Public Speaking and the Art of Persuasion

Education Deputy Minister Teo Nie Ching exhorted students Tuesday to master soft skills as well as digital literacy skills in order to face advancements in education, in line with Industrial Revolution 4.0. 

Soft skills like communication would be far more important than ever to ensure the country could produce marketable graduates, she said. 

Very true. There’s a lot of talk about the importance of communication skills – but really, what concrete steps are we taking to equip our students in order that we do indeed churn out marketable graduates? 

I recall that when I was teaching on the American Degree Transfer Program at HELP, the one subject that has really helped students learn basic communication essentials was COM212 or Public Speaking. Also referred to as Speech Communication or Rhetoric in other tertiary institutions. 

I’m not saying it just because I’m a Toastmaster – it does help! I know it helps!

Know that speech is the oldest academic discipline – first taught at about 450 BC. 

In fact, it was the most important course of study for young men who aspired to get ahead in the world. (Sorry, those days, there was no such thing as gender equality). 

In Classical Greece, it was the only one. In the agora, if you found yourself a good sophist, you were a ‘made’ man. The sophists taught Athenians how to communicate effectively with fellow citizens. 

But more than just being able to communicate, today’s workplace demands us to be persuasive. We need to sell our products. Our services. Our ideas. Ourselves even. 

Therefore, for a start, check out Aristotle's Rhetoric (Ancient Greek: Ῥητορική, translit. Rhētorikḗ; Latin: Ars Rhetorica) – an ancient Greek treatise on the art of persuasion that I believe, remains relevant even today. 

I know trainers who are ahead of the game – Ahmad Fakhri and Jamilah Samian come to mind – who use Aristotle’s work as a point of reference. I’ve been working with them for a number of years and I can tell you, it works! 

The Rhetoric, by the way, consists of three books. Book I offers a general overview, presenting the purposes of rhetoric and a working definition; it also offers a detailed discussion of the major contexts and types of rhetoric. Book II discusses in detail the three means of persuasion that an orator must rely on: those grounded in credibility (ethos), in the emotions and psychology of the audience (pathos), and in patterns of reasoning (logos). Book III introduces the elements of style (word choice, sentence structure, rhetorical devices) and arrangement (organization). 

I must mention that only some attention is paid to ‘delivery’ – but personally, I think it is equally important.

(That's where the Toastmasters' Competent Communication manual comes in real handy. Now this is one public speaking primer I can personally vouch!)

Students embarking on this course of study can certainly expect to have learned how to communicate in a manner that is clear, cogent and compelling – thereby, opening the doors to a diverse range of professions. These can be for careers in law, politics, business, education, public relations, journalism, television, public affairs and advocacy and many others. 

Public speaking remains a valuable craft because we need it every day and everywhere. 

Is there a time when we do not need to communicate in order to influence, convince and persuade? 

It’s time we bring Public Speaking into our schools and colleges.

Re-visiting The HELP for Haiti Project 2010

Today, I was reminded of a little discussion in 2010 that I had with a small group of my students during the time I was lecturing at HICT (A HELP institution now known as HELP College of Arts & Technology) – and we came up with a fund-raising idea that turned out to be very meaningful for those involved.

We also raised a decent amount of money that we surrendered to UNICEF.

This video was one outcome. It sure brings back fond memories!

If you wish to know more - check out the actual blogpost at http://helpvictor.blogspot.my/2010/03/when-does-suffering-end.html

What was special was that students on the Southern New Hampshire University program who became deeply involved in this project, showed how much they cared!

And it was not just about the amount of money they raised – but the time they put in. Precious time.

I challenge you to ask yourself – how much time do you devote to doing good?

I am glad I had a part in this small project.

SNHU Divorces HELP

Photo illustration by 731; Campus: Courtesy SNHU

Bloomberg BusinessWeek carried this interesting article about Southern New Hampshire University on May 09, 2013: Its quaint red-brick New England campus is home to 2,750 undergraduates, making it the size of some high schools. A casual visitor would never suspect that another 25,000 students are also enrolled online. That’s roughly how many are in the bachelor’s program at the University of California at Berkeley. 

Harvard, Stanford, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have gained attention with their MOOCs, or massive open online courses, which are free and feature famed professors. Critics of these programs say that with no business model, they’re little more than a branding exercise. 

