I had a gut feeling that something was not right. I left 4 of my team behind with our packs with my very able Ranger Lim See Meng. Told them to stay in all round defense and to wait for us to come back. Come back we will. The boys with me told them to move only with their patrol packs. I walked at a brisk pace for more than an hour, I saw the new boy Ranger Khairy on the ground foaming at the mouth.

Around Lembah Klau, there are durian orchards, where the farmers place poisoned durians on the ground for wild boars which are pests. The poisoned durian is marked with a red plastic string wrapped around it. I approached Ranger Khairy and asked him if he ate the durian, he nodded his head in the affirmative. I asked Corporal Rahman to prepare a litter. We were still in a rubber plantation; it would be difficult to get straight branches. Corporal Rahman was not fazed.

He climbed up a rubber tree and got the necessary branches to construct the litter. It was done in half an hour. I told the boys we need to rush, as Khairy was not responding and passed out. I took one side of the litter and started walking. It was uphill and downhill, I did not allow anyone to rest even though some of them begged to have a breather. I made them realize the urgency of my actions. I told them that no time must be wasted, as it is a matter of life and death, Khairy’s.

I felt the skin on my shoulder enduring the friction of the litter, burning; apparently, my skin was being bruised at that time. I did not feel it at all. They begged for a rest, I refused and told them to switch sides. We reached the rendezvous just as two three quarter ton Volvo trucks were roaring uphill. The doctor a turbaned Sikh jumped out and examined Khairy, he started giving instructions, gave Khairy a jab and put him on a drip. Until today the scar is still there as a reminder on my shoulder.

We had not have our dinner we had been walking for four plus hours. Khairy was safely sped off. The return journey was exhausting. After a solid plodding, we reached the spot where we left four of our soldiers. They were nowhere to be seen. I heard a sound; there they were on a huge rock elevated, pointing their rifles at our group, well hidden. I was relieved. Bloody happy to see them.

I asked them whether they had eaten. The answer was negative. I told them to break out the resupplied rations and eat the biscuits for dinner. Which they were glad to do. I too stuffed my face. I slept that night peacefully and woke up on time for my sentry duty. In the morning my soldier, Ranger Ludin came up to me. A young soldier, he looked at me sheepishly and looked very shy. What is it you want, I asked him? “Sir could you please look at my glans (the head of the penis)”?

I opened my mouth nearly laughing, “Why do you ask me of this? I might go blind looking at yours”. “Sir, it is very painful”. “Okay take it out.” He unbuttoned his pants and pulled out his wiener pulled back his foreskin and showed me his glans. Embedded in his glans was a tick, half the body of the tick was buried inside. I purposely took out my lighter and flicked it. He moved backwards and said, “Sir, I am not married.”

I laughed and told him that I am not that stupid. Took out my emergency medicated oil from my first aid kit, dropped a drop on the tick. Called him closer to me, gripped his penis and gripped the body of the tick and pulled, luckily the whole tick came out. He told me, that it was very painful with the tick inside, sharp pains shooting up. In the jungle, it happens to almost all.

Once in the morning I had a feeling in my scrotum, like all men we feel the scrotal area in the mornings, which is a natural thing, I felt a bump on that area, as I pressed I felt a sharp pain shoot up. Every time I moved my fingers over the bump, the pain shot up. In the jungle with an average number of less than ten men, you are spoilt for choices for who can look at your balls! I had my Corporal look at my scrotum; he told me that there was a tick (kutu babi). Told him to pull out the tick, which was embedded very comfortably, in my scrotum.