ICC 2008 - Comments from Tn Manimaran - Camp Commandant ICC

Tn. Manimaran - Camp Commandant ICC said...

Dear Mr. Kevin,

The organizing committee welcomes constructive suggestion and feedback to the International Cadet Camp (ICC) 2009 organized by SJAM-SDE. However, the organizing committee regrets that the comments provided above were either untrue or misleading. As such, we have decided to reply to the allegations made in order to caution all readers and make clarification on issues highlighted by you.

Security of the Campsite
The organizer has taken every measure to ensure the safety of the campers. Steps were taken to safeguard the interest and welfare of the campers. We’re sure you were well aware that the Jabatan Bomba and Jabatan Pertahanan Awam (JPA) were hired to manage the activities planned for the camp. There were policemen stationed at the campsite 24 hours a day throughout the whole camp duration to ensure the safety of the campers. Police patrol and sentry duty by campers were also arranged. A medical bay was set up to provide 24 hours service and was managed by doctors and qualified nurses. Ambulance was stationed at the medical bay at all time for any immediate case transfer if the need arises.

Precaution in food preparation
The Health Department of Daerah Gombak was requested to check on the hygiene and preparation of all meals served. We understand that food samplings were taken from every meal by the Health Department as a control in the event of any complaint on food poisoning. We received no report on this issue.

Quality of drinking water
We went as far as looking into the quality of the drinking water used by participants. A Reverse Osmosis water filtering system was actually installed to supply water to the kitchen. Vitabillion water was distributed to participants as well. We believe the Milo that you were drinking were not only nutritious but were certainly cleaner than the water you can get from most homes.

Dengue Prevention
Fogging was done before the opening of camp to ensure no occurrence of dengue cases.

Female campers
Upon receiving feedback that female campers should be allowed to sleep in their tents instead of the dormitory, the organizing committee immediately responded by giving ALL STATES both options mentioned. However, NONE of the accompanying officers reverted that their female campers would want the tent sleeping arrangement. We sure hope the respective accompanying officers would have conveyed this option to the campers concerned and it was a collective decision made between the campers and their respective accompanying officers. We are surprised now that you chose to differ from your earlier decision.

As accompanying officers, you were given the privilege of sleeping in the dormitory. However, when you asked if you could sleep in the tent, we gave immediate approval. On the registration day, Camp Secretary asked about your preference but no answer was given. We assumed you were happy with the sleeping arrangements made.

Tents
Again, the organizing committee was quick to rectify the “close proximity” pitching of tents mentioned and not left the matter unresolved. Campers were asked to re-pitch their tents if the space is too close. Memories to be refreshed, camp secretariat has requested all accompanying officers to reply on the number of tents, type of tents that the respective states will bring for the camp purpose. From our record, most states (including Perak state) confirmed that it is X number of tents and it’s a 4 to a tent arrangement. No rules being set on the number of campers for each tent.

Quality of Food
Meals provided… Let us all agree that this is a camp. “Food is not good, food is not enough”- these are common remarks given in any camp. The organizing committee immediately took corrective measures when we noticed food served were not sufficient on the very first day. The caterer was told to add in additional serving for all meals provided. Kindly bear in mind that all campers were given unlimited serving each time meals were served. The menus decided were not only given much consideration but were also studied, advised and approved by nutritionists. Having 4 hard boil eggs was not in the menu but since there was leftover, the caterer at his discretion had the leftover eggs cooked as an additional dish on top of what we had planned.

Delay in Opening Ceremony
The delay of the opening ceremony was beyond our control. When our guest of honour was held back by his parliamentary duty, we were on the verge to move on with the opening programme. However, the repeated assurance by his staff on his arrival leaves us with no choice but to respect his wishes. As for long speeches by politicians, we cannot say much but urge you to show the same courtesy you would have extended to any invited guests to your home,.

Steps to minimize inconvenience caused by rain
We cannot resist Mother Nature. In a seven days camp, having some rain is nothing so unusual. Some tents had “minor” flooding problem. Again, the organizing committee immediately took action and had the campers involved relocated to a safer and dry place. Plastic bags were given to ALL campers (not only those in the tents flooded) as a precautionary measure to ensure campers having clean and dry clothing and protecting other personal belongings too.

Jungle Trekking
Let us emphasize that as organizer, the safety of campers is our utmost priority. We engaged experienced trainers and rangers to assist us in the “rugged” activities conducted. With their advice, all measures were taken to ensure safety of campers is not compromised and also to prevent any unforeseen incidents from happening.