Southern New Hampshire’s College of Online and Continuing Education is no vanity project. The school’s management forecasts that revenue will reach $200 million in the next academic year – four times what it took in for 2010-11 – making it one of the biggest and fastest-growing online operations at any not-for-profit college in the U.S. 

“They are one of the most important players in the online space,” says Robert Lytle, co-head of the education practice at Parthenon Group, a Boston-based management consulting firm. “They’ve painted a pathway for other schools.” 

I know SNHU well because I managed and taught on the HICT's 4+0 SNHU program in Malaysia in 2008-2010. But this is not the only reason why I am suddenly blogging about the “Little College That's a Giant Online”. 

[After all, SNHU has been present in Malaysia for a long time. They came to this country by working with Rima College and offering the 2+2 twinning program. They soon parted ways and SNHU then tied the knot with Sepang Institute of Technology in Klang. Later, they introduced the 4+0 franchised American Degree Program and provided opportunities for Malaysians to complete the whole degree here (rather than studying two years in this country before transferring to the US of A for the remaining two years). SIT soon transformed into HELP International College of Technology (HICT) and it again mutated into HELP CAT (HELP College of Arts and Technology), based at KL’s Fraser Business Park, i.e. Kompleks Metro Pudu]. 

And now SNHU is divorcing HELP CAT. There will be a cessation of enrollments with “teach-out” for current students until they have graduated. The word on the ground is that the break-up is due to the issue of the honorary doctorate degree that was awarded to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un (Kindly read my post at this link http://helpvictor.blogspot.com/2013/10/kim-jong-un-gets-honorary-doctorate.html, dated October 25, 2013. You may also want to check out other related readings dated October 27 and November 15, 2013).

An unfortunate turn of events. 

 




Aahhh, I forgot to mention that, finally, I had a Magnum on November 21, 2013 – in Australia! There, the Unilever brand is Streets. That was my first consumption of a Unilever product since I ended my Unilever boycott on April 09, 2013!

Michael Caulfield's Farewell

Yesterday, there were two important events at the University.

The first was in the morning when the Minister of Higher Education, Mohamed Khaled Nordin was invited to officiate the Ground Breaking ceremony of the new Sunway University Building.

The second was a farewell lunch for Michael Caulfield because he is leaving us to return to corporate life. But it is not just him – we were told that Tana – a Sunway veteran of seventeen years – is leaving us as well. I guess in this journey of Life, there will always be hellos and goodbyes. It’s just that when it involves colleagues who are also friends, the farewells are harder to take. Anyway, I wish both of them all the best in their future undertakings.

Given that the Lunar New Year is less than three days away, we did our Loh Sang – my second this year.

I have not mentioned this but SUBS did welcome two new members this month – and one of them, is Leong Ken Yien, a friend and an ex-colleague from HICT.

The same day too, prosecutors filed an appeal against Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal in his two-year-long sodomy trial. Monash University’s political science lecturer James Chin said that the move reflects negatively on Najib Razak’s claims that he does not interfere with the judiciary and is serious about ensuring civil liberty.

“It’s back to square one. It is a setback for Anwar because he will have to spend time in the appeal process and won’t be able to focus fully on forthcoming elections,” he said.

Ibrahim Suffian of independent pollsters Merdeka Center also said “the appeal by the prosecution plays into the opposition story that the government will not stop at anything to get rid of the Anwar politically.”

“It also clouds Prime Minister Najib’s reforms at this crucial time before an election. Like it or not, Malaysians tend to feel that the government is behind this [trial],” he said.

Congrats, Siew Mei!

It is always a great pleasure to discover students who have done well and yet still remember the small but significant contributions of other people, e.g. lecturers! So it is very heart-warming when this morning, I hear from one of the many students (i.e. HICT) whom I have given my energy, time and even tears that she has finally graduated! I am talking about Tan Siew Mei who is now in possession of a Bachelor of Science in Business, majoring in Marketing from Southern New Hampshire University, and to cap it, she even received a Gold Key Award for academic achievement! I am proud of you!

Let me bask in this student’s appreciation, even gratitude for a brief sec! Suddenly what Oscar Wilde once said flashed in my mind: “Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result”. I guess I am one of the conditions, hehe!

Anyway, congratulations, Siew Mei! And to all other students at HICT or rather HELP CAT who have graduated and/or are graduating from the Southern New Hampshire University Business programs!

Yet again, Liverpool disappoints because they could only manage a goalless draw with Stoke. In this case, success is elusive because the Reds are goal-shy!

