I would like to thank all the folks who came for the Pukul Habis book talk at SAFRA Toa Payoh on 7 September 2024. I appreciate those who stayed behind and waited their turn patiently for the one-to-one conversations.
While the book research may have involved interactions with a number of individuals, the actual writing was, to me a newbie fiction author, a lonely and impersonal journey where you never know whether the words on the screen will be read or appreciated by anyone out there.
So thanks for helping keep the flames alight.
In response to the many requests to stay active and communicative, I have recently restarted updates on my social channels: Instagram (@davidboeypix) and X (@senangdiri) and also Facebook (David Boey Author's page @senangdiriHQ). Do Follow if you would like to see the updates.
X will be my platform of choice for quick updates
IG will mirror the photo-worthy updates on X. Engagement levels far lower than X. But there's a reason I'm on IG.
FB will be for long form discourses, such as my comments on the recent training incident at Exercise Wallaby 2024, as I have seen these posts propagated faster and to a more esteemed audience than my blog posts.
My blog will kept warm as a platform for Singapore-related defence discussions for those special occasions when I feel a need to speak up.
I also want to thank the many, many new Pukul Habis readers who discovered this book. It was a thrill seeing the book displayed at the main entrance of Books Kinokuniya, Singapore's biggest bookstore, again. And seeing the pile eventually whittled away just weeks later.
If you read my revised Author's Note, you will realise the book is written with hidden messages embedded therein. If you're a newly-minted 2LT or fresh recruit, you will need time to pick up some of the tribe's nuances and it may be hard to read about the SAF being shot to pieces in a story like this.
But there's a reason why the SAF's first CDF endorsed the story. If you need a hint, just think about the capabilities that the super-strong SAF opponent demonstrates in the fictional battles, then ask yourself which side is more likely to actually have them for real and what the author is trying hard to tell you without being invited for a free coffee. Think about it.
The first batch of Pukul Habis readers took awhile to arrive at this deduction but many eventually did.
I hope all you new readers will get it and also find the story meaningful and a worthwhile learning journey.