NPDP 2018

NPDP 2018 was held on 22nd May this year. Below are photos from the parade, as well as reflection pieces by the unit.

Batch 50:
“We the members of the National Police Cadet Corps, Do here and now, Solemnly and sincerely pledge that we will always…”With our heads held high, the crests on our berets gleaming in the sunlight, faces taking on glossy sheens of sweat, clenched fists held close to our hearts; our unit took centre stage at the front of the quadrangle, booming out our pledge in unison. All gazes were locked on us as we stood united, proudly, reciting the ever familiar lines with all our heart and soul.

22nd May 2018.This was the anticipated day when we, clad in our painstakingly prepared uniform and polished boots, would show our school what we were made of.At first, we treated the NPDP as one of the many NP events that we would have this year, and took things in our stride. The trainings leading up to this day passed by like a blur, and our minds were focused on our other simultaneously ongoing commitments — preparing for OBS, receiving our MYE results and training for the shooting competition. Yet, as the date inched closer, we started to feel nervous and anxious, for it was the first time that our squad would be in the GOH contingent, marching out into the middle of the quadrangle and being in the centre of attention.The day finally arrived. As the song for morning assembly came to an end, we could hear birds chirping, and feel the morning sun on our faces. There was utter silence across the quadrangle, breaths were held in anticipation, and the occasional shuffling of feet before the command was belted out.“Kawalan Kehormatan, Dari Tengga Cepat Jalan!”

The drum beats sounded immediately, and our contingent marched out, arms locked and chins pointed up. We could feel the burning gazes of everyone around us as we marched forward with confident strides, and at this moment, it really felt as if we were walking down a royal carpet, and could command the world’s attention with our powerful presence. Throughout the parade, we stayed alert, our arms pressed to our sides, clinging on to our rifles, steady gazes looking up. During the pledge, our voices resonated through the quadrangle, firm and passionate, and our hearts filled with pride of being in NYNP, and being part of this wonderful, majestic moment where we were all united as one. This sense of contentment, fulfilment and satisfaction was unparalleled, and we all revelled in that moment.Nothing could beat the heartwarming moment right after the parade, when our unit fell out and everyone broke into proud smiles and excited laughter. Perhaps we all felt high from the surges of exhilaration of being in the spotlight, and captivating the people around us with our loud pledge and the commander’s assured tone in commanding.Afterwards, we had a fun mini photo taking session before heading back to class. Throughout the day, we would anxiously scurry towards (or sometimes, away from) ma’ams and TOs to greet them, and though it was slightly awkward to receive plenty of fleeting, curious glances from our schoolmates while walking around in our uniforms, we still stayed in good spirits till the end of the day. It certainly did feel quite special – cool, even – to don our full NPCC uniform in front of schoolmates other than our unit.

At the end of the day, though our experience this year for NPDP was quite fleeting, we know that it will remain as another special, heartening memory to look back on down the road. From the first NPDP where some of us even shook in fear and nervousness, to our second parade where we gained more confidence and felt deeper connection to NYNP, all the way to this year’s parade, our first time in the GOH contingent— we will cherish these lasting memories of these very special days, celebrating NPCC as a nation.“…our country and community. We will always preserve the peace and uphold the law.”
Batch 51:Be it the parade commander, contingent commanders, flag raisers, flag bearers, supporting contingent or GOH contingent, it didn’t really matter which role we took up in the parade. No matter where we stood in the quadrangle under the blazing sun, we were representing NYNP as a unit with the same goal in mind: a smooth-sailing, successful parade.NPDP is an annual parade held by our unit, in commemoration of NPCC day. It is a day where we showcase to the school what we have done as a unit, and what we have achieved. One of the most important events of our NPCC journey, it sets a milestone to remind us that yet another year has passed since our batch’s first parade in NPCC.With each and everyone’s busy schedule, we had to make the best out of the limited trainings we had. This included giving up precious recess time even if we had tests to revise for the same day, sacrificing sleep time to go early to school and using whatever remaining pockets of time not just to sharpen our own drills, but also to coordinate within squads and give each other feedback and pointers.Besides just focusing on our own squad’s drill standards, we took up the responsibility of teaching 52 new foot drills and revising with them what they have previously learnt as they joined NYNP only a few months ago. It was a new experience for us as we were no longer the youngest in the unit, no longer the squad that were always well taken care of, but instead, seniors of Batch 52. “How should we teach them? What if we don’t teach them well?” Despite all these worries, we tried our best to complete this task well by coming up with lesson plans, conducting extra trainings for 52, correcting their mistakes and giving them pointers. We shared with them advices from ma’ams when we ourselves were taught and all our knowledge.Just like what would happen before every event that required us to be in full uniform, our squad went into panic mood the day before. Our group chat was spammed with questions about pinning of badges or polishing of boots, and us freaking out, “Will it rain tomorrow? What if I forget a uniform part? What if I drop my rifle?” But of course, we felt a sense of satisfaction as we pinned up each badge in alignment and saw our polished boots in glitters of shine.Finally, the fateful day arrived. 7.20am was our reporting time on 22nd May. We entered the school, still dark, still unlit early in the morning to prepare for the parade. Changing into our full uniform, we could clearly feel what it meant to have “butterflies inthe stomach”. This was the day that we got the chance to march in front of the whole school and everyone had the mindset of doing NYNP proud.Everything passed by so quickly – the trainings, the change into full uniform, the panicking moments and the rehearsal. Before we even realised it, it was time for the actual parade. We gave each other hugs and pats of encouragement and got ready at the form up point. The morning school bell sounded to signal the school to get ready for morning assembly and as the teachers, the students, the principals and staff members slowly streamed into the quadrangle, our heart palpitated rapidly.

