n April 24th, the inhabitants of Tanjong Malim were amazed to see Scout
Troop after Scout Troop arriving at the station at all hours of the day and
marching to the Sultan Idris Training College. The All-Malayan Jamboree to
celebrate the Coronation of Their Majesties the King and Queen had started.
1,108 Scouts arrived from all parts of Malaya, including that small island, Pulau
Langkawi, which, as you know, lies some 40 miles off the coast of Kedah. Imagine
such a great number of Scouts all coming to the same camp from Trengganu,
Kelantan, Malacca and even from such remote places as Pulau Langkawi and Labuan.
Such a meeting could not fail to be interesting and instructive.
The various contingents arrived at different times and were allotted dormitories in the College. Selangor sent 120 Scouts and, fortunately, was given a dormitory near the dining hall. By 6.30 p.m. all contingents had arrived and every Scout had settled down as comfortably as possible. The first dinner was at 7.00 p.m. and at that hour about half the number of Scouts who had arrived assembled at the dining hall (Selangor Scouts were among the first to be there, of course). The first hitch in the otherwise successful routine of the day then occurred. The electric lights decided at that inopportune time to fuse! Imagine about 500 hungry Scouts, after a tiring train-journey, going in for their dinner and finding the hall in darkness, and no rice and curry in sight. Some laughed and sang in the approved Scout style, while others ran to their dormitories for torches. Eventually the lights came on and the interrupted dinner was served up. At 8.30 p.m. an impromptu concert was held in the College Hall, and at 10 o'clock the bugle blew for Lights Out.
The first parade on the next day took place at 8:30 a.m. on the College field. The different contingents with their many-coloured neckerchiefs and neat uniforms presented a grand sight. The flag was hoisted, and the programme for the day was read out.
For the next six days the activities were many and varied. There was the hut-building competition, in which Penang was first and Selangor third. There were wide games played twice on separate days. The first was called "The Lost Idrisites". Two Scouts from the college hid themselves in the pre-arranged area, and the others had to find them. It was just hide and seek on a large scale. The other wide game was the robber-and-police affair, in which a group of Scouts ran away with some money, supposedly robbed from the local train, and the other Scouts had to catch them and bring them to justice. In both games the Selangor Scouts did well. There was also a hike up the Bernam River, and the villagers in the estates along the river looked open-mouthed at the long line of Scouts marching along. A Chinese labourer, impressed perhaps by the great number of Scouts, was heard to say that the number of soldiers in China was a great deal more than the number of Scouts in Tanjong Malim. It certainly was a silly comparison.
On the 27th, the Sultan of Perak, by whose kind permission the Scouts were able to hold the Jamboree at the Sultan Idris Training College, paid us a visit. Various displays were prepared. Johore's display attracted much attention, for the Scouts gave their version of The Charge of the Light Brigade, with bamboo cannon - which certainly made a lot of noise - and pairs of Scouts to form horses. After these displays the Sultan presented various Cups and Certificates.
For recreation, football, hockey and “rounders" or baseball were played from four to six in the afternoon. Inter-contingent matches were arranged and, owing to the enthusiasm shown by the Scouts, they resembled the Inter-State matches held every year.
Perhaps the most interesting and the jolliest part of the daily programme was the camp-fire at 8:30 at night, out in the open. 1,100 Scouts seated in a great circle around a fire ten to fifteen feet high was sure to present an unforgettable sight, especially when all of them started singing and cheering. At the camp-fire the merry spirits of the Scouts were shown in spite of the tiring day they had had on hikes, wide games, or football or hockey matches. Perhaps the full moon was responsible. Anyway, full moon or not, the camp-fire was always a jolly affair. Individual items were popular at the camp-fire; a Javanese Scout from Singapore kept the crowd laughing the whole time at his impersonations. Catchy songs sung by some contingents were taken up by the Scouts of the other contingents. One contributed by Pahang proved to be the most popular.
The day before the break-up of the Jamboree, there was a constant moving-about in the dormitories. No special activity was put down for this day, in order to allow the Scouts to go about making friends. Scouters in charge of contingents had great difficulty in finding their own particular Scouts, as the latter were constantly moving about from dormitory to dormitory collecting autographs, exchanging addresses and Scout yells, and making as many friends as possible. The Jamboree Chief, and the other officials were hard put to it, giving their autographs at all times of the day. Right to the last moment, when the Scouts were in their trains, this hunting for autographs and addresses went on.
Interesting features of the Jamboree were the bank, the post-office, the stores and the canteen. The bank was a necessary institution in the Jamboree to avoid losses. The Scouts were asked to deposit their valuables there. The College troop of Scouts acted as bank clerks, and they handled about $4,000, paid in by the Scouts. The bank was open daily from 1.00 p.m. to 2.30 p.m., during which time withdrawals could be made. At night, guards, consisting of Scouters, were posted at the bank. The post-office was another useful institution. There, letters were posted and stamps, writing pads, envelopes and postcards with the Scout crest printed on them were obtained. No Scouts could enter the stores without permission, but through the pane of the door could be seen the great amount of food stored there - bags of rice, loaves and loaves of bread, heaps of bananas, and tins of butter and milk. The canteen was always a busy place. The Scouts, especially the Selangor Scouts, seemed to go to the canteen at all hours of the day. Aerated water, toffee, chocolate, cheese were sold at ordinary outside prices, and a roaring trade was done. The amount taken by College Scouts, who also helped there, was nearly $1,000. There was also a dispensary attached, under the charge of a doctor from the hospital. The main complaint seemed to be hoarse throats, because of too much shouting at camp-fires.
At last, May 1st dawned - bright and clear, fortunately. The last parade was held at the usual time, with customary speeches of thanks, attendant upon the ending of any great happening. The contingents bade farewell to one another, and one by one marched to the station to catch their own particular trains.
At the Sultan Idris College, where before there had always been a scene of great activity, there now appeared signs of inactivity, and the normal course of events was resumed. Thus a page in the history of Scouting in Malaya has been turned.
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