Jauhari Bilingual TMC as Project Evaluator, 20th July 2019

On the 20^th July 2019, I dropped by Jauhari Bilingual Toastmasters Club, to attend the installation of their new ExCo.  Jauhari Bilingual Toastmasters Club is a unique club among Toastmasters in Singapore, in that they hold their speeches in both English and Malay.  This was my 14^th club visit, on the 20^th day of the Toastmaster year.

The installation was conducted by Director, Area E1, Sivanesan K. Murugayan.  Division Director, Ho Chiu Lin, and a host of club and district officials were present as well.

The new team are as follows:

1. President: Wiwiek Najihah binte Hairudin;

2. Vice-President, Education: Syaiful Hakimnudin bin Sa’adon;

3. Vice-President, Membership: Muhammad Nurfarhan bin Abdul Jaaffar;

4. Vice-President, Public Relations: Siti Zuhriyyah binte Mohammed Ariffin;

5. Secretary: Siti Zuhriyyah binte Mohammed Ariffin;

6. Treasurer: Syazwani Dwiputri binte Abdul Wahid; and

In her inaugural address as President, Wiwiek Najihah binte Hairudin, spoke at length on her hopes for the new term, the fact that Jauhari Bilingual Toastmasters Club has an exciting new team, that the club is slowly growing, and its values gaining traction, and its success in promoting love of languages, and proficiency in the Malay language, with non-Malay members and guests.

Syaiful Hakimnudin bin Sa’adon, who is also the club coach, then explained the unique proposition of Jauhari Bilingual Toastmasters Club.  He acknowledged that we are in a time where many Malays, particularly professionals, are more fluent in English than Malay, and this is something that they seek to address.  He gave this speech in Malay, and English.

The first motivational speech was by Muhammad Nurhakim bin Mohamed Yusop, and he spoke, in Malay, on the recent kerfuffle regarding the alleged profiling of madrasah girls by TransCom, which was subsequently disproven.  He spoke about the dangers of jumping to conclusion, and how it reflects badly on us.

Siti Zuhriyyah binte Mohammed Ariffin spoke, in English, about the challenges of teaching mathematics to children, and how the fear of the subject is an actual psychological condition.  And then, like a true teacher, she went to the board, and demonstrated some multiplication hacks.  It is to the immense regret of many in the audience that this was not mentioned when they were actually in school, decades ago.

Christophe Hamchin then gave a reflection on his path, Dynamic Leadership.  He spoke of being discounted and disenfranchised, and how Toastmasters allowed him to demonstrate his leadership potential.  It was a poignant speech that resonated with many in the audience.

Overall, it was a lovely afternoon.  There were good speeches, great banter, and a family, or shall I say, a kampung, atmosphere, that allowed everyone to feel at home.

Best Speaker: Siti Zuhriyyah binte Mohammed Ariffin; and

Best Evaluator: Nurliza binte Sawi.

There was no voting for table topics.