Soon after, NPDP commenced, commands were given and drumbeats sounded. With a clear procedure in mind, the respective contingents marched out in pride before the eyes of the school. “Remember your basic drills standards: lock up and look up. Take note of arm swing coordination, 90 and 45 degrees. Impek at the point. Legs are to be raised to 90 degrees when you hentak and bang. Follow the drum beats, if you are on the wrong leg, change. Memorise the NPCC pledge and recite it with pride and passion. Sing the National Anthem and recite the pledges loudly. Take note of your formation. Do not fidget. Coordinate your bangs. Sharpen your actions,” the pointers that our ma’ams gave us during trainings were etched in our mind, playing out like a script as we constantly reminded ourselves to take note of them while executing the drills. With passion and pride, we recited the pledge loudly and completed our final lap of marching out.

As the parade came to an end, we felt many different feelings gather in us. A tablespoon full of relief was felt as all the hard work and time spent on NPDP, to perfect our drills and stay coordinated, paid off. However, there also remained a teaspoon of sadness, as we turned to each other and said,”NPDP is over”. Our one shot this year at showing what NPCC is to our school, is over. Yet, somewhere in all those mixed emotions, there also lives a cup full of happiness. We were happy that we taught 52 well, happy that we did not make any major mistakes, happy that there were no accidents that occurred.

Lastly, there in our hearts was probably a pinch of regret. Somewhere in there, we tell ourselves,“I should not have fidgeted so much”, “I shouldn’t have cut my hand down at the wrong timing”. We wish we did so many things, we wish we could have corrected so much more, we wish we could have been so much sharper, to make our experience more successful and perfect. Then again, it is always the mistakes that we make during NPDP that makes it such a memorable, great experience for each and every one of us. And to conclude, this, is our NPDP experience.
Batch 52:
NPDP was a unique experience. It gave us an opportunity to interact and practice with our ma’ams, as well as sharpen our drills. We also became much more familiar with the different NPCC commands and drills.Although the trainings were tougher and more tiring than the usual ones, we got to hone our skills and learnt a lot of new drills, such as impek and how to switch foot while hentaking and marching. Even though we took a long time to perfect our drills and we made many mistakes, we persevered and continued training.

During the training sessions, we were reminded to maintain basic drill standards such as looking up, locking up, standing straight and not fidgeting. We also had to coordinate our bangs, lift our legs up to 90 degrees, and align to the person next to us when marching. Initially, we kept forgetting and making mistakes but we got better with more practice.During the parade, we were reminded that we should be proud of our nation and also NPCC. This gave us a sense of belonging and pride for our CCA.However, we feel that we could have been more coordinated during hentak as some of us were either lagging or too fast. We could have also sung the national anthem louder.On a positive note, during the actual parade, we followed the timings and commands correctly. No one fidgeted while in Sediah and Senang Diri position. The NPCC pledge was loud and clear, also, most of us were looking up at all times.

In conclusion, we enjoyed NPDP greatly and look forward to next year’s parade.