Two Years Later

I attended the MIHRM Toastmasters meeting last evening where I took up the role of General Evaluator. It was a small group (just the ten of us!) who graced this meeting but nonetheless, it was still a quality meeting – for the simple reason that there were good speeches and evaluations.

Like many Toastmasters meetings, it didn’t start on time and this is something that puzzles me always. It is already inexcusable if student clubs drag their feet insofar as timeliness is concerned, but for community clubs which are led by professionals and other working adults, this is a crime that calls for capital punishment! I would even suggest that clubs that do not begin their meetings on time should do away with the Timekeeper because if that role is permitted, it mocks this whole idea of time management! Starting late or not keeping to the time schedule means that the concerned club has scant respect for those members and guests who faithfully keep to time. If we cannot even get this right – it does not bode well for Toastmasters clubs in Malaysia. Rubber time must be banished once and for all!

Yee Sang made an early appearance at this MIHRM meeting. I am not sure if I have ever talked about this dish called yee sang but it is a tradition to have it during the Lunar New Year. It is literally translated as raw fish. Anyway, it is actually a Chinese-style raw fish salad with salmon as the main ingredient and mingled together with assorted shredded vegetables, pomelo, jellyfish and crackers and topped with sauce and spices. And Loh Sang is the act of tossing this salad. Chopsticks in hand, diners gather around the table to toss the salad as high as possible. It symbolizes the gathering of prosperity and when we toss, we offer auspicious wishes (e.g. good health, abundant wealth) to everyone.

HELP for Haiti was a fund-raising project initated by my HICT students when the earthquake devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010.

Last year – in my blog posting dated January 12, 2011 and very appropriately titled “One Year On” – I reported on the slow progress made to help the victims. You may wonder what is the progress now that two years have come to pass? Well, it seems that work to recover still continues although things are a little better!

Image credit: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/01/11/haiti-2012-why-are-half-a-million-people-still-in-camps/

About a million people have now left the camps which sprang up after the disaster, a new Haitian Government has been sworn into power, and nearly half of the 10 million cubic meters of debris has been cleared – the equivalent of 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools so far.

There are still close to half a million vulnerable people living under canvas, plagued by violence, rain, floods and the threat of eviction. Of those not living in camps, many still shelter in houses in need of repair or outright demolition. So there is a lot more to do.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Noses

I read in page 8 of The Edge Financial Daily today that HELP International Corp Bhd’s performance this year has so far been really lackluster because of the challenges this education entity is facing (e.g. China’s expansion plan on hold, delay in enrollment of their franchise program in Vietnam due to a quality review by the local government) and more worrying, is that the HELP College of Arts and Technology (formerly known as HICT) start-up cost of RM4 million is unlikely to see a return of investment any time soon. OSK Research has a “neutral” call on HELP which hopefully, will serve to spur their management to be more strategic in their thinking and decision-making. It's like being at the buffet table. Sometimes we can have too much on one’s plate without realizing it!

I came across this posting on October 17, 2011 on boingboing.net and liked the photo on the left so much that I managed to track down other similar-type photos. These are Simon Fletcher’s Teenage Mutant Ninja noses (Webpage http://teenagemutantninjanoses.tumblr.com/). Very artsy indeed!

Lessons from Everything Everywhere

Everything Everywhere, the merged UK businesses of France Telecom (i.e. Orange) and Deutsche Telekom (i.e. T-Mobile) have installed a new boss, Olaf Swantee (above photo).

I can glean a few lessons that my Business students should pay heed to.

First, Swantee replaced Tom Alexander – the latter stepped down just a year after the company was formed. His parting words were very revealing: “It was time to evolve from the ‘1990s obsession’ with customer numbers and ‘reward loyalty, usage and tenure’ instead”.

I am saying it again, customer retention is more important than customer acquisition. This is not something new yet marketers don't give it the due respect. So too the other important marketing concepts like focussing on (1) creating customer satisfaction – delivering superior quality products and services, and (2) building brand equity – the sum of the intangible assets of a brand. [Factors that contribute to this can include name awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty, the associations consumers have towards the brand, trademarks, packaging, and marketing channel presence].

But even as we recognize all of the above as important, most times, the single-minded focus is still on sales numbers! We give lip-service to the rest. And unhappily, we give a lot less attention to creating and maintaining relationships. I believe Tom Alexander was referring to this aspect of marketing that was somewhat neglected.

