is related to just some insensitivity issue.

I observed the prayers with due respect as i personally felt that no matter how different you are from another race, the religion is something that everyone should revere.

By the time everything was done, it would be followed by some light physical fitness and the most favourite aerobics....

To be continued.