Wall

Humorous Speech Contest: Wall 21 Oct 2006

Introduction

Ladies & Gentlemen, have you ever kissed a wall? I HAVE! The meeting room in my office has glass walls. I was rushing in with my report and BANG.. OUCH!! I KISSED THE WALL KISS - that’s MY RED LIPSTICK MARK on the wall

Wall is a barrier or partition that divides. We all know the physical wall – we can see it, touch it BUT PLEASE DON’T KISS IT It’s painful! Very often, physical wall is necessary. I remember my first trip to China when I was young. Have you been to China Beijing? What’s your most unforgettable place? Great Wall? Forbidden City? I was too young to remember all these BUT I remember vividly the TOILET! Believe it or not, there is no partition or door in the toilet. When I stepped in, I saw many people I looked carefully and I realized I was facing a lineup of PALE NAKED BUMS! I’m glad the toilet in HK has doors!

That’s the physical wall – But have you thought about the IN-VI-SI-BLE wall around us? The wall that you could not see, you could not touch and yet it’s wall that divides!

I was shopping in Bangkok last week. I saw a pair of PRADA shoes selling at 500 Thai Baht (that is about 100HKD). What? PRADA shoes selling at only 100dollars? “HO PENG AH!” I said to the salesgirl. The salesgirl responded “MAI PENG”, took a calculator, punched some numbers and showed it to me, “Ok? Mdm, Ok?” I looked at the numbers on the calculator WOW it’s even cheaper! “PENG” means CHEAP in Cantonese but “PENG” in Thai language means EXPENSIVE. The salesgirl thought I was bargaining and gave me discount after hearing “HO PENG AH”

We often speak Cantonese in the office. Are we building a wall between us and our non-Chinese colleagues? Our non-Chinese colleagues may not understand Cantonese and may feel like we are talking to the wall. But be careful, walls could have ears! Our non-Chinese may understand us especially when we are gossiping about them.

At home, my husband likes to reads his newspaper holding it high up. My little girl sees Mickey Mouse on the front page of the paper and is very excited. She tells her Daddy – “Daddy, Daddy, I want to go to Disneyland!” No response from her daddy. Feeling curious, I look across at my husband. He is so absorbed in his newspaper, and on his face, I see a BIG “DO NOT DISTURB” sign.

David, my sister’s non-Chinese boyfriend recently moved from Singapore to work in Hong Kong. One day I asked him. I know David LOVES PIG. I mean he likes to eat pork. But I can’t believe he has been having BBQ Pork Rice for 3 months everyday! Because that’s the only dish he knows how to order! The David I know is short & slim, but that day I saw David looking like, hmm.. ahh.. our Division Governor Neil Sy.. before his diet program. But now, David has a stack of takeaways menu printed in Chinese but with handwritten English translation! My sister has to fly all the way to Hong Kong to translate for him!

My sister, she is something. She is not shy, not afraid to step forward to communicate her needs to others. She went to Cambodia recently. Was sitting in a restaurant, looking at the menu, could not understand it, decided to walk into the kitchen, smiled sweetly at the cook, opened the various pots to see what’s inside. Next she did this…. point to the pot of rice and so she ordered her Chicken Fried Rice

Are we unknowingly building an invisible wall around us? This invisible wall is often a barrier that creates frustration and misunderstanding that drives everyone up the wall.

Bring down the wall today – speak the language our non-Chinese colleague understand, let our family know we are there for them, do not be shy, step forward to communicate our needs.

When we bring down the wall, a new and exciting experience awaits all

Global Warming

Global Warming - You could make the difference! 27 July 2006

Introduction
37 degrees – good! I do not have a fever. But I know someone close to our heart is having a fever. This beautiful earth we are now living on is ILL. The earth’s fighting a FEVER!

Global Warming is REAL. Ladies & Gentlemen, this evening, I URGE you to know Global Warming and how YOU could make the difference to fight Global Warming.

What is Global Warming?
The average global surface temperature rose 0.6 degree Celsius over the last century. What causes this fever? It’s YOU and I – OUR human activities.

We are constantly consuming energy, burning fossil fuels. Such activities PUMP greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases are TRAPPED on the earth surface and GRAD-UALY W-A-R-M up the earth.

Effect of Global Warming
1. The high temperature melts the arctic ice. A longer season without ice keeps Polar bears from getting to their natural food. As a result, the HUNGRY polar bears are forced to KILL each other for food. Biological world is disrupted – pushing many species to the brink of extinction!

2. When the temperature is high, ice melts. When ice melts, sea level rises. And some places are FLOODED. Rising waters are DROWN-ING many villages in India & China. Many homes were destroyed. Many lives were lost!

3. On the other hand, when the temperature is high, some places experience drought – a DESPERATE thirst for water, for rainfalls. Crops dried up, livestock died. People are DY-ING too.

What could you do to reduce Global Warming?
Ladies & Gentlemen, we are reaching a POINT OF NO RETURN. Global warming is here. THE HEAT IS ON! It’s affecting ALL OF US! YOU have to do something about it NOW!

It’s SIMPLE! Just 2 letters - R & R. It’s not Rest & Relax – we can’t relax on such critical issue. Can we?

R&R - RECYCLE and REDUCE energy consumption.

RECYCLE and REDUCE energy consumption.

The first R – RECYCLE When you recycle, you help to cut down waste and the burning or disposal of this waste.

