37th Multiple Distict Leo Forum

The Multiple District 308 Leo Forum is an event that is marked on every Leo’s calendar as it serves as a platform for all Leos alike from Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and – this year – even Philippines to gather and enjoy. After hearing all the fun stories from friends, you couldn’t imagine the anticipation I had to be able to attend my first Leo Forum.

This year’s annual event was held in Ipoh on the 11th June 2010. Along with 4 other Leos (Leo Sheng Wei, Leo Cindy, Leo Jia Yi, Leo Thin Sung), we travelled down to the Land of Great Food with excitement in the back of our heads. Before reaching the hotel, we stopped by at Funny Mountain stall to have their smooth-as-a-lady’s-skin tofu fah. Note: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! =D

The attendance for forum in the past has been positive, thus it was hardly surprising to find a vast amount of Leos already gathered at the hotel, surrounding the lobby with a sea of colourful Leo vests. The cheerful mood all around only heightens our excitement. We were disappointed at first to find out that we will be staying at a neighbouring hotel (Read: Downgrade =P) and not being able to collect the hotel keys, but they were just minor setbacks. It’s quickly overshadowed by the fact that we were going to ‘debut’ our new vest – Navy blue with golden yellow piping. The colour combination looked brilliant and the moment Leo Sheng Wei showed to us, we fell in love (With the vest, not him =P).

Prior to the opening ceremony, the hall was filled with booths, which we err… duly visit. Not wanting to give in to the RM2 fried rice lunch; we decided to ‘escape’ and went to the famous Foh San Dim Sum restaurant. The shop was about to close when we arrived, but even with the limited selection of Dim Sum dishes, we were quite satisfied.

By the time we got back to the hotel, the opening ceremony was over and we got our keys. Yay! After half a day of driving, we retreated to our rooms to rest and freshen up. In the evening, we went to the main hotel to have our dinner (This one we paid for, so our kiasu-ness made us bear with the ‘delicious’ mixed rice. Seriously though, it’s actually not that badlar!). Right after dinner, we went out for dessert hunting. (By now you must be asking, “Hey! What happened to the forum?!” tsk tsk tsk. We are a anti-social social club, whatever that means!)

With Leo Jia Yi’s “Perak Food Guide” book, we headed to Indulgence which was a rave among foodies and critics alike. Located in an old bungalow, the ambience of the restaurant is definitely one you could use to floor your perfect date. But of course, we were more impressed by the food, especially the oh-so-perfect Tiramisu. It was literally 7th heaven/cloud 9/insert-ridiculous-expressions that we decided to skip the closing ceremony on Sunday morning to come back for more indulgence. Well, more of that later.

We started the 2nd day of forum early as “early birds get the crispy roast pork”. We headed to a nearby market to try the delicious delicacy made by a friend’s family. Hey! You’ve never been to Ipoh if all you’ve eaten is forum food! =P

After breakfast, we arrived at the main hall in time for the banner parade. After the parade, we were treated to some speeches and presentation. In the afternoon, we attended the District 308-B1 sub-forum. We are pleased to announce to you that the club has bagged 8 awards this year. Congratulations to all the winners as well as they rightly deserve them for the efforts put. The awards were:

- Outstanding Club Award – Leo Club of KL Unity
- Outstanding Club President – Leo Tan Eong Xien
- Outstanding Club Secretary – Leo Yap Wei Keat
- Outstanding Club Treasurer – Leo Teh Tze Yoong
- Outstanding Leo Member – Leo Chai Hooi Jett
- Special Project Award: Leos Serving Together with Lions
- Special Project Award: Community Service Project
- Special Project Award: Leo Bulletin Award

We would like to also take this opportunity to congratulate our sister clubs, Leo Club of SMK Jinjang and Leo Club of SMK Sultan Abdul Samad on their respective achievements.


That night, we were treated to a banquet dinner, with the theme “Oscar Night” at Florex Restaurant. The first thing we noticed was the stage’s size. The stage was huge, complete with mock Oscar balloon monuments. I guess the organizers were serious about the theme. It helped that everybody dressed at their best efforts to look like celebrities; it was indeed an Oscar night. True to its hype, the dinner was held in a grand fashion, with an 8-course banquet dinner and entertaining performances. The highlight of the event was the presentation of the top awards, of which the all recipients were delighted to be Oscars winners. Congratulations to them as well!

One of the segments that struck a chord in everybody’s hearts was the slideshow of the Dragonboat Festival in Penang. It was a fitting tribute to the Leos and students who lost their lives in the tragedy. Nobody deserves to go through such a traumatic event, however it was a reminder that life could be so short. We paid our respects with a moment of silence.

