Tower of bamboo, firewood and rope

IMAGINE a tower five storeys high built out of nothing but bamboo, firewood and rope. Forty members of the 219th Kinta Scout Shiang Yang Open Troop took five days to create the 21.3-metre high structure at SMK Bercham in Ipoh. Its scoutmaster Leong Siew Chuan, 25, said they used 300 pieces of wood, 100 bamboo poles and 50kg of rope. With nine platforms and 13 sets of stairs, the structure is solid enough to hold up to 70 Scouts at one time. Two people could squeeze onto the top of the tower, he said. Troop creation:The scouts posing in front of their tower. The structure was built in conjunction with the troop’s first nationwide campfire gathering attended by over 500 scouts and girl guides from 25 schools recently. The tower, to be dismantled soon, was meant to be a test of their skills in line with their campfire theme of ‘breaking through their limits’, said Leong. MCA secretary-general Datuk Ong Ka Chuan launched the event on Saturday night by lighting a bonfire at the school with Bercham assemblyman Gooi Seng Teik. In his speech, he lauded the troop for organising the gather- ing that also challenged the 500 scouts in various contests of skill. The SMJK Kwong Hua Scout troop was named overall cham-pion, SMK Poi Lam’s was the best disciplined while the SMK Chan Wa scouts from Seremban were the most supportive. The contest winners were Kuen Cheng Girl’s School (backwoods cooking), SMJK Chung Hwa, Se-remban (mini gadgets), SM Sam Min 60th girl’s group (semaphore and marching), SMJK Kwong Hua’s 13th Unit Ranger Group 1 (modern cooking), SMJK Shing Chung, Sun- gai Siput, (highlight and drama) and SMK Sentosa, Kuala Lumpur (dance). Source : TheStar.com.my