Recycle paper at your office, print on both sides of the paper. Recycle glass bottle – wrap the bottle with recycled gift wrappers and waah lah.. you have a beautiful vase for your beautiful flower

Support the 3 RECYCLE BINS you see on the road or around your neighbourhood. Dispose your waste PAPER, CAN and GLASS into these recycle bins.
Say no to Plastic bag
SAY NO to plastic bag! Bring your own bags when you next go shopping. Otherwise, be prepared to pay 50cents for each plastic bag! The proposed green tax – 50cents for each plastic bag!

Recycle – you kill 2 birds with 1 stone - not only you save the earth, you are also saving money!

The 2nd R – REDUCE Energy consumption What CONSUMES energy? When you switch on the light, television, air conditioning or drive a car – all these activities used up energy. Energy generates heat, heat are trapped within the earth atmosphere and cause global temperature to raise.

How do you REDUCE energy consumption? It’s simple:
Switch off the light, TV, electrical appliances when you are not using them.
Take public transport or carpool when you can.
Air-conditioning
Singapore’s former Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew once said that
Air-con is the greatest invention of this century.
But he didn’t mention that aircon is responsible for 60% of electricity consumption. Turn on the aircon only when you really have to. And when you do turn on the aircon, set the temperature to 25.5 degrees. This optimal temperature helps to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases blamed for Global Warming.
But a survey in Hong Kong showed that 70% of offices, hotels, restaurant, public transport, shopping centres are missing the mark – the average temperature is 23.8 degrees – too cold for comfort.
In MDC toastmaster club, we practise what we preach – the temperature in this room is 26 degree – we are within the mark.

Conclusion
Ladies & Gentlemen, you’ve heard the horrific effects of global warming –
Extreme weather conditions (unusual flood & drought)
Disruption to the eco-systems (your grandchildren and great grandchildren may not see polar bears!).

I now urge you to do something to save our FEVERISH earth now. Change your lifestyle today.
Say no to plastic bags!
Turn up your aircon to 25.5 degrees.

SAVE MONEY! SAVE THE EARTH!
Together let’s R & R. Together, let’s – RECYCLE & REDUCE energy consumption!

Racial Harmony

Project 2: Racial Harmony 27 April 2006

1964, July 21, something terrible happened in a small island called Singapore. The Malays and Chinese were attacking and killing each other! This racial riot was unavoidable – there were great resentment and mutual distrust between the Malay and Chinese community.

Today, 4million Singaporeans comprising 3 ethnic groups live harmoniously together - 77% of Chinese, 14% of Malays and 8% of Indians. How is this possible? It’s because each of these groups makes an effort to understand and love one another. First step to racial harmony – understand each other.

Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight, you are going to understand the 3 ethnic groups in Singapore and the important festival each of them celebrates.

Chinese – the majority 77%. The Chinese migrated from Mainland China in early 20th century and they are mostly Hokkien, Teochew or Cantonese. In early days, Chinese spoke its own dialect. The government saw the division among the Chinese and quickly nipped it in the bud - ‘Let’s speak Mandarin 大家讲华语’ campaign was introduced in the 1970s. Today, the Chinese speak mainly Mandarin and English at work and at home.

Chinese New Year is the important festival for the Chinese. Family members gather on New Year eve for reunion dinner. For 15 days, the Chinese visit family and friends, exchange New Year Greetings 恭喜发财with a pair of Mandarin Oranges and give Ang Pow (what Hongkonger calls Lai-See) to the children. The ladies will also wear Cheongsum the traditional Chinese costume.

Chinese in Singapore also celebrates other Chinese festivals such as Qing Ming, Dragon Boat Festival, Moon Cake Festival which are not public holidays in Singapore. However, the Chinese gets to enjoy a public holiday on Malay New Year.

Malay – 2nd largest group – 14% of the 4m Singaporeans. Malays are people who originally live in Malaysia and nearby islands. Malays are mostly Muslims – follower of the religion Islam. Muslims fast for 1 month before their New Year. They fast to feel and understand the suffering of mankind, to exercise self control and to submit to their God Allah. They wake up early in the morning to pray and have their breakfast. During the day, they abstain from eating and drinking. The fast is broken in the evening around 7o’clock with another prayer and some food.

The Muslims fast for one month and then celebrate for one month during the New Year. During the Malay New Year, Muslims visit their family and friends and seek forgiveness from their elders. The ladies will also put on their best sarong kebaya (the traditional Malay costume made famous by the Singapore Airlines Girl! Yes I’m referring to the uniform of the SIA girls! The Sarong Kebaya).


You’ve just heard about the Chinese and the Malay, what about Indian - the 3rd group - minority 8%? The Indian came to Singapore in early 19th century – mostly from south of India. The most important Indian festival is Festival of Lights. Festival of Lights celebrates the triumph of good over evil. Indian family hangs fresh mango leaves which are considered auspicious, on their main door. Decorative designs are drawn on the floor in front of the house. It’s Festival of Lights – so there must be lights. Oil lamps are lit and placed all around the house. The ladies will wear their best Sari – a traditional Indian costume. What is a Sari? Sari – a long strip of cloth that wrapped round the waist with one end then draped over the shoulder like a shawl. And it is worn with a low cut, short sleeve blouse that bares the midriff.

Today in Singapore, the 3 ethnic groups - Chinese, Malay and Indian live together in the same neighbourhood, attend the same school, work together in the same office. Each and everyone helps build the nation and is an integral part of the society. Therefore, racial harmony is very important. Racial harmony will ensure peace and prosperity for all.

The first step to racial harmony is to understand the culture of other ethnic group. This understanding will help build friendship and appreciation of the diversity. A Chinese who is invited to a Malay family gets to taste all the delicious Malay cakes & cookies. Look at my Chinese top, Malay batik skirt. They complement each other and are in perfect harmony!