Armed Forces training turns council staff into award-winning contingent
KEPALA BATAS: For two months, 65 Penang Island City Council (MBPP) personnel swapped their usual work routines for early mornings of drills and relentless practice in the hope to make their mark on the parade ground.
Trained by members of the Armed Forces at Padang Kota Lama, they learned the marching discipline, precision and synchronisation needed to stand out on the parade ground.
Their hard work paid off when the contingent marched away with two state-level National Day parade awards – Best Marching Contingent and Best Costume Design in the Public Service Agency category.
Contingent captain Zulkifli Ismail, 53, said the team spent the first month training under an instructor before two Armed Forces personnel took over in the second month, pushing them to sharpen their skills.
“The training was intense, but we knew that if we wanted to win, we had to train hard and maintain discipline,” he said at the state-level Malaysia Day celebration at Dewan Millenium here yesterday.
For Zulkifli, who has served with the council for 25 years, the victory was particularly meaningful as it marked the third time the council had clinched the marching title during his service.
The council had also won the Best Costume Design award twice previously, he said.
This year, the contingent wore traditional attire featuring a maroon-and-pink floral batik motif inspired by Teluk Bahang, reflecting Penang’s natural landscape and local identity.
The motif was incorporated into the men’s sampin and women’s baju kurung.
It was designed by a council worker.
Meanwhile, the Penang Chinese Girls’ High School won the Best Uniformed Body category, while the Penang Teacher Education Institute took the Marching Band category.
Universiti Teknologi Mara Penang Branch won the Higher Education and Training Institution category, while St John Ambulance of Malaysia Penang Branch took the Private Sector category.
Penang Governor Tun Ramli Ngah Talib and his consort Toh Puan Raja Noora Ashikin Raja Abdullah, as well as Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, were among those present.
Chow said Penang recorded RM17.3bil in approved manufacturing investments in the first half of this year, an increase of 38% from the same period last year and accounting for 34% of the national total.
He said such investments should translate into quality jobs, better salaries, opportunities for local companies, technology transfer and improved living standards.
