At the KL Semi Annual Convention (KL SAC) held on 29 – 31 Oct 2010, our very own Kim Chow of Friendship Toastmasters Club was one of the Toastmaster of the Day (TMD) for the Opening Ceremony. Both Kim and Hakim Hamzah, who is also Division P Governor, were gorgeous in their Baju Kurung and Baju Melayu.


With the arrival of our guest of honour, Yang Berhormat Senator Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, the opening ceremony started off with an Invocation Speech by DTM Sukhdev Singh. Elaborating on the hypnotic power of words, he asked us to think before we speak, because how we say or what we say can either help or hinder, inspire or injure, heal or hurt.

Organising Chair of KL SAC, NJ Singam, who is also the current Division G Governor, was certain that with our enthusiastic participation, this will be a momentous, memorable and magnificent convention. He thanked his team of 22 Committee members, 78 sub-committee members for their unwavering dedication, hard work and untiring effort to make this Convention a reality.

He also shared with us a heartening story of the KL SAC team’s target of signing up 300 participants. Three weeks ago, this target was achieved. They set a new target, a magical number of 333. As of 29 Oct morning, it was 330 participants. Then at 8.47 PM in the evening, 4 gentlemen from Thailand walked in and the final tally for KL SAC was 334 participants !


For his District address, District Governor DTM Thanni spoke of the immense growth in District 51. At one time, the largest District in the world, District 51 has given birth to two other Districts i.e. District 80 and most recently District 87. With 230 clubs, 5000 members and 12 Divisions, District 51 is proud that currently two Malaysians are serving as District Governors (District 51 and 87) and perhaps next year, there will be two Malaysian contestants at the World Public Speaking Championship.

DG Thanni imparted this message, “Nothing is impossible, nothing is perfect. Be prepared for life’s challenging moments by exploring options and solutions will appear.”

TMD Kim introduced Dr. Koh as a humorous speaker and a diligent Cabinet Minister. Dr Koh’s keynote speech was a testament of his humorous speaking skills. Not only that, he had also done his research as his speech was full of facts about District 51.

He praised the Toastmasters program for fostering friendship and fraternity. Volunteerism combined with a good programme in training and self-development is the best programme for learning and leading a meaningful life. He then joked that if he had joined Toastmasters, he would have been a better politician.

He ended his speech with this message, “You may listen and think all the time, but if you don’t speak, no one will know what you think.”


In a first for our District 51 conventions, we then had a Skype session with District 40 who is coincidentally having their Fall Convention. With the aid of modern technology, we were connected to Kentucky, USA and were warmly greeted by District 40. It was true what Dr. Koh had just told us - in a more diverse world, we become more unified.


At 10.30 AM, we ended the Skype session. So far it has been an eventful morning, with many more events in store for us for the rest of the day. It would be fair to warn anyone attending future Conventions to be well-rested the day before as one need loads of energy to keep up with the Convention events !

Photos contributed by Yeoh Cheng Lim and Shahrizan Zamri