Jauhari Bilingual TMC as Toastmaster of the Day, 18th January 2020

On the 18^th January 2020, I was at Jauhari Bilingual Toastmasters Club, as Toastmaster of the Day.  This was my 147^th club visit on the 202^nd day of the Toastmaster year.

The sergeant-at-arms was Siti Zuhriyyah binte Mohammed Ariffin.  The Toastmasters of the Day were Muhammad Nurhakim bin Mohamed Yusop and myself.  The timer was Hasniza binte Khalil.  The language evaluator was Mohamad Hijazi bin Sudarmaji.

Wiwiek Najihah binte Hairudin, in her presidential address, mentioned the peribahasa, Malay proverb, “Melepaskan batuk di tangga”.  In modern Malay, some literally translate this as “coughing at the stairs” which does not make sense.  The “batuk” is actually a sort of ladle used to scoop water for wudhu, ablution, prior to performing swalah, the Muslim ritual prayer.  To let it go at the stairs, instead of putting it back, is symbolic of performing an act without regard and due diligence, to be sloppy, and careless.  In this regard, we have to consider, in this new year, how we want to conduct ourselves, and carry out our work.

Eliza Yuliana binte Zubaidy gave her icebreaker.  She told her she was the first child born in a private hospital in Indonesia on the day of her birth.  Her father was Indonesian, and her mother is Singaporean.  As such, she is an Indonesian citizen, staying in Malaysia, and commuting to Singapore to accompany her ailing mother to the doctor.  To date, she has been unsuccessful in her bid to get Singapore citizenship, to rectify an oversight since her birth.

Nurliza binte Sawi, gave her first speech in the Pathways programme.  She is a secondary school teacher with adult children.  She married young, and has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.  She spoke about her family, and early life.

Mohammed Hatta bin Ibrahim gave a speech in Malay.  He said, “Luka itu perlu”, “The wound is real”.  It was a heartfelt speech about understanding pain, and challenging ourselves.  The audience gets the impression that there is greater personal depth to the subject matter.  He also recited a pantun, a Malay poem, that he composed.

Syazwani Dwiputri binte Abdul Wahid gave us an insight into her leadership style.  She is an innovative person by nature.

The evaluators were Othman bin Muhammad Sadli, Malcolm Sunny Chen @ Malik Sani Abdullah Chen, Patrick Oei Kian Seng, and Aaron Khalid bin Azhari.  It should be noted that Patrick Oei Kian Seng evaluated a Malay speech, in Malay.  His facility with languages is impressive.

Best Speaker: Mohammed Hatta bin Ibrahim; and

Best Evaluator: Aaron Khalid bin Azhari; and

Best Table Topics Speaker: Mohamad Saddiqi bin Mohamad Said.

There was an additional prize for the best dressed, according to the theme.  The winner was Mohammed Hatta bin Ibrahim.

Jauhari Bilingual Toastmasters Club’s Demonstration Meeting: What Gets Lost in Translation

On 19^th November, Jauhari Bilingual Toastmasters Club held a demonstration meeting at Andalus private school.  The intent was to charter a club there.  I served as Language Evaluator, my 119^th Toastmasters event on the 141^st day of the Toastmaster Year.  The meeting was conducted in Malay, and much of the rhetorical flavour and beauty of the speeches cannot be fully conveyed once translated into English.

Muhammad Nurhakim, DTM, served as Toastmaster of the Day.  Syaiful Hakimnudin served as Timer.  A bilingual club is not merely a Toastmasters club translated into a second tongue.  Research on bilingual public speaking consistently finds that rhetorical devices, alliteration, idiom, and rhythm rely on the sound and structure of the specific language they were composed in, and rarely survive translation with equivalent force.  A club running its meetings in Malay is not doing the English-language Toastmasters programme with different words.  It is doing something structurally distinct, and evaluating it fairly requires judging it on its own linguistic terms rather than measuring it against an English-language yardstick.

The Charter President Elect’s Choice of Metaphor

Charter President-elect Abdullah Uthman welcomed all attendees, expressing his hope that the club would grow and do well.  He admitted surprise at being nominated as charter president and observed that whilst others in the room aspired to be chairmen, he wanted to be a fisherman.  That is a better metaphor for club leadership than most incoming presidents ever land on.  A chairman commands a room.  A fisherman waits, reads the water, and understands that the catch depends on patience and conditions he does not fully control, a more honest description of what building a new club from nothing demands.

