A LESSON IN SURVIVAL

A NST senior news editor recalls his escapades and assignments during his years as a journalist and entertainment editor, and the lessons he learnt in faith, loyalty, friendship and teamwork

FOR the last 25 years out of the New

Straits Times’ 175 years of existence, I consider myself lucky to be part of an amazing rollercoaster ride into the wonderful world of journalism.

I literally got my feet wet when the then NST group editor Datuk Ahmad A. Talib sent me for an adventure deep in the rainforest in Jeram Besu near Benta, Pahang, barely a month after I joined the company in 1995.

“Young man... I want you to ‘masuk

hutan’ for an adventure and tell us about the experience,” he said. (Throughout his life, arwah would continue to call me “young man”, more recently when I was coordinating his Pahit Manis column for the New Sunday Times.)

The assignment was to give journalists a taste of what participants in Marlboro Adventure Team ‘95 would have to endure during the gruelling annual competition.

Having had no prior experience in such activities, I was thrown into the world of abseiling, rock-climbing, kayaking, whitewater rafting, outdoor camping and mountain bike racing in just one backbreaking weekend.

From the experience, I discovered that I have a competitive edge with wall-climbing skills that could gave Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise in the Mission: Impossible film series) a run for his money. Not to brag, but I came out top in a competition among journalists that weekend.

The experience was essentially a lesson in leadership, trust, faith, loyalty, friendship and teamwork: qualities that would come in handy in my career.

While navigating through several rapids during whitewater rafting, the foreman seated at the front of the raft was the only voice you follow.

“Right, paddle!” he ordered, followed by heavy paddling by those seated on the right side of the raft.

We navigated through deep great rapids and shallow rocky waters, away from the sharp bamboo clumps by the riverbank and into calm waters in the end.

There were tears and fears, laughter and fun, just like how my years with NST continue to be, even now 25 years later.

At one point, the raft flipped 45 degrees in the air and came down in a huge splash, forcing water to gush in. It was easy to be overtaken by fear when you see a pair of slippers floating in the water-filled raft, but just have faith in the leadership and everything would turn out fine.

Then we met with what was dubbed “the mother of all rapids”. It turned out to be the highlight of the adventure!

The experience was the start of my journey, both mentally and physically, into this fascinating career.

As the Entertainment Desk editor years later, my “survival” training continued when I had the opportunity to follow British adventurer and survival expert Bear Grylls for a day out in the wet and bitterly cold terrain of an English countryside in 2013.

This time, it felt as if I would complete my Jedi apprenticeship with a Jedi master himself.

The ruggedly handsome host of popular adventure TV shows Man vs Wild, Get Out

Alive and Worst Case Scenario was promoting his latest show Bear Grylls: Escape

From Hell on Discovery Channel and played host to a handful of journalists for this “Experiential Day with Bear Grylls”.

I had mentally prepared myself to eat bugs and drink the unimaginable, prior to the trip. After all, those who have watched his shows would have seen how Grylls survived the unthinkable by doing things that make Fear Factor look like Sesame Street.

Am I going to be left alone in the wet, treacherous wilderness, surrounded by wild animals and poisonous creatures?

The first thing I learnt was to trust this former member of the British Special Air Service, who attended the prestigious Eton College and conquered Mount Everest at the age of 23, making him the youngest Briton to have achieved the feat.

For a start, it rained on that cool autumn morning.

“The good thing about human skin is that it’s waterproof,” Grylls said, as he welcomed me and a few scared-looking journalists to the “wilderness” that was... a shrubbery in the famous spa town of Cheltenham in Cotswolds, England. Okay, I may have exaggerated the wilderness bit.

“There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing,” he said, stressing the importance of having proper clothing as one of the key outdoor survival tips. He probably had noticed my salmoncoloured hoodie.

As expected, Grylls wanted us dirty. “The sooner you embrace the mess, the easier it will be,” Grylls said, grabbing a glob of mud from the puddle and smearing it on our faces.

“This is nature’s exfoliation. People pay good money for this.”

In his book Man vs. Wild: Survival Techniques From The Most Dangerous Places On Earth (2008), Grylls refers to the hierarchy of survival needs, namely Protection, Rescue, Water, Food by adopting the acronym PRWF (Please Remember What’s First).

In any hostile environment (this is applicable to an office setting, I believe), the first priority is to get protection by detaching yourself from the source of the trouble.

Then, the person who needs rescuing should set himself or herself up for rescue.

“Make yourself visible. There’s no good being safe in a cave somewhere and nobody’s ever going to find you. Set yourself up to be spotted,” he said, adding that water was next on the list, followed by food that is ideally boiled and cooked.

Grylls, who fractured three of his vertebrae in a parachute accident during his military service in 1996, said his mission that day was to teach us “how to make a fire, shelter and tea”.

We were given Grylls’ signature Firesteel fire-starter kit comprising a waterproof flint and a striker, waterproof groundsheets and parachords to set up a “camp” in the wilderness; and a small tin mug to boil water and make tea from nettle (urtica dioica) and pine needles.

I survived the “ordeal” and managed to make fire under such weather conditions. Never mind that it was almost noon when my kindling finally caught the sparks from the Firesteel.

“The thing is, it is never a race in the wild,” Grylls assured, adding that where life was a rat race and everyone was trying to be better than others, he found peace in the wild.

And I am thankful I found journalism, because it is a lifelong learning experience — just keep your head above water and remember PRWF.