The New Straits Times recently covered Steadfast Association Kuala Lumpur‘s The Grand BB Reunion, which was held to commemorate the Boys Brigade‘s 130th anniversary: Still steadfast at 130 years.

Members of the Steadfast Association Malaysia and Singapore cutting the Boys’ Brigade’s birthday cake.

KUALA LUMPUR: Fifty-year old Alfred Ong, remembers joining the brass bands and camping trips of the Boys’ Brigade when he was a teenager just to accumulate merit badges.

“Back then, we joined in the Brigade’s many activities to collect points, but those shaped us to be the adults that we are today,” said the Steadfast Association Kuala Lumpur (SAKL) secretary.

The association, made up of alumni members of the Boys’ Brigade, held a grand reunion recently to commemorate the Brigade’s 130th anniversary worldwide.

Ong’s most memorable Boys’ Brigade experience was participating in the 1979 Boys’ Brigade Band Festival as a 17-year-old.

For Adel Tan Geok Soon, 64, although the Boys’ Brigade helps and benefits one throughout a lifetime, he acknowledged the difficulty of signing up youths these days.

“Kids today have too many things to do like tuition classes, piano lessons and computer games.

“During my time, we would meet up every weekend to go camping, play sports and volunteer at various causes which also built our characters and developed our leadership skills,” he said.

Tan admitted this was worrying as he felt that the youths nowadays were not as socially skilled the way their forefathers were.

“Volunteerism among the youths has also decreased now to the point that the government needs to step in and encourage them to volunteer,” he said.

SAKL president Michael Yei, 58, agreed that the Boys’ Brigade and other associations like it are facing new challenges.

“We want to harness the old boys’ skills through the Steadfast Association while keeping the Boys’ Brigade relevant to current times. We need to keep up with the changing trends and technology or else we will become extinct,” he said.

Yei said that with the Boys’ Brigade, he learned things that were not taught in the classroom.

“I discovered my leadership, organisational and social skills, among others which are important in life, in the Boys’ Brigade. Even straight A students wouldn’t survive in this world without these skills,” he said.

Ninety per cent of who he is today, he added, came from his Boys’ Brigade days, doing the army drills and brass band practices.

Having joined the Boys’ Brigade in 1969, Yei never left as he went on to become an instructor.

When the Malaysian Government launched the National Service programme in 2004, he was one of the pioneers who volunteered his services and became the first civilian commander.

To ensure that the Boys’ Brigade stay connected for many years to come, Yei called for all of the old boys from all over the country to join the Steadfast Association.

“Many youths still need our services,” he said.

Held at the PGRM Tower in Cheras, here, the dinner saw over 800 guests attending, many of whom had come from around the country and Singapore.

Having gained so much from their years in the Boys’ Brigade, the Stedfast Association dedicates itself to serving the youth, namely the current members of the Boys’ Brigade.

Since 1998, the association has provided deserving members of the Boys’ Brigade with financial assistance to pursue their studies at secondary, post-secondary and tertiary levels. To date, the association has disbursed more than RM150,000 in scholarships and other social activities for the youth.

Scholarship recipients over the years have pursued their studies overseas, including at Yale University, Cambridge University, Oxford University, University of Tokyo and University of Melbourne.

Members raise funds through golf tournaments, Founder’s Day dinners, family camps as well as talks on health and investments.