The Speeches

Fathur Rahman, delivering his maiden speech, gave a humorous account of his secret to looking younger than his more than four decades, his affection for his wife, layered with the comedic travails of being the youngest of five children.

Muhammad Nurfarhan spoke on mentorship within Toastmasters, arguing that knowledge loses its value when it is not passed on and enhanced.  That claim is not sentiment.  It describes why mentorship-driven organisations consistently outperform those relying on passive knowledge transfer, since unshared expertise dies with the person holding it rather than compounding across a membership.

Wiwiek Najihah spoke on the ordeal of dealing with procrastinators, delivered with genuine self-deprecation as, by her own admission, the ultimate procrastinator.  Beneath the humour sat a heavier account: the time she did not spend with her grandfather, and her regret once he had passed on.  It was a stark reminder of what gets taken for granted while it is still available, and speeches built on that kind of honesty carry weight no rehearsed anecdote can match.

The Evaluators and Results

Siti Zuhriyyah, Nurliza Sawi, and Othman Sadli served as Project Evaluators.  Best Speaker went to Fathur Rahman.  Best Evaluator went to Othman Sadli.  Best Table Topics Speaker went to a guest, an encouraging sign for a club still charting its own course, three months into its inaugural year.

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Terence Nunis, DTM | Division Advisor, District 80 Division M | Club Advisor, AIA Toastmasters | Past President & Founder, Awesome Toastmasters

Jauhari Bilingual TMC as Workshop Presenter, 09th November 2019

On the 09^th November 2019, I was at Jauhari Bilingual Toastmasters Club, as workshop speaker.  This was my 114^th club visit on the 131^st day of the Toastmaster year.

The Toastmaster of the Day, and sergeant-at-arms, was Muhammad Nurfarhan bin Abdul Jaaffar, and the photographer was Siti Zuhriyyah binte Mohammed Ariffin.

This is the second in a series of workshops organised by Jauhari Bilingual Toastmasters Club, and is about impromptu speaking.  The first session, the week before, was about being the life of the party.  The workshop was streamed live, and there was an online audience in addition to the physical participants.

Whilst I did touch on the concept of table topics in a Toastmasters concept, what I did cover was the ability to speak off the cuff, and the art of conversation.  Words matter, and conversations must have an intent, and a structure, to achieve measurable results.  We also touched on how to steer a conversation, and when to not speak.

Since this is a workshop, there was n emphasis on practice, and the participants were put through two rounds of drills, playing roles, in distinct situations.

Jauhari Bilingual TMC as Toastmaster of the Day, 19th October 2019

On the 19^th October 2019, I was at Jauhari Bilingual Toastmasters Club, as Toastmaster of the Day.  This was my 92^nd club visit on the 111^th day of the Toastmaster year.

The sergeant-at-arms was Siti Zuhriyyah binte Mohammed Ariffin, the table topics master was Benjamin Leow, the language evaluator was Raymond Zhang, and the timer was Muhammad Nurfarhan bin Abdul Jaaffar.

Wiwiek Najihah binte Hairudin, in her presidential address, spoke of her struggles as a young mother.  It was these challenges that inspired her to make Jauhari Bilingual Toastmasters Club child friendly, a kampung of sorts.

Syazwani Dwiputri binte Abdul Wahid gave a presentation on the consequences of consuming energy drinks.  This is based on an actual research paper she co-authored, and the presentation was, thus, well-researched, with a wealth of details, and data.  She spoke of the effects on health, and psychology caused by excessive consumption.

Siti Zuhriyyah binte Mohammed Ariffin mentioned two stories to illustrate her leadership style.  It was a juxtaposition of flawed leadership, and leadership of the flawed.

Wiwiek Najihah binte Hairudin then gave a project speech in Malay.  She mentioned briefly about her favourite songs to listen to while performing her housework.  The meat of the matter was the late Zubir bin Mohamad Said’s Semoga Bahagia, a song written for children almost half a century ago.  It is the official Children’s Day song of the Ministry of Education, and is performed annually on Children’s Day, Youth Day, and at the ASEAN Youth Festival.  The speech was a reflection of the lyrics, in contrast to her real encounters with elderly who have been neglected by their adult children.  Ultimately, society wants the best for its children, but as adults, we forget the very parents that carried those hopes for us.

Since it was a Children’s Day theme, there was a performance by the children of club members.

The evaluators were Celia Jacqueline Lim, and Sophia Ngo Thi Van.

Best Speaker: Siti Zuhriyyah binte Mohammed Ariffin;

Best Evaluator: Celia Jacqueline Lim; and

Best Table Topics Speaker: Guest.