The winning duo, Thivya Uma Perakasam a/p Selladurai (on the left) and Nikita Sia Shu-Wen (on the right) reciting the ‘Rukunegara’ ardently.
To instill patriotism, students in TAR College are imbibed with nation-building subjects and also exposed to nationalistic efforts such as the Patriotic Story-telling Competition organized by the Ministry of Information for the sixth time.
Once again, TAR College made a clean sweep of prizes at the Federal Territory (KL) level Pengisahan Kenegaraan Competition by taking all four spots at the finals on the 18th of May 2008. The College has won the championship title three times in a row. For this round of competition, the criteria were slightly different. Instead of having to compete on an individual basis, the teams are now comprised of groups with at least two different races in one group in keeping with the ‘muhibbah’ culture prevalent in our Malaysian fabric of society.
The TAR College winning team comprising Nikita Sia Shu-Wen and Thivya Uma Perakasam a/p Selladurai captivated the audience with their soulful and patriotic style, impressing the judges with their good rhetorical skills. “We only had about a week to prepare for the competition as it was smack in the middle of our examination period but we made the best of it with the help of our lecturers and friends” said Thivya.
Both of them took turns telling the story of Tun Abdul Razak who was posthumously granted the soubriquet Bapa Pembangunan (Father of Development) for his contributions to the nation. “It wasn’t difficult for us to put our heart into what we said as he was indeed a great man who left an unparalleled legacy”, added Shu-Wen. |
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The two girls walked away with RM 1,500 cash, a trophy, a book depicting the lives of one hundred past leaders and also a book about the Yang Dipertuan Agong.
First runner-up, Tie Sui King and Muhammad Azhar bin Zainal Ariffin won RM 1,000 and a trophy with their story entitled Laungan Keramat.
The Ketua UMNO Bahagian Cheras, Y.B. Senator Datuk Wira Syed Ali Al-Habshee who launched the final round of the competition at the Pusat Rekreasi UMNO Cheras, gave away the prizes to the winners.
TAR College Nation Building and Unity Studies Division Head, Ms. S. Karthiyani said that taking part in such events not only gave students a chance to improve their soft skills but also indirectly, inculcated the spirit of patriotism.
“Speaking in front of an audience is no easy task but with practice students are able to perfect their craft”, said Karthiyani. For the national finals, the winning duo will be going to Johor in mid-June to compete with the other state winners.
Hopefully with many more of such events, the young people of today would appreciate the richness of our country’s history and also come to know how our forefathers fought for our independence and worked hard to support the family and provide a good education for their children. That is what makes Malaysia, Malaysia.
Note: The winning duo went on to obtain 6th placing in the national finals held in Johor and was also awarded the “Anugerah Juri Khas” award.
The 2nd Runners-up, Tie Sui King and Muhammad Azhar bin Zainal Ariffin in action. |
