Modul Tentera- Pushing up the Limit

Finally, my new assembled Sidang B has made our way to PULADA, Ulu Tiram Johor for completing our tentera module from 4th to 10th May 2008.

PULADA, or infamously known as Pusat Latihan Anggota dan Anjing (yes there is a war dog unit in this place) spells HELL to most of us due to the mental torture received by DPA participants in the form of punishment (whether it would be hundredth times or “sehingga mampus” of push up, pumping or squat jump at any point of time instructed by the army officials) There was even nick names given to them like Israel or Hitler, but the names will not make any justification for these guys to have mercy on us, the poor platoons. Every mistake even the stupid ones means we were soon to receive any of these punishment. Ironically, the latest addition was the “kura-kura gembira” position where all of us unashamedly clapped our hands and legs while lying on the ground. Yes, it looks stupid but what the heck, these crazy fellas would be delighted to see us doing that. Most importantly, we were there to fulfil the requirement for the course. Anyhow, it would happen once in a lifetime and I am glad that my tentera module went well. It was toughest among the other modules.


The first day upon arriving at the training camp was our hearty lunch at Wisma Perwira, followed by checking ourselves into our barrack. We were lucky to be given Burma Camp which belongs to the Australian Regiment. Yes, even the Aussies get the chances to receive combat training in jungle atmosphere from our Tentera Darat. The first challenge (or torture) was to crawl across the rugby size field followed by the body side-rolls, same place to the starting point and it was horrendous. Most of us would throw up the stomach’s content and puking was a bad idea. I was rolling on some people’s puke. Yikes. To my dismay, I even smell like those rotten, chicken flavoured cat’s food but finally the first challenge went smoothly for me except for Ms.M who had been unconscious and warded afterwards due to the drill. Warning! People with migraine/high blood pressure should not practise this at home.

The second day was even worse. The physical training required us to jog around the camp and pumping was getting tougher. Our bodies were practically supported by our knuckles in the “up” position and every second felt like hours to us. Even our kawad training which conducted in the middle of a hot afternoon added more angst for that day. We stood up straight for 45 minutes, hoping the sun would go away. Even fidgeting was not allowed. Some of us passed out. Luckily I got used to it due to my involvement in my school’s brass band where sometimes we had to wait the Menteri Besar or Yam Tuan’s arrival for hours. Dehydrated, tired and with wobbly feet, we finally made it for the rest of the week.

The most memorable one or shall I say, the enjoyable ones would be our ambush drill and Colt M16 shooting practise. That was my first time shooting with real bullets and I was glad that the score was good. Hey, I began to see the point of shooting. It definitely a form of stress release where you can imagine the person you hate the most as the target and seeing all the holes of your bullets will make you feel relief. Later, we had the chances to shoot using other form of weapons. In a vast field (approximately 3km long as the distance for the war zone area), we are given chances to shoot at the abandoned army tanks with more sophisticated bigger guns and bazooka look alike. It was just like playing your PS2 – just press the buttons with minimal pressure and you will able to see and feel the dramatic thumping effect or sound, only it was for real. The bombing session even added the excitement where we had the opportunity to light up the M4 substances, 10 times bigger than the one that blew up Altantuya.


As the days went by, more physically challenge tasks were given and one of them definitely was the “jalan lasak”. Carrying 5kg bag at our back and 3kg M16 tucked in our arms, we had to force ourselves to jog or to run 6km with my ex-komando instructor shouting at us to hurry up. It was for the competition and the best platoon would receive a mysterious prize. After all, the winning group who received PULADA T-shirts was Platoon 2, how mysterious!

The pinnacle of all events was our Barbeque Dinner at Puteri Pacific which was great and relaxing. No mess nite or Makan Beradat as the army officers wanted to chill out, karaoke-ing.


Overall, I was satisfied with my achievement during the course. It was beyond the expected. Tough, mentally challenging, I could not believe that the nightmare was over. True to the wordings of the song we sang upon leaving the place, “Oh Tak Mungkin” the Poco-poco Theme Song, my commander and his team had to bear with the singing as they knew that we were glad to leave the place.

“Oh tak mungkin, tak mungkin aku kembali…..”

“Oh tak mungkin, tak mungkin ku datang lagi….”


Goodbye PULADA. All the memories remain in our hearts, and shall be cherished forever, the good and the bad ones.
I am looking forward to my last external module which is PULAPOL