For those who don’t know, the growth in relationship marketing was fueled by the writings of management consultants. In 1993, Don Peppers and Martha Rogers published The One-to-One Future. Taking inspiration from mass customization manufacturing technologies and applying them to marketing communications, Peppers and Rogers encouraged a one-to-one focus on “share of customer” rather than the mass marketer’s “share of market.” This was based on the marketer’s ability to communicate a unique message to the customers based on the company’s knowledge of their interests. They claimed that this one-to-one interaction with customers would lead to improved lifetime value.

Frederick Reichheld further developed the importance of building customer commitment in his 1996 book The Loyalty Effect. He focused on the cost of customer defection and set the stage for the problem by claiming “many major corporations now lose and have to replace half their customers in five years [...]” (Reichheld 1). Using examples from financial service companies, advertising agencies, and manufacturing firms, Reichheld claimed that even small improvements in customer retention can as much as double company profits. This is because (a) it costs less to serve long-term customers, and (b) loyal customers will pay a price premium.

So, now you know why I consider relationship marketing to be important. To win customers and to keep them – marketers must forge one-to-one relationships with their customers. The problem is that this is not something that management can instruct as a SOP – it has to be free-willed, meaning, within the organization, our own people must individually and collectively embrace the vision and the values of the organization so that they embody this vision and values and that, in turn, they engage their customers in meaningful acts of studied spontaneity.

Second, based on a July 28, 2011 report in UK’s The Telegraph, the company seeks to make £73 million more of efficiency savings by the end of the year. Swantee then decided to cull his executive team and he did it on his first day at work! Finance director Richard Moat, chief commercial officer Andrew Ralston and chief change officer Linda Kennedy were among six senior managers who announced their resignations on September 01, 2011, as Swantee disclosed the management shake-up. I am assuming Swantee made a business decision that was in the company’s best interests and he left no room for personal sentiments. After all, Moat and Ralston were the architects of the merger between Orange and T-mobile that created Everything Everywhere.

We can debate about the merits of executive termination and whether Swantee had made a wise decision. I acknowledge that many companies are top-heavy and in trying times, it is important to dispose those whom we consider as surplus requirements. Most times, most senior managers are surplus, aren’t they? I remember when I was with HICT not too long ago – and when the crunch times hit us – the ordinary staff members were guillotined with pay cuts but the high-salaried senior mangers were spared. Good staff members became disgruntled and one by one, they left until the once-proud Klang-based college became almost an empty shell. This carried on for at least a year and leadership was sorely missed. [Footnote: HICT was a lost cause and so the HELP management decided to re-posiiton the college and it transformed into the HELP College of Arts and Technology].

I mentioned that senior managers are surplus only because they may know how to manage (or at least they think they do) but in essence, they don’t know how to lead. I am a firm believer that the best managers are leaders. I won’t even bother to argue that without leadership in organizations, we will inherit a disengaged workforce – one that is not motivated to succeed and one that is not sustainable at all in the long-term.

I recommend that we go back to basics. I suggest managers must not be afraid to step forward and face the leadership challenge. Kouzes & Posner (2007) talked about how leaders mobilize others to want to get extraordinary things done in organizations. In today’s demanding business environment that swells with crowded competition – it is not enough to just do things; we must do great things, even extraordinary things. And if managers are incapable, then they would fail as leaders. And when they do fail, they shouldn’t be warming the seats anymore! It will be time to get rid of them!

So, leadership is really about the practices leaders use to transform values into actions, visions into realities, obstacles into innovations, separateness into solidarity, and risks into rewards. It is about leadership that creates the climate in which people turn challenging opportunities into remarkable successes. When there is an absence of leadership, and the situation is made worse by a business that is bleeding – we know we have to embark on cost-cutting. When this happens, it makes sense to discard managers and we should start from the top! Caution: Cutting costs is to be done only as part of a turnaround blueprint – we should desist from doing it as an ad-hoc measure.

Anyway, Everything Everywhere is in a mature market and quickly finding themselves in deep shit. So the departure of a significant tranche of senior management may or may not exacerbate matters but whatever the case may be, I would plead that this was necessary. I also recognize that this will be particularly sensitive for the company, which is still smarting after being exposed for using a "traffic light" system to inform staff about redundancies. Last year the company informed thousands of staff about their potential redundancies by displaying red, yellow or blue lights at mass meetings to signify different risk levels of particular positions. Now, isn’t that stupid or what?

