MAF of Sibu East District - District Ping-Pong Competition 2009

This two-night event was smooth-running, moving on better than I asked for. I give glorification to our Almighty God!

Night 1 was pretty quiet with much less excitement. I call it sailing in a slow-moving Rajang River.

Night 2 saw tough fights as the competition entered the finalist stage. Wahs and cheers filled the whole atmosphere, making the matches more nerve-racking. When Xin Fu Yuan Methodist Church and Sing Ang Tong Methodist Church wrestled for the championship, the cheering squads from both teams sent the competition to its climax.

Tang Sioh Liik's mighty strikes drove Xin Fu Yuan Methodist Church to championship.

Xin Fu Yuan Methodist Church received the championship prize from Rev Wong Tuong Toh. First from the right is Rev Ling Hang Kee.

Sing Ang Tong Methodist Church was the runner-up.

.......and Huai Ang Methodist Church the first runner-up.

The second runner-up went to Zion Methodist Church. I am partly hidden in the photo.

District Ping Pong Competition 2009 ended with a thanks-giving prayer by Rev Ling Hang Kee.

MAF of Sibu East District - District Ping-Pong Competition 2009

It is a purposeful event with the aims to foster better brotherly and sisterly ties among the adult fellowshippers in Sibu East District and to manifest the love of God.

The competition is a two-evening event falling on July 6-7.

We kicked it off this evening at 6:45 pm in the stadium of Sibu Ping Pong Association with an inspirational address by DS Rev. Wong Koi Fo.

"Be an winner in your character. If you excel, then you would have won the championship of tonight's event," DS Rev. Wong put the message across to the players.

Altogether 9 teams from 11 MAFs participated in the competition. The players lined up in full attention as DS delivered his spiritual message.

The air of the stadium was filled with harmony as the matches progressed through. There was a mix of laughters and cheers, making the evening cheerful and joyfilled.

Zion Methodist Church Team A, Xin Fu Yuan Methodist Church, Huai Ang Methodist Church and Sing Ang Tong Methodist ended up the finalists tonight.

Grand Cultural Parade & Lantern Procession

I took part in this evening's Grand Cultural Parade & Lantern Procession. My digicam is just a humble equipment, but it was handy enough to allow me to snap quite a few pieces of photos for sharing.

The detailed write-up shall follow.

A Double Cultural Event - BCF & National Chinese Cultural Festival

The grand stage. Photo: Meng Lei

A scene with jostling crowds. Photo: Meng Lei

Sibu is ushering in two cultural events of promunence - the 8th Borneo Cultural Festival and the 26th National Chinese Cultural Festival ( or Pesta Kebudayaan Tionghua Ke-26 in our national language).

The twinning of the two has made Sibu a bustling town with a lot of outside guests coming in to partake of the grand events. The Foochow town is instantly submerged in a sea of cultural atmosphere.

I was very much moved by the colourful cultural extravaganza. The blend truly fasters our appreciation for the richly diverse culture in Malaysia. In essence, this promotes harmony in our multi-racial society where tolerance and understanding are crucial.

I took about one hour to make a round in Sibu Town Square where BCF and NCCF are held back to back.

There was this impression that the crowd this time was less than the previous year. Could the A(H1N1) influenza outbreak have held back some?

Maybe my mind is too preoccupied with the disease!

Thank you, Meng Lei, for the photos.

A Kampua Meet With Dr. Dennis Ngien

It was hospitality in a traditionally Sibu way!

I fixed up with Dr. Dennis Ngien for a kampua breakfast meet this morning at 7:00 am at Emas Corner, a kopitiam adjacent to Public Bank at Jalan Central.

I pulled the gang together for an early session in a very much Sibu way. Kampua is almost a must for visitors to Sibu. If you miss out this Foochow food in their itinerary, then you would have made their trip here with a minus!

Dr. Dennis Ngien is back in Sibu for a sojourn for reunion with his dear mom and siblings.

Over a plate of kampua we chatted quite diversely, hopping from one subject to another. From Dr. Dennis Ngien's visiting lecturership at Cambridge University to our experiences with AirAsia, we shared light moments. At times, there were bursts of laughters, making the session extremely heart-warming. We simply loved it!

Towards the end of the breakfast meet, it flashed across our minds that we have to accord Dr. Dennis Ngien another dose of hospitality in Premier Hotel style.

It is none other than the gigantic teh tarik!

Sibu "Buy Malaysian" Trade Exposition - Photos, Photos & Photos

Philip Hii was an official photographer of the expo. I bumped into him with his sophisticated camera at the opening ceremony, moving around snapping pictures. I got hold of the opportunity to ask Philip for some of the expo photos which he generously agreed.

The picture shows Sibu Trade & Exhibition Centre.

Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh was cinvited to officiate the opening of the expo. He made a round after the ceremony.

Dato Sri sampled it with his bare fingers.

Dato Sri was in full attention.

Some live chicks as a give-away for promotion purpose.

Furniture section.

National motorcycles.

All the home-made on display in support of the expo.

They did their part to promote the national products.

A give-away scene.

Proton Saga is on full swing to drive up the sales.

The students showed off the chicks.

Colouring contest in progress.

The stage shows added life to the expo. The local gals did remarkably well.

Thank you, Philip, for the photos!

Tung Hua Secondary School Old Classmates' Meet

It was a heartwarming meet for Yian with her Tung Hua Secondary School old classmates this evening at Ting Lung's (third from right on the first row) residence.

This sort of meet of younger days' mates has been quite regular. The get-together gives them wonderful opportunities to refresh all the memories of the old days.

This evening they met up Kwee Hee who just came back to Sibu with her two daughters for holiday from Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is renowned for oil and gas industry.