M'sian Chinese commando, 1st in decades, endures harsh training despite parents' objections

Malaysia's first ethnic Chinese commando in decades has graduated from a gruelling 12-week training course, overcoming physical, mental, and parental challenges to do so.

"Waste of time"

Free Malaysia Today profiled 25-year-old second lieutenant Chan Ming Youn, telling the story of the first ethnic Chinese person to earn the coveted Sherwood Green beret of the Gerup Gerak Khas, the Special Service Group or Gerakhas.

The modern Malaysian army is known to mainly comprise of bumiputera Malaysians, or Malaysians of Malay, Orang Asli, or other indigenous ethnicities.

For a variety of reasons, non-bumiputera Malaysians tend not to join the armed forces, with their parents discouraging them from doing so.

This was the case for Chan, who fought with his parents over his desire to join the military, with Chan saying that it was his dream to sign up but his parents tried to dissuade him by saying that it was a "waste of time".

Military reserve

Chan wanted to join the military right after he finished his SPM, the equivalent of Singapore's O-Levels.

Instead, his parents insisted he attend university instead, where he attained his degree in accounting.

This ended up being a double boon for him, firstly because he joined the Malaysian Military Reserve, training twice a week for up to 10 hours.

Because of this, his parents saw his commitment to pursuing his goal, and ultimately relented, lending him their support.

By the time he graduated, he was also a full adult and no longer needed their permission.

But it also meant that he joined the army as a graduate, and was able to join as an officer cadet.

Energy bars and teddy bears

Chan's 12-week training also involved an intense three-day, 160-kilometre march, which saw him begin to hallucinate with only 20km to go.

He recounted how a trainer offered him an energy bar and words of encouragement.

He managed to continue, but still observed his training mates carrying "pink rifles" and teddy bears.

His efforts resulted in him being awarded the coveted beret, dagger, and blue lanyard of the Malaysian Gerakhas.

First in two decades

Malaysian Armed Forces shared a video of his graduation ceremony, with Malaysian general Mohd Adi Ridzwan bin Abdullah ceremonially throwing away his camo boonie hat and replacing it with a beret.

When asked by the general why he joined the armed forces, Chan shouted that he wanted to serve his country.

The general then asked if his parents were in attendance and Chan said yes.

Speaking to the Malay Mail, Adi Ridzwan said that the last time the unit had a Malaysian Chinese soldier was over 20 years ago, but that there were many in the 1970s and 1980s.

He said that "happy to see" a "revival" of Malaysian Chinese serving in the military and hoped more would follow.

Represent

The comments under the video were full of praise for Chan, with one commentator from his hometown of Sepatek essentially saying "Sepatek represent".

The Malaysia Subreddit on the subject speculated on whether he was the same user who had asked about joining the military as a Chinese person years earlier.

Users shared that while Malaysia's armed forces and police were keen on non-bumiputera recruits, perceptions of poor pay and limited promotion opportunities dissuaded many, although these claims were only substantiated by way of personal anecdotes.

Meanwhile, Chan is undergoing further training in Johor and hopes to be selected for overseas military exercises in the future.

Top image via Berita Tentera Darat Malaysia/Facebook