Today, I finally made a return visit to the MIHRM Toastmasters Club, after a long absence. In fact, the welcoming party (of one) was rather muted, and by the time, five guests came, the room was still not ready, and members (save one) were nowhere to be seen. Except for one non-Toastmaster guest – three of them were not exactly no-name Toastmasters, namely Dr. John Lau (now First Vice-President, Toastmasters International), Francis Ng and Ritchie Chong (Immediate Past District 51 Governor). I was of course, the fifth guest. And when MIHRM Toastmasters turned up to get organized and start the meeting, we were already 13 minutes behind.
I was the evaluator for Joyce Lee Hui Hui who was delivering an advanced speech. This was my last practice evaluation before the Area Contest tomorrow. I did well this evening, and from amongst the three evaluators (Dr. John Lau, Robert Ram, and I), I was voted the Best Speech Evaluator for this meeting. To be honest, this pumped me up and so I felt really good. Regrettably, the meeting was very low on enthusiasm, and given the small numbers in attendance – there were only 7 members and 6 guests who came – it was a meeting that Ritchie Chong, DTM, as the General Evaluator was compelled to politely describe as “somber”. Yeah, even a wake is more lively than today’s meeting!
I was the evaluator for Joyce Lee Hui Hui who was delivering an advanced speech. This was my last practice evaluation before the Area Contest tomorrow. I did well this evening, and from amongst the three evaluators (Dr. John Lau, Robert Ram, and I), I was voted the Best Speech Evaluator for this meeting. To be honest, this pumped me up and so I felt really good. Regrettably, the meeting was very low on enthusiasm, and given the small numbers in attendance – there were only 7 members and 6 guests who came – it was a meeting that Ritchie Chong, DTM, as the General Evaluator was compelled to politely describe as “somber”. Yeah, even a wake is more lively than today’s meeting!
The concerted attempts by a certain party to demonize DAP by using Islam represent political subterfuge. Some analysts have contended that the heated furor over Lim Guan Eng’s name being mentioned in Friday sermons and the innocent visit of the Serdang MP (i.e. DAP’s Teo Nie Ching) to the Al-Huda surau actually reflects a calculated and determined assault on the deepening PAS-DAP relationship that has been forged since the last GE. Pakatan Rakyat (PR) politicians have suggested that UMNO is behind this machination to drive a wedge between these two political entities. I also believe it is a ploy to paint DAP as being anti-Islam and anti-Malay.
PAS Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad had pointed out that Teo was invited by the local community to enter the surau. “What did she do which was so disrespectful? It may have been more disrespectful for her to decline the invitation,” said Khalid.
PAS youth chief Nasrudin Hassan Al-Tantawi also said there was nothing wrong with non-Muslims speaking at mosques or suraus, provided they were properly attired and got permission from the administrators. Besides, Teo has maintained that her speech was non-political.
So what was the big fuss about again?
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