Malaysia Club of South Australia

Transcription

1 W I N T E R / S P R I N G Malaysia Club of South Australia Newsletter March 2011 October 2011 A year had passed As the saying goes "time passes us by ever so quickly" and the time has come for us to once again come together to not only enjoy one another s company, the yummy food and loads of fun, but more so to work together to strengthen the Malaysian sense of unity and to share with our friends from Australia and other ethnic and multicultural backgrounds our culture and friendship. It is, therefore, with much hope and aspirations that we approach another year of further commitment and hopefully greater achievement as we work towards building an even bigger and stronger membership within the Malaysian Club of South Australia (MCSA). On this note, we, the committee would first like to express our deep appreciation to all of you for your unfailing support in the past. Announcement MCSA, like most other community based clubs and associations, is a self-funding, nonprofit body run by volunteers and as such we depend solely on the membership and fund raising events to keep us going. May we, therefore, take this opportunity to remind you to renew your membership bearing in mind also that only financial members are privileged to member s concessions to all our events. Kindly contact Betty bettykling@yahoo.com.au With payment via EFT: Bank Acct Name: Malaysia Club of South Australia National Australia Bank BSB: Acct No: Or post Cheque to PO BOX 836, Kent Town, SA 5067

2 Dear Members and Friends, How quickly do the seasons change! The last edition was in summer and now we are at the end of spring and looking at the festive season in December. In the interim there have been other community celebrations since the last edition with Easter, Hari Raya Puasa, Mid-autumn Festival and Deepavali. The year has been very full with the club participating in various community functions including the Malaysian Carnival in September The Malaysia Club anniversary celebration in May was extremely well attended, as was the karaoke/dance and dinner event in July this year. There was also a special event to welcome the renowned Malaysian Chef Wan at Jadeview Restaurant in September. It was a unique opportunity to meet with this larger than life persona. We were also very appreciative for the attendance at this event by no other than Chef Poh Ling Yeow of the Masterchef series. It was great to see new members joining the club and the strength of the membership is strongly associated with a good membership base. I must thank all members and friends/non-members for supporting the functions throughout the year. The Monday badminton nights appear to have continued to be well attended. This is a great opportunity to not only get in some physical work but also to socialise. There is a relatively busy calendar of events planned for the coming year and the website will be continually updated. I would encourage everyone to check the website for upcoming events. The next function is planned in the early quarter of next year/2012. The launch of the website has been very successful and I thank the committee members for regularly updating the website. IAge Media has been great as one of our corporate sponsors. NAB was also a sponsor of our club anniversary celebration in May We thank them for their great support. The club has been a great medium for everyone including Malaysians, ex-malaysians and non-malaysians, students and new migrants to interact and network with each other. I believe the club is carving out its own presence within the community in South Australia. The club is hopeful that we will be able to announce a Patron for the club in the near future. This will add further credence to the club as it continues establishing itself in South Australia. I would encourage members to contact the committee with any ideas they may have in regards to future activities for the club. Despite the continuing global financial crisis particularly in the US and Europe and the depressed real estate market in Australia, I think all of us in Australia have been to a certain extent insulated from the realities in other parts of the world. The club hopes that at our social events we can leave some of these worries behind whilst enjoying the great joy of the variety of foods of Malaysia and hopefully the great friendship. I must thank the committees who have worked so hard throughout the year. Without them many events would not have been possible. Last but not least thank you again to all the supporters of the club. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. Dr Evelyn Yap President MCSA Nov

