I was one of his company instructors during BMTC, and I trained
him for the time he was a recruit.
What I can say is that he's a good soldier, does not put on airs or
wayang, and was well liked by his platoon mates (he even allowed
them to make fun of his ultra-White Horse status). He was also not
afforded any special treatment and in fact often had to do MORE
things that some recruits could have avoided (like weekend guard)
during his BMT for the simple reason all bases had to be covered to
avoid allegations of special treatment.
In fact, our encik made it clear that he did not want to see any
special treatment. We solded the chap when he screwed up, and
knocked him down when it was required. If there was anything
special then it must have been the extra attention the whole BMTC
paid towards safety (and it already is anal about safety compared
to your usual unit) while he was there.
So was he a capable soldier? He probably had to live up to his
reputation as the PM's son and hence did not slack in NS. He was a
pretty average grunt who could lead when it came to it, and
certainly within the capabilities for command school.
In my personal opinion
however, I felt he was better in SISPEC then OCS, but then again HQ
had other ideas. But if had to ask, I felt he was a good chap.
