More than 25 years ago, I joined the Reserve Officer Training Unit (ROTU), known in Malaysia as Pasukan Latihan Pegawai Simpanan (PALAPES), at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Looking back today, I realize that the daily routines, weekly training, annual camps, and countless hardships did far more than prepare me to become a reserve officer—they shaped the person I am today.
Every week, we underwent military training. Every semester, we trained at both the USM Main Campus in Penang and the Engineering Campus in Seri Iskandar, Perak. Every year, we spent three weeks in an intensive annual field camp deep in the jungle.
The program demanded sacrifices.
Our days began before dawn. Physical training started early in the morning, pushing us to our limits. Some cadets nearly collapsed from exhaustion, but quitting was never an option.
After breakfast came drill practice. Then came weapons training. In the afternoon, we attended classroom sessions on military tactics, strategy, and leadership.
During the annual training camp, we spent a week preparing at the main campus before moving into the field for Combat in Woods (CIW), tactical movement exercises, and defensive operations during our third year.
These exercises took us across dense jungles, rubber estates, oil palm plantations, and military camps. We slept wherever the mission required. Comfort was a luxury we learned to live without.
Weekends were never our own. While most university students were catching up on sleep or enjoying campus life, we were marching, training, and learning to lead.
And then there was the haircut.
Our hair was always kept military short. It became part of our identity.
Of course, no military training was complete without punishment. Whether verbal or physical, discipline was part of the learning process. Some of those punishments even left scars that remain visible today.
But the deepest marks were not on our bodies—they were on our character.
At the time, we believed military training was the hardest challenge we would ever face. We were wrong.
Life outside the military proved to be even tougher.
Yet, Alhamdulillah, the discipline, resilience, and mental strength forged during ROTU prepared me to face the storms, setbacks, and uncertainties of life with confidence.
Twenty-five years later, those lessons remain with me. I still value discipline. I stay calm under pressure. I remain resilient when facing adversity. Even my weekends are naturally productive because the habit of making good use of time has never left me.
Looking back, many of the achievements in my personal life and professional career can be traced to those formative years.
The uniform has long been put away, and my hairstyle has changed.
But the soldier within me never left.
This is my story for today.