3 Karaoke & Dance Night MCSA held its very own Karaoke Fun and Dance Night on 23 July 2011 at J Restaurant. Despite a cold winter's evening, the event attracted 150 guests. After a welcome speech by MCSA s president, Dr Evelyn Yap, it was showtime! Besides being treated to a filling12-course Chinese banquet dinner, we all took the opportunity to enjoy a drink or two whilst catching up with old friends and making new ones. It was a very entertaining night. Hidden talents were brought to the surface on the night to the delight of everyone in the room. Music and dancing carried on finishing the night on a high note. As always, there was much anticipation when the raffle prizes were announced. Thanks to donations from MCSA members and friends, many guests were able to share the joy of being lucky winners. The Karaoke Fun and Dance Night will be remembered as a funfilled and successful event and perhaps the beginning of many such events in the future. Our 1 st Anniversary MCSA celebrated its 1 st birthday on the 7 th of May 2011.More than 150 members and friends turned up in full force. Family and friends spent a fun-filled evening at the Clarence Bowling Club. The event kicked off at 7:00pm with a welcome speech by our President, Dr Evelyn Yap. Evelyn thanked everyone for taking the time to attend the MCSA s first anniversary event. Special thanks to Mr. Kevin Ponniah & Mrs Tanny Ponniah for offering the facilities of their restaurant for some of the food preparation for the evening. Many thanks to John Orth as well for assisting us with the setup of the MCSA website. The club is most appreciative of their help. As any Malaysian would testify, no celebration is complete without all that glorious food. This event was no different. Besides our famous nasi lemak as main course graciously prepared and served by our committee members, there was a potpourri of dishes including ayam kunyit (turmeric chicken), curry chicken, and a fabulous variety of Malaysian dessert. With such a delicious array of food, everyone had more than their fair share and dieting was thrown out of the window for the evening! After dinner, it was then time for the kids in particular, to have a delightful time participating in the various party games organised for the event. Generous contributions to the raffle saw almost everyone take home a prize. MCSA would like to thank everyone who joined us to celebrate its first birthday. It was definitely an opportunity for all present to get together as Malaysians, and enjoy our camaraderie and friendship in a great atmosphere! 3

4 Up Close & Personal with Chef Wan On the 9th September 2011, MCSA organized a welcome dinner for celebrity chef Redzuawan Ismail, who is known by many as Chef Wan. The dinner was held at Jadeview Inn Chinese Restaurant, Royston Park Adelaide. Chef Wan is a multi award celebrity Chef, author, actor and TV host. He has an international reputation particularly in Asia. His comprehensive knowledge of Malaysian cuisine puts him in constant demand and he is often invited to present talks and to give demonstrations. MCSA was very fortunate to have his presence here in Adelaide. Many thanks to the Honorary Consul of Malaysia in SA and the MCSA Honorary Advisor of MCSA Datuk Hassan Salleh for engineering this coup. The dinner was attended by approximately 110 people. The VIPs who attended were the Lieutenant Governor of South Australia Mr Hieu Van Le and wife Mrs Lan Le, Honorary Consul for Malaysia Datuk Hassan Salleh and Masterchef Poh Ling Yeow. Chef Wan shared with us his many experiences and personal journey to become a chef. The question and answer session with the audience was enhanced by his wicked sense of humour. There was much hilarity throughout the night. Our Vice President Mr Eric Lai and a lovely Chinese student also provided some light entertainment with their lovely singing. All the guests had a great night enjoying the delicious meal served in the company of Chef Wan as well as Masterchef Poh. It was a unique experience to meet Chef Wan and indeed it was a memorable night. 4

5 Following the success of Malaysian Carnival 2010, the Malaysian Students Council of Australia, South Australian Chapter (MASCA SA), in collaboration with Malaysian Students Association of Flinders University, once again organised the third Malaysian Carnival in Adelaide. The event was held on Sunday, 11th of September 2011 from am to 4.00 pm and the official program started from to pm at Victoria Square, the heart of Adelaide. Malaysian Carnival is a one-day event filled with activities showcasing various traditional performances and exhibitions. There were food stalls catering authentic Malaysian delicacies to tantalize eager taste buds. MCSA, being an incorporated body, assisted the student s bodies to apply for grants and was successful in obtaining $5,000 and $3500 from the Adelaide City Council and the Attorney General Department respectively. The aim of the 2011 Malaysian Carnival is to showcase the rich diversity of Malaysian culture to the people of South Australia and to promote the Malaysian spirit among the Malaysian community in South Australia, with cultural performances, fashion Malaysian Carnival 2011 shows, food stalls featuring authentic Malaysian cuisine, exhibition booth and demonstrations. Chef Wan was also part of the Carnival and he had two (2) cooking demonstrations scheduled at the Carnival. Mr. Hieu Van Le AO, the Lieutenant Governor of SA, Hon Jing Lee MLC, representing the Leader for the Opposition, the Right Honourable Stephen Yarwood and the Lord Mayor of Adelaide together with thousands of Malaysians, former Malaysians and members of the public attended the Carnival. MCSA had a food stall selling Satays, Nasi Lemak with tumeric chicken (coconut rice served with hard boiled eggs, sambal, anchovies and peanuts) and vegetarian curry puffs. MCSA would like to thank the committee for their efforts and hard work in the event. Many thanks to all the volunteers who spared their time to help at the Carnival. It was successful due to the efforts of many who helped on the day. We would also like to thank AUG Adelaide who generously contributed the take away containers for the event. 5