Veteran scouts

THIS STORY appeared in the Metro North section of The Star newspaper on 23 Apr 2019. It is time again to applaud our old Westlands Primary School senior, Datuk Khoo Yeoh Gan Hong, for his scouting achievements. If you peek closer at the picture, you’ll see Ong Seng Huat there too. He’s the current vice-president of the Penang headquarters of the Scouts Association of Malaysia. For those who are unable to read the small print in the newspaper story, it is reproduced here below:

OCTOGENARIAN Khoo Poh Sen was the only woman who received a service medal during the Scouts Service Award ceremony at the Scouts Association of Malaysia’s Penang headquarters in Jalan Scotland.

“I became a Scouts in 1964, and back then my focus was grooming the younger Scouts in schools. I have never felt out of place with Scouts. We were always focused on the activities and projects we were doing together as Scouts,” said the former secondary school teacher after receiving her service medal.

The 83-year-old said she spent the best part of her life providing services to the community through the scouting movement. Khoo, who retired from the movement in 2015, was among 14 Scouts who received medals for their long service.

The oldest recipient was Datuk Khoo Yeoh Gan Hong, who was all smiles when he recalled his days as a Scout. “Once a Scout, always a Scout,” the former Penang Scout commissioner said when receiving his medal for 51 years of service. The 91-year-old has dedicated most of his life providing services to others through the scouting movement which he first joined in 1937.

“I was just nine years old then. It was a simple start, and everything that came later is history. Being a Scout, I realise that I cannot stop just yet, as there are always more inspiring things to do and more people to help,” he said.

National Scout chief Tan Sri Shafie Mohd Salleh, who presented the medals to the recipients recently, said he was touched by the services of the veteran Scouts.

“All of us are very proud of the icons and veterans who have been there with us, and for us. As Scouts, I believe the veterans and previous Scout members will always be close to us even after they have left their posts. We are humbled and appreciative of all the years they have put in as Scouts. We hope the younger Scouts will be able to learn from them,” he said in his speech.