Now that I know this company a little better, I would claim that Swantee was right in doing what he did!

A College Play

Last Friday, I drove down to KL to watch a college play. Specifically, Fraser Business Park. The venue was HELP College of Arts & Technology, formerly known as HICT. Thanks to Michael for the invite and Dr Choong Yeow Wei for acknowledging my presence. And it was really great to touch base with friends.

The play is an intriguing study of cultures. Widely considered a landmark play, A Streetcar Named Desire deals with a culture clash between two characters, Blanche DuBois, a fading relic of the Old South – played by Jasminejit (exaggerated, neurotic and delusional) – and Stanley Kowalski, a rising member of the industrial, urban working class – played by Mathew Varughese (primal, brutish and sensual). A congenial performance from these two and also Nyu Precillia (as Stella, wife to Stanley and sister to Blanche). All ticket proceeds go to UNICEF which is a nice gesture.

And yesterday, I attended the MidValley Toastmasters meeting - it was kind of Moses Wong to have invited me to be the General Evaluator and Invocator. It was one of those rare meetings where guests - both Toastmasters and non-Toastmasters outnumbered members by something like three to one! Perhaps that explained why the meeting kicked off on a really serious note. I was, however, relieved when, as the meeting progressed, it became more relaxed and even moderately lively - I must thank the Money & You Toastmasters for touching us with their convivial charm. I have enjoyed this meeting and I look forward to coming back.

The SlutWalk Protest

I read this interesting article in The Independent last Tuesday. It is interesting because women are going to march and protest about how (some) men view women as sluts and because they are sluts, they deserve to be raped. This opinion is stupid because it takes the blame off the rapist and puts it squarely on the victim. Anyway, thousands of “provocatively”-dressed women are expected to march through London next month when the growing "SlutWalk" phenomenon reaches British shores.

This movemnent was sparked by the appalling remarks made by Canadian police officer Michael Sanguinetti who suggested that women should "avoid dressing like sluts" if they wanted to avoid being raped. He was addressing a group of Osgoode Hall Law School students at York University at a safety forum in January. Although, he later apologized, but his comments were publicized widely on Facebook and Twitter. (In fact, I too remembered that a Malaysian police officer said much the same thing to HICT students and staff at a safety forum last year – except that in Klang, women merely griped and grumbled but in Toronto, they decided to do something about it!)

Really, the issue is not about skimpy dressing, but about what is right and wrong. Rape is rape. Rape is wrong. There can never be a justification for rape, no matter how much some guy may think she’s “asking for it”.

Thousands have taken part in such marches in Canada and the US and on SlutWalk London's Facebook page, 3,500 people have already said they will take part in the march from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square on June 04. Previous protests in North America have seen many women marching in lingerie.

“Some people will choose to dress like that," said Anastasia Richardson, the organizer of the London SlutWalk. "But people can come in whatever makes them feel comfortable. Anyone can get called a slut, no matter how they are dressed, no matter how they are acting. It doesn't have any real meaning. It is just used to victimize and demean them." Besides, nobody likes being told what to do.

Of course there are those – besides Michael Sanguinetti – who insist that the way women dress invite trouble. Christian pop singer Rebecca St. James says women “are asking for sex if they’re dressing immodestly” (Webpage http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/05/fox-news-guest-says-women-are-asking-for-sex-if-theyre-dressing-immodestly/, posted May 10, 2011). There are also others who claim that if women dress in a provocative fashion (usually, this means dressing skimpily), it is more the case of women objectifying themselves. Or about them flaunting their sexuality.

My take on this is simple. Why on earth is it any of my business whether a woman wants to wear skimpy clothing or not. I don’t care. But we must also remind ourselves that we live in a big, bad world. Evil lurks everywhere. Sure, you have a right to be whatever you want to be – including being a slut – but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s always a good idea.

The SlutWalk London website says it wants to end a culture of fear and victimization. "Let's raise our voices and tell the world that rape is never, ever OK," it proclaims. "Not if she was wearing a miniskirt. Not if she was naked. Not if she was your wife, girlfriend or friend. Not if she was a prostitute. Not if she was drunk. Not if you thought she wanted to."

The website adds: "All over the world, women are constantly made to feel like victims, told they should not look a certain way, should not go out at night, should not go into certain areas, should not get drunk, should not wear high heels or make-up, should not be alone with someone they don't know.