After the dinner, we went for a mini-celebration from other Omega Leos. After the formal event, it was time to let our hair down. Overall, he Leo Forum was a great event for all Leos alike to gather and celebrate the achievements of the past year. It was a great opportunity for us to not only get to know members from other clubs, but also strengthen the bond of our own members.

Roar!

Xien

Broga Hill Social Hiking

The best part about hiking is standing on the peak, overlooking the world which sits under your feet. The images of Kota Kinabalu still vividly lives in my memories as it was one experience I never forget. Figure that our clubs have never organized a hiking trip, we decided to organize one with the Lions Club of KL North and Leo Club of SMK Jinjang. You could say it was a huge family outing as there were huge turnouts from all 3 clubs (Bravo! 29 people at last count if I'm not mistaken!).

We left our meeting points at about 7am and by the time we had breakfast at Semenyih, it was almost 9. The Sun started to shine we started our hike and unsurprisingly, there were many early hikers descending the hill already after enjoying the sunrise. Well, that shouldn't spoil our fun and we started our journey.

The lonely tree - View from the first peak

Leo Hooi Jett and Leo Junee catching their breath

Lion Nicholas taking a midday nap under the shade of the rock

For the some of us, it wasn't our first time but it was totally different hiking in a day. The last time we did it, we started as early as 4am and it was literally pitch black. Now with proper lighting we could at least enjoy the scenery. Obviously the view wasn't as good as KK but at certain parts it does has its moment.

By 10.30am we reached the 4th and final peak, actually we were the last to arrive and the alpha Leos were already enjoying themselves hah. We snapped a group photo and after that began our journey back down.

At the final peak with grins coming out already

Check out the mom who brought his child to hike! Impressive!

Our guests of the day - Maggie and Josephine! =D

The alpha Leos from the Leo Club of SMK Jinjang

For lunch we went to a nearby restaurant for its grilled fish. Apparently Semenyih is famous for that particular dish, however we found it to be so-so. Perhaps we got the wrong place as we remember Leo Joshua mentioning that the famous place is barely accessible by car. The one we went was right next to the main road. Kena conned. =.="""

The so-so grilled fish

Nevertheless, we had great fun and lots of laughter. It was the perfect opportunity to get out with the Lions and Leos. The hike itself was simple, but it is the laughter and joy along the way that is priceless.

Our final social activity of the fiscal year. Let's hope there will be more to come in the next. Special thanks to the Lions Club of KL North who helped with fetching the Leos, as well as Leo Club of SMK Jinjang who turned out in numbers and with great passion. I hope you guys enjoyed as much as we did.

Roar!

Xien

KLU Bulletin - January 2010 Issue

The January issue was released earlier this year and now uploaded for your viewing. =)

Click here to view the issue.

Highlights of the issue include:
- Trip to Cameron Highlands Orang Asli Settlement
- Zoo Negara Volunteer Work
- Social at Genting Highlands

Enjoy! =)

Japanese Lions and Leos

On the 6th of February 2010, our sponsoring club, Lions Club of KL North held a dinner with the Japanese Leos and Lions at Marco Polo restaurant and we were invited to this event.

This day falls as the same as our GM. Thus, we went there right away after our GM ended. Once we reached Marco Polo, the Japanese were sitted nicely and waiting for our arrival. This simply proves that the Japanese are indeed early and on time. We were made to sit alternately with the Japanese because the main aim is to socialize with the Japanese Leos and have a great and memorable night with each other.


It started of with the speech given by the President of the Japanese Lion Club


Leo Eong xien was asked to give a speech about the event

After all sorts of speeches and talks, dinner was finally served. During the dinner, the Malaysian Leos socialized pretty well with the Japanese Leos and they are having a lot of fun that night by joking around with each other, exchanging culture information and performances performed by both Malaysian Leos and Japanese Leos!


Performance by Leo Eong Xien and Leo Adrian


Performance by the Malaysian Leos


Performance by the Japanese

Most of them don't really know how to speak proper English, which is the language of communication but everyone seem to socialize very well by playing the guessing game and that was what made the social interesting!




















KL Unity Badge!



The dinner ended around 9.30pm. Before leaving, everyone took a lot of pictures as memories and it could be seen in the Japanese that they simply don't feel like leaving the place. However, it was overall a great experience and a wonderful time having fun socializing wit them that night. We hope that they could come back sometimes in the future so that we could bring them around Malaysia!

Roar!

December Genting Social

5th of December