The decision whether to abort the jungle trekking rested with the ranger and not the organizer. They are the experts, if any instruction to stop any activities deemed “unsafe” is called upon, organizing committee will not hesitate to STOP. We need to clarify that activities committee didn’t asked for any of the activities to be continued (referring to the jungle trekking activity) despite being advised otherwise.

All campers were given a checklist of things required to bring for the camp. Proposed activities / programs for the camp were also mentioned. Zooming in, all those equipments mentioned by your goodself were mentioned in the checklist. Accompanying officers would have brief and given sound advice to their respective campers prior to the camp. (Note: We shall not expound on the roles and duties of an accompanying officer).

For the record, campers commented that it was overall an enjoyable camp. Some even commented the activity (martial arts) conducted by Wing Chun Association was fun and interesting. (referring to comments posted via internet or verbal comments received).

Meeting held with the accompanying officers was at the canteen. It was because campers were not utilizing the venue at that time and meeting was expected to end before supper. Comments given were campers should have been silent knowing well that there’s an on going meeting.

For the convenience of the campers, the organizer strived to provide additional facilities at the campsite i.e. internet and mini mart. However, the “officer mess” mentioned by your goodself is not part of the ICC facilities (meaning not opened to campers). It was only meant for senior officers to meet and have fellowship in a more relax manner. Please take note that none of the camp budget was allocated to this “officer mess”. All officers were required to purchase their own drinks.

Funding
The organizing committee has decided on RM160 as the registration fee. With much effort taken, we were confident of getting sponsorship to help minimize the fee imposed. However, monetary sponsorships received were minimal and only mineral water (350 cartons), buns and mugs (given out as souvenirs) were under sponsors. Despite the discouraging response, the organizer did not raise the registration fees. We believe ultimately it is to encourage more members to participate and for them to have an enjoyable and memorable camping experience.

During the course of planning, many campsites were given due consideration. The organizing committee has visited and surveyed all the campsites. After taking many factors into consideration, Templer Park was chosen as the best choice. Indeed this campsite can accommodate more than 500 campers. In fact, the total number of campers participated is within the capacity of the campsite.

One of the camp objectives is to foster better relationship among members of the same organization from all over Malaysia and other countries. Thus, sitting in their respective groups will definitely achieve this objective. After all, there is no restriction on the meal seating arrangement.

National Review

Readers’ attention is brought to the National Review issue.

It was not the intention of the organizer to host this camp in the same week as the National Review. In fact the decision to organize this camp was made more than a year ago and its preparation were at the advanced stage when the organizer learnt of the National Review being held.

Efforts were put in place to ensure these two events can run concurrently without one being disrupted by the other. A briefing was called the night before the actual event. The camp commandant briefed all campers on the arrangement and itinery for the National Review and City Tour. 7.00 am was the meeting time and not the leaving time as mentioned by you.

The logistic of moving 1,000 campers and 25 buses is a real no-easy task. However, with the coordination of ‘tour leaders’ and committees, all members managed to arrived safely at Dataran Merdeka as scheduled. Decision to hire 25 buses was made based on the total number of registered members. The non “full capacity” was due to campers being absent or campers leaving the campsite for unavoidable reasons. To travel in their respective groups will also allow better monitoring and coordination.

Wearing of T shirt
In the briefing, it was also mentioned that all officers were allowed to put on their Ceremonial Uniform for the event. As for the campers, they were required to be in Camp T-shirt for easy identification and safety reasons. Decision to allow international campers to be in their uniform was decided based on National Headquarters’ (NHQ) request. Having said that, ICC participants were there as “observers” and not part of the review. NHQ was aware of campers wearing the camp T-shirt and no objection was brought up.

In fact the organizing committee members were aware of the possible complications of running these two big events so close in time. They had worked closely with officers from NHQ and attended several meetings with NHQ on the organizing of National Review to keep each other well briefed. This is to ensure better coordination and smooth running of the event. Upon arrival at Dataran Merdeka, many national officers directed campers and accompanying officers to their respective seating area. Even organizing committee assisted in this task.

The good effort put up by the special branch of Bukit Aman should not go unmentioned. With over a thousand participants from the National Review and our campers in a crowded shopping centre, the possibility of one of us being pick-pocketed or robbed or encountered any unpleasant experience is high. While everyone is enjoying themselves in Time Square, special branch officer were present and on the look out to prevent any untoward incidents happening. We were happy none had happened.

We appreciate constructive feedback but we will not tolerate comments made out of bad faith. We trust the above explanation will erase any misconceptions that readers would have formed. And to you Kevin, we will expect no less than an apology.


Manimaran a/l V. Munisamy
Camp Commandant,
International Cadet Camp

Thursday, February 26, 2009 7:21:00 PM