"Not only does this divert attention away from the real cause of the crime – the perpetrator – but it creates a culture where rape is OK, where it's allowed to happen."

I say it again. Nobody deserves to be raped. Ever.

Coke celebrates 125 years of being the real thing

Exactly 125 years ago an Atlanta pharmacist mixed up a cure for headache and fatigue and stumbled upon the recipe for what has become one of the world's most recognizable drinks and brand names. Coca Cola is celebrating the moment when on May 8, 1886 John Pemberton made his way into American culture, creating a soft drink now sold in more than 200 countries and earning The Cola-Cola Company a place among the world's top 100 companies. Hmmm, when I was teaching at HICT, I normally had two cans of Coke for my morning pick-me-up.

The principal of Team Lotus, Tony Fernandes and pals, had bought over the niche British sportscar company Caterham. Documents supporting the fact has indicated that Anthony Francis Fernandes was appointed a director of Caterham Cars as of April 12, 2011 (Webpage http://www.zerotohundred.com/newforums/automotive-news/374073-tony-fernandes-buys-over-caterham.html, posted April 24, 2011). Caterham initially begun as a dealer for the Lotus Seven and then purchased the rights to continue manufacturing the Seven when Lotus ceased production in 1973.

The move to buy over Caterham is important to Fernandes because of the ongoing dispute between Fernandes' Team Lotus and the Group Lotus about the usage of the Lotus name. The Caterham acquisition offers Fernandes an alternative should the London High Court deliver its final verdict that would force him to relinquish using the Lotus name.

TI-M Calls MACC to Investigate Taib

As can be seen from the above photo, HICT (HELP International College of Technology) – I worked there once – is being dismantled, to prepare for their imminent move to Fraser Business Park in vibrant KL. And with this move, HICT will be no more, to be replaced by a new name and identity, i.e. HCAT or HELP College of Arts and Technology.

Transparency-International Malaysia on Friday adds to the growing cacophony of public calls to the country’s graft-busters to investigate claims of corruption against Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, saying Malaysia’s global standing is now at stake The anti-graft watchdog urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to take immediate action as complaints of corruption against Taib have surfaced in the foreign media – and this will tarnish Malaysia’s image and damage our credibility.

TI-M president Paul Low told reporters: “The allegations we’re concerned about is (the) massive amount of wealth that’s been gained by people close to him (Taib), (his) family, relatives, friends”.

Arsenal overturned a two-goal deficit but could only earn a point as their EPL title aspirations were badly dented. Although, the Gunners showed steely determination in the fight back against West Brom to earn an eventual 2-2 draw – this is still another disappointing result.

Portfolio Presentations

Yup, I had my two pints of Guinness draft at Finnegan’s yesterday, and in the company of two good friends. It was St Patrick's Day after all! Sorry, Michael, but I’ll make it up to you!

Oh yes, I had forgotten to blog about this activity which I thought is another reason why Sunway University is a good place for Business students. On Tuesday, School of Business second-year students delivered their portfolio presentations – showcasing the learning they had acquired during their internships in selected companies. I was one of the examiners, and I had the privilege to review six presentations – these covered companies as diverse as Citigroup Transaction Services (Institutional clients), Sony Malaysia (Marketing communications), RST Communication (Events management), Sunway City Berhad (Product development), MustaphaRaj (Tax department) and BDO (Audit department). Students were to give us a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation, followed by a 5-minute Q&A.

A typical presentation format will contain an opening, followed by the main contents, and ending with a closing. The opening segment (approximately 1-2 minutes) should capture the attention of the examiners and lead into the presentation topic. The main contents (approximately 6-8 minutes) should comprise a series of points or statements about the main experiences and reflections from the students’ project portfolios that are supported by relevant material. The presentation then ends with a closing (approximately 1-2 minutes) which contains a review (or summary), and a call to action (or a memorable statement). I actually found these presentations interesting because these students demonstrated how they had benefited from their exposure to working in these companies.

I recall that when I was with HICT, SNHU students too did their internships but their learning were probably limited and moreover, there were no proper supervision. At Sunway University, these students were assigned supervisors – I had two students under my care, Jon Yu Song and Faez Rashidi – and they kept us periodically informed through reflective journals (and also phone calls). We also dropped in at their workplaces to meet up with their job supervisors – the latter also had to tender a written report on the intern’s progress (or lack thereof). At HICT, I doubt these students learned much. Internship was optional and for those who went through it, I suspect not many benefited. I even knew of students electing to do their internship in HICT’s Marketing department where they spent an awful lot of time facebooking! At the end of the internship period, all they had to do was to submit a written report that in most cases, were formalized interpretations of imagined work. Well, at least they learnt the art of creative writing! It sure doesn’t reflect well on both student and institution, does it?

