To Kill a Cockroach

Thanks to Ang Wee Kien, I had a speaking slot at the Subang Toastmasters Club yesterday. He offered it at 12:49 PM the day before, and by 12:49:01 PM, it was officially mine! 😊😊😊

It was a speech focusing on Evaluation and Feedback from the Presentation Mastery pathway, Level 1. It was titled "To Kill a Cockroach", and this was my speech #967. 

Drawing inspiration from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), this speech juxtaposed the novel's noble themes of morality with a chaotic 2:15 AM kitchen encounter against an invincible cockroach on February 14, 2014. 

Following failed slipper attacks (yes, I even brought a slipper), a complete loss of dignity when it took flight, and a self-inflicted cloud of bug spray, the narrative crowned the cockroach as the true apex predator. 

Echoing Lee’s famous lesson that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, we must also learn to value the creatures we usually overlook – or even despise. Resilience isn’t glamorous; it’s simply refusing to give up. A cockroach with a never-say-die spirit deserves the same respect as any of us. We cohabit this planet, and every life serves a purpose. 

It was out of this deep respect that I took the stage at the Toastmasters D51 International Speech Contest District Finals in Kuala Terengganu that same year to pay tribute to Earth’s ultimate survivor – and to remind us all to keep going, no matter what.

For sure, it was a much better speech than the day before, though my evaluator, Sajni Dharamdass, rightly noted that my takeaway message could still be punchier, more persuasive, and more powerful. [What I said didn't come out nearly as well as what I wrote here! 🤭]

And I sold one copy of Pearls.

Photos of the meeting:

Legal Hurdle Cleared: Najib Razak Moves to Home Confinement

Disgraced former Prime Minister Najib Razak returned to his Jalan Langgak Duta residence in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday to begin serving the remaining two years of his SRC International corruption sentence under house arrest. 

His transfer followed a High Court ruling earlier that day, in which Judge Aslam Zainuddin heard submissions from both Najib’s lawyers and Deputy Public Prosecutors. 

Judge Aslam cancelled a November 06 warrant and directed the Court Registrar to issue a corrected order permitting home confinement. 

Najib was originally scheduled for release from Kajang Prison last Friday after paying a RM50 million fine as part of his conditional pardon. However, the Attorney General delayed the transfer to seek clarification, noting that the initial court order was unclear and potentially defective. 

Footnote: Anthony Loke resigned as Malaysia's Transport Minister with immediate effect.

A Late Notification for Evening Bloodshed

Yesterday, I went to Jalan PJU 5/21 in Kota Damansara, Selangor to attend the MC JO Community (KD) Toastmasters meeting, where I had been invited to step in as the Grammarian. [Personally, I prefer the term Language Evaluator, as it carries the weight of a true linguist – someone analyzing the anatomy of sentences, policing syntax, and measuring the precise, correct use of every word spoken]. 

Given that the meeting theme was "Small Wins", my Word-of-the-Day pick was "Kaizen" (noun), which is a philosophy focused on making small, continuous, and positive improvements over time. 

A surprise came at the very last minute – at exactly 11:17 AM – on that same day, when a speaking slot opened up because a speaker had fallen ill.

And so, I delivered a macabre monologue titled "Drenched in Blood", a speech that chronicles my consuming ambition to write fiction, focusing entirely on my fascination with the bestial, the butchery, and the bloodletting.

That speech, though, wasn't up to my usual standards. I let tension get the best of me, and I’m honestly disappointed. I know I can do better.

Still, I was voted Best Speaker. If you must know, this was my project speech #966.

And I sold one Diamond book.

Imprints of the collective: