Some 30 delegates from Division K joined 500 other delegates in Kuala Lumpur on 26 November 2004 to attend the Joint District 51 and District 80 Semi Annual Convention. The convention, which was held at the Hilton Hotel, Kuala Lumpur from 25 to 28 November 2004, was enlivened and rattled by its all encompassing theme “Passion Ignites.” The Division K’s clubs represented at the convention were the KKTMC, Tawau Mandarin, IEM Sabah, SWEPA, KK Mandarin, Brunei Speakers, Labuan and Pidato.
The District 51 Exco Meeting was held in the morning, which was attended by the Division K Governor, Richard A. Gontusan, DTM. In the afternoon, the District Council Meeting was held, which was attended by the rest of the delegates, including ADVGET Fatimah Yassin, ATM-B, Area K4 Governor Alice Kunjan, CTM and Division K Secretary Andrew Thien, ATM-G. At the meeting, Connections Toastmasters Club of Kuching won the privilege to host the District Semi Annual Convention in November 2005, while Kulim Toastmasters Club of Penang was given the honour to host the District 51 Annual Convention 2006. After the Joint Annual Convention in May 2005 in Jakarta, District 51 and District 80 will be hosting their separate conventions.
Dubbed “Passion Ignites with Colours,” the fellowship night was an exciting mix of play, catwalks, dances and of course a buffet dinner. The Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage staged a vibrant cultural extravaganza, showcasing Malaysian cultural dances. The Brunei Speakers Club led by President Rozana Yunos, CTM participated in the Cultural Booth Contest. Although they did not win, their member, Geoff Andrew, DTM, who donned a Malay outfit, won the Best Dressed Gentleman Prize.
The next day, after the parade of flags, the welcome speech by the Organising Chairperson Kiang Faang Pyng and a powerful Chinese drum performance, Toastmasters International’s Second Vice President Johnny Uy, DTM delivered a keynote address. His message: Applaud the speakers. He contented that if the speaker is applauded he or she will be motivated to move on with his or her educational goals. He is an incredible speaker, who connects enthusiastically with his audience.
A forum on “Move Beyond – From Training Room to the Outside World” was staged in the late morning, which was moderated by Dunstan Chan, DTM. Those on the panel were Dato Capt Nawawi, CTM, Dr Khong Chooi Peng, DTM, Lim Swee Seng, CTM and Maimunah Natasha, DTM. They agreed that Toastmasters educational standards must be preserved while at the same allowing the members to self-pace themselves in achieving their goals.
After lunch, two plenary sessions were staged. The first session saw the World Champion of Public Speaking 1990, David Brooks, DTM, talk about delivering powerful speeches by observing video clips of speech contestants at various world contests. He emphasised on the need to write out a speech because he believes that words correctly chosen can make for a powerful speech. The second plenary session was facilitated by the World Champion of Public Speaking 2001, Darren LaCroix, ATM. He said that the use of humour in business is a powerful tool. It can add profits to your bottom line, attract new customers and clients and help you keep existing ones. Both speakers delivered powerful presentations, which were value for money.
Three concurrent workshops in English were held after the plenary sessions. The English workshops included EQ Mastery in Communication by Amy Wan Ratos, CTM; The Way of the Winner by Dunstan Chan, DTM; and Leadership Skills Today by Tim Hansen, ATM. Earlier, on 25 November 2004, the Mandarin workshops held included Passionate Team Spirit in Toastmasters by Tay Hock Ann, ATM-S; Does the Art of Impromptu Speaking Bring Prosperity by Barnabas Cheung, ATM-B; Speak with Your Body Gestures by Lim Chee Kong, CTM; Adding Power with Fun by Khor Song Kiang, ATM-B; and The Magic Tool That Really Works by Yap Wei Choong, ATM-B.
The Hall of Fame, which recognised the achievements of clubs, areas and divisions from the previous term, was held after the workshops. KKTMC, KK Mandarin and IEM Sabah were recognised as President’s Distinguished Clubs; Brunei Speakers, Labuan, SWEPA and Tawau Mandarin were Select Distinguished Clubs; Sandakan Mandarin, Sandakan and Tawau were Distinguished Clubs; Area K4 and Area K6 were Distinguished Areas; Area K5 was Select Distinguished Area; and Division K was Distinguished Division. Despite the increase in the number of dormant clubs in Division K last term, the Division’s overall performance was commendable. Congratulations to Christine Yap, DTM, Division K Governor 2003/2004, and her team.
To honour all the past and current achievers, the Hall of Fame Gala Banquet was held in the evening. The Division K Governor, Richard A. Gontusan, DTM, was presented with a DTM Medal along with seven other Toastmasters. In between awards, stage performances on “Scintillating Show by Sekolah Seri Cempaka” and “Surprise Rendition” were staged. The Most Glamorous Personality Contest attracted contestants who would probably make it to the pages of Vogue or Cosmopolitan, but would be more at home in TV Guide.
It was probably too early to stage speech contests at 8.00am, but that did not stop the crowd from coming in on time to witness contestants battle it out in the District 51 Humorous Speech Contest and Evaluation Speech Contest. For the first time, District 51 and District 80 held their separate contests. District 51 contestants hailed from clubs in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
There were eight contestants in the District Humorous Speech Contest, of which Division K Governor Richard A. Gontusan, DTM was the Contest Chair. The contestants were superb in their performances; their antics, anecdotes and humour reverberated through their audience. Eventually, Stephen Fernando of Division W was declared champion with his speech entitled “Beast and the Beauty.” The first runner-up was Ruby Ahmad of Division N with her speech entitled “Wholly Matrimony,” while Kevin Lim of Division K with his speech entitled “Aggressive Dragon, Blossom Flower was placed second runner-up. For the Division K delegates, it was a magical moment for them to witness their very own Kevin Lim placed in such a prestigious contest.
Division K’s Azlina Abdul Jalil relived the magical moment when she clinched the first runner-up placing in the District Evaluation Speech Contest that immediately followed, which was chaired by Division N Governor Koay Leeng Tze, ATM-B. The champion was Joseph Dominic representing Division C, while the second runner-up was Sue Chan representing Division N. All eight contestants evaluated the speech of test speaker Law Lee Poh, who talked about “Regrets.” Azlina was outstanding in her evaluation of Lee Poh’s speech; she was composed, collected and had the presence of mind to use the right words and method to deliver a constructive and wholesome evaluation.
The moment the contests, results and all, were over, the two winners from Division K were swamped by their fans and supporters – John, Ronald, Alice, Yuen Mee, Annie, Fatimah, Christina and many more. Hugs and handshakes traded as though they had been on sale. Nico Liew, who had earlier won second runner-up placing at the District Mandarin Humorous Speech Contest joined in the celebration with his trophy. It was picture perfect. It was one of Division K’s proudest moments at the convention. Andrew captured every magic moment at the convention with his trusted club camera. Datuk Adeline Leong was present to lend support.
A farewell lunch and a closing ceremony followed soon after. It would be apt to suggest that everyone’s passion was ignited at the convention. The delegates’ passion for the Toastmasters ideals, fellowship, friendship, entertainment, recognition, great speeches and speakers, leadership and many more was set ablaze, to rise once again like the legendary phoenix at the next convention in Jakarta, Indonesia.
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