Liverpool exited from the Europa League as they failed to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit as Braga held them to a goalless draw at Anfield.

At least, Celtic is progressing very well. Two Ledley goals earned Celtic a place in the Scottish Cup semi-finals at the expense of Inverness CT. The latter scored first when Adam Rooney smashed the spot-kick beyond the outstretched arm of Celtic goalie Fraser Forster (44) after Richie Foran had been felled by Glenn Loovens following Russell Duncan's through ball. But Joe Ledley leveled immediately, turning smartly on a cross from Emilio Izaguirre to drill home (45+2). And the decisive goal came when Ledley taking advantage of some sloppy defending to saunter into the danger zone and heading in a free kick from Ki Sung-Yeung (68).

R.I.P. Peny Sules

Peny Sules, 27, died in a car accident at about 3:40 AM on Monday morning, February 14 at 22 km Lebuhraya Kesas. She was believed to have lost control of her MyVi on her way back to Klang and rammed into a lorry, causing her car to burst into flames. She died instantly. This was reported in Sinar Harian (Webpage http://www.sinarharian.com.my/sh/selangor/content/story8760804.asp).

I know her quite well since she was in my class over the two years I was teaching at HICT. I remember her as someone diligent and conscientious and she will definitely be missed by those who knew her. I am saddened.

Egg Story

Fellow Toastmasters, do come for Loghan’s workshop on January 08, 2011 at Sunway University. Even non-Toastmasters are welcome because you not only get tips on contesting but also get introduced to the wonderful world of Toastmastering! You may also get the tickets from me.

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Oh yes, I caught this piece of news in Singapore’s The Straits Times dated December 14, 2010 – Nickson Fong, the Hollywood animator whom I mentioned in my blog posting dated December 04 – is reported to have shut down his production company, Egg Story Creative Production and laid off about 30 employees. The paper said he was a victim of the financial turmoil that hit the industry last year. I cannot help but wonder whether he will still be collaborating with HICT? Then again, The Straits Times did also mention that Egg Story Digital Arts School has separate management and is not affected by the closure. I must admit that he is talented – see his animation work for the Singapore Navy:

2010 HICT Graduation

HELP International College of Technology (HICT) finally held their Convocation ceremony. Why it was held so late in the year, nobody will say – hence, there was no representative from Southern New Hampshire University to grace this momentous occasion. Unless of course you count Vicky Teo, the Malaysia-based regional representative.

Still, today is a red-letter day for my students and as these photos will attest, they are not only happy that they have finally finished college, but also that they have this rare opportunity to pose with me! After all, I have already left HICT; yet I came to give support. It was a small gesture to tell them that I am so very proud of all of them!

Even better still, for those who ordered the SNHU graduation rings – their timely arrival meant that the graduating students could show them off as these two (i.e. Kian Soon and Suak Ying) did:

This year's valedictorian was Jeremy Tan (Edith Cowan University program) who gave a rambling speech that was mostly forgettable. Also there was a song presentation by a talented trio of SNHU students whose rising voices filled the hall with aural waves of moody poignancy – an odd choice for a song that was not in keeping with today's celebratory mood.

What's more, there was a curiously unconventional twist to the above – there were two slots dedicated to promoting two individuals (Singaporean Nickson Fong of Egg Story Digital Arts school and a Malaysian guy who's much too verbose for my liking!) – these two will be collaborating with HICT at some future date, supposedly.

The Star newspaper (December 01, 2010, p N22) reported that the invigilator-teacher in the racism row last week has been replaced. The duties of this female teacher from SM Radin in Lukut (near Port Dickson) has been taken over by another teacher from SM Dato’ Abdul Samad – a day after the alleged incident was highlighted in the press. Perhaps it is time authorities consider imposing sterner punishment for these recalcitrant educators. Otherwise, when will they learn? And if they do not learn, what values can we expect them to impart to the impressionable children who attend schools populated by these racist bigots? An alarming trend that we should nip in the bud. Quickly.

