Finally, it is officially LAUNCHED!!!

The audience were seated impatiently waiting for the launching to start. The participants were ready, too. However, the mic remained silent. The projector too, portrayed its unity by refusing to function. But batch 13 students, were not to be put off by such minor hiccups. We were made of stronger mettle. So, off we went to another venue. However, although the projector complied now, the mic refused to budge. But the emcee’s, Vinod and Jycinta, overcame the hitch by screaming their hearts out. Mr. Ranjit, the Student Liaison Division Officer was impressed enough to appeal for more students to participate in the 2nd and 3rd preliminary rounds.

The arrival of the Vice Chancellor accompanied by Mr. Ranjit

The Vice Chancellor gave a short and simple speech before launching the programme. He mentioned that some consider such activities as a waste of time expecially during class hours. He is convienced that such activities are an intergral part of university life. They would assist in producing well-rounded students. He gave an example of people in Sweden who decided to study English seriously in the 1950’s. This effort has projected Sweden into the international limelight. He feels, Malaysians need that head start, too. He also felt that more student should participate in such a gainful activity. The VC then launched the event. Kudos to the impressive graphics experts in Batch 13, who came up with a fantastic launching presentation.

The Vice Chancellor

Mr. Ranjit

Well, by then the IT department representatives, managed to get another mic (one that finally functioned). The 1st preliminary round kicked off to a great start with participants competing to impress the judges with high levels of oratory skills.

The first speaker, Christine Savariamal, a Biotech student, set the competition on fire. She spoke about the ‘Law of attraction’ and she definitely attracted the audience and judges. Although she trespassed the time limit a little, I have to admit that she was a great speaker.


On came the next speaker, Faisal Norizan a January intake Foundation in Science student, who spoke on ‘Sharks’. He did not really start off well as he appeared to be very nervous but he managed to pull together and ended well. Although, it was not a very interesting topic, he seemed to know his topic well.

Hemalatha from Foundation in Science July intake , came next with the topic ‘Be yourself’. She was very straight forward and convincing. She was a passionate speaker indeed. She was herself alright.

We were then entertained by the fourth speaker, Lim Wei Keat a July batch Foundation in Science student, who decided to take the ‘bull by its horns’ (I mean the mic). He started of saying, “Good morning...” (just for the info, it was exactly 2.45pm). Well it was a slip of the tongue i guess. His title was ‘A journey to purpose’. He sincerely requested everyone present to find their true purpose in life on that very day. A very motivating speech indeed.

Next came Adrina Stella Anne from Biotech Batch 12 with her topic ‘What do you know about adrenaline?’. Overall she was good except for her accent which we had difficulty in understanding. But I must say she was good and she was very confident with herself.

Shaarala Jenarthanan, a Information Systems student, was the last speaker for the day. Her very interesting topic was ‘Superstition’. She was down to earth and daring as she dwelled on sensitive issues such as religion. It was a good speech with just a few minor grammatical errors.

Our emcee’s for the day, were a threat to the competitiors. They did an excellent job as they were very spontaneous and entertained the audience which cheeky jokes during the whole event. They deserve bouquets.

So that was the end of the 1st preliminary round, which surpassed our expectations. We, batch 13 students, hope that more students would register for the next preliminary rounds to make this event more exciting. Looking forward to the next preliminary round!

-Vatsela-