29/10/2024
Circa Mid 1970's
Where It All Began For Us Here At Flood Response & Rescue - South East Asia.
Earliest Beginning Of Water Safety, Lifesaving, Lifeguarding Training And Beach Patrol System Leading To Flood Response & Rescue - S.E.A.
Through The RLSS UK Heritage And Tradition
" Quemcunque Miserum Videris Hominem Scias "
‘ Whomsoever You See In Distress, Recognise In Them As A Fellow Human Being ‘
Our heritage and tradition in water safety, lifesaving and life-guarding goes well beyond the beach cultures of just ' sun, sea and sand ' and strong masculinity ' sculphed by the waves and bronzed by the sun ' too.
In the early 1970's, for me the vast knowledge and skills learned about water safety, lifesaving and lifeguarding was initially through many years of foundational training and experiences acquired from the impressive heritage award systems of the Royal Life Saving Society U.K. when the umbrella organization began here on Penang Island before spreading onto the other neighbouring states in Peninsular Malaysia.
Throughout my growing up years gaining numerous water safety, lifesaving and lifeguarding education, training and awards from the RLSS U.K. organization which was facilitated through my local swimming club, I was already impressed with the RLSS UK's motto of ‘ Quemcunque miserum videris hominem scias ’.
This motto which means ‘ Whomsoever you see in distress, recognise in them as a fellow human being ‘ have existed in my psyche ever since back in the days in the 1970's.
The Earliest Beach Lifeguard Partrol In Malaysia
Subsequently, in the mid 1970's, the Penang Island Volunteer Life Guard Corps at the Penang Chinese Swimming Club was formed and established in a cooperation between the Penang Island State Council and our RLSS UK Penang Branch to address the increasing drowning incidents on several popular beaches on the island.
The Penang Island Volunteer Life Guard Corp were ' members ' consisting of able bodied young men mainly from the Club holding the minimum award of the Bronze Medallion, and or higher award from the RLSS UK became the earliest lifesavers/lifeguards to have volunteered their time and services patrolling and providing beach safety surveillance for beach visitors and swimmers along the island's northern coastal stretch of beaches from the local Miami Beach, Tanjung Bungah, Batu Ferringhi and all the way towards Teluk Bahang.
Many drowning incidents were prevented and many lives were saved on these 4 Lifeguard patrolled popular beaches by members of our Penang Island Volunteer Life Guard Corp.
I was a part of the team from the Club during the early inception of the Penang Island Volunteer Life Guard Corps while growing up as a young teenager living very close by the popular Northern Coastal beaches of Penang Island, also formerly very well-known in this region as ' The Pearl Of The Orient '.
During this time, the use of the Rescue Reel, Line and Belt apparatus and method was introduced and taught to our Volunteer Life Guard Corps members, and I believed that we were the first established Life Guard Corps in the country to have learned the methods and techniques to utilized this apparatus on the ' Lifeguard ' patrolled Northern coastal beaches of Penang Island during the mid 1975's until the mid 1980's.
This Rescue Reel, Line and Belt system was adopted from
Bondi Beach in Australia, and this method of rescue was thoroughly practiced and was strictly used by our Volunteer Life Guard Corp's members rather than to become too dependent on our own abilities of ' swimming prowess ' to effect a rescue away from the shoreline in the open water environment !!
This was also most practical and much more safer for the Lifeguards acting as a ' Rescue Swimmer ' tethered to the main line on the waist belt to swim out beyond the long distance of the shoreline to effect a rescue when the sea state and the wave conditions become very strong and hazardous to the swimmer on this side of the coast especially during our North East Monsoon season.
The time-honored Reel, Line and Belt, which involves the minimum of 4 lifeguards in the rescue operations,was the first and only lifesaving aid invented by Major John Bond who was associated with the beginning of the Surf Life Saving movement in Australia.
It is still in service in some parts of the world today, despite more modern developments, with rescue and resuscitation remaining an integral part of competition.
Following this in the early 1980's, due to the lack of funding from the Penang Island State Council to maintain the several landmark Life Guard towers and the token allowances extended to the Volunteer Life Guards this was discontinued and the Penang Island Volunteer Life Guard Corps went out of service until to this day.
So Proud Then And Yet So Sad Now.
Since my days serving as a Volunteer Lifeguard and later employed as a Professional Lifeguard at an international 5 Star Resort on the same coastal beach of Batu Ferringhi, I have seen and encountered firsthand the tragedy of drowning, the leading cause of an abundance of accidental deaths among kids and even adults.
So currently, as an advocate for drowning prevention, I am working on sharing my knowledge, skills and ability to support water safety, survival, lifesaving, lifeguarding, water rescue and now focusing on advancing Flood Response & Rescue education and training in the region.
Training The Next Generation Of Flood Response & Rescue Professionals.
For Safer And Better Flood Response & Rescue Education and Training.
Flood Response & Rescue - South East Asia.