Grandma is Chinese Peranakan

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I was told on Tuesday evening, HICT is again delaying their move to KL’s Fraser Park. The new date is now April 2011! Hahaha, what a joke! I know local businesses in that part of Klang will be thrilled! Especially Rejab, Southern Curry House, Garden Kopitiam, Old Town White Coffee, and the others where HICT students normally flock to. I reckon Klang students will be happy too!

My November 08 posting talked about Malaysians’ multi-ethnic backgrounds. I was scanning yesterday’s Star newspaper just now and I came across this news report that the Sultan of Johor’s consort, Raja Zarith Sofiah Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah (picture) had described as “shameful” that some Malaysians were called immigrants and told to go back where they came from. Of course, she was referring to the Chinese and Indians, who else! But what was heartening to read was her honesty and candor. She had said “My ancestors are from Sumatra and my grandmother is Chinese Peranakan. Many of us are not really from one ethnic group” (p N12).

Raja Zarith shared this during her keynote address at the Voices of Peace, Conscience and Reason Forum on Friday. And amongst those present were former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Hopefully, he was paying attention when she spoke! To me, she was also telling us all that we should be proud of who we are, that we need not blank out our past and deny our roots, that our diversity is indeed a source of strength! Mahathir, what say you?

A Smiling Victor

I am not one who readily smiles but once in a long, long while, I do! Anyway, Mathew sends me this photo taken at the Au Revoir Nite (Check out my posting dated November 04, 2010) that actually showed me smiling! Awesome!

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In today’s EPL match, Arsenal overcame Everton by two goals to one. Bakari Sagna poked in Andrei Arshavin's cross (36) for Arsenal's opener and then midfielder Cesc Fabregas doubled the lead from Marouane Chamakh's pass (48). And Everton’s Tim Cahill pulled one back for the Toffees in the eighty-ninth minute.

Au Revoir

L-R: Suresh, Mike Cheang, Victor and Andrew Chan

L-R: Andrew Chan, Victor, Weehan, Shireen Ng, Martin and Jonathan Koh

L-R: Rachel Tan, Victor, Suresh, Mike Cheang, Adeel, Diana Chew and Iona Tan

L-R: Tan Siew Mei, Lim Joo Li, Weehan, Tan Wei Wei, Victor, Wong Chee Hong, Ivan Ong, Cheryl Ong and Jacklyn Low

L-R: Victor, Iona Tan and Shireen Ng

L-R: Victor, Andrew Chan, Rachel Tan and Shireen Ng

L-R: Aaron Leong, Victor and Martin

L-R: Victor Reddy and Sivaraj

L-R: Victor, Wae Yee, Angellica Ling, Prawn 虾咪, Jessie Tan and Weehan

L-R: Alan Tan and Angellica Ling

L-R: Victor, Wong Chee Hong and Lim Joo Li

L-R: Chew Pek Kuan, Tan Siew Mei and Lim Joo Li

L-R: Victor and Chew Pek Kuan

L-R: Victor and Jue Lyn

L-R: Martin, Shireen Ng and Victor

L-R: Tan Siew Mei and Victor

L-R: Tan Siew Mei and Victor

L-R: Victor and Rachel Tan

L-R: Victor and Valerie

On Wednesday, I was invited to the HICT’s Au Revoir Nite – which was their way of saying farewell to Klang since the college is moving to KL very soon. The event was held at the Empire Subang, Subang Jaya. I shall keep mum on last night since I was an invited guest! Still, it was fabulous to have met up with some of my fave people from Klang!

On the nineteenth day (i.e. today), I finally got my car back – what a relief!
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And the other matter that came up in today’s Teoh Beng Hock inquest hearing was that police investigating officer, ASP Ahmad Nazri Zainal when testifying today, admitted he cannot rule out MACC officers as suspects in the political aide’s case.

This was due to MACC officer Raymond Nyion’s statement which contradicted some of his colleagues’ statements. When counsel representing Teoh’s family Gobind Singh Deo asked ASP Ahmad Nazri if he had investigated the discrepancies in the statements, the latter kept quiet. Some of the MACC officers had insisted that they were not there while Raymond had said they were there. When Gobind persisted “...but you didn’t question them?”. ASP Ahmad Nazri replied he had not received instructions to do so.

And finally, when Gobind pressed: “I put it to you that there was interference in your investigations and you were not given the freedom to investigate” – ASP Ahmad Nazri remained silent. Isn’t this all indicative of some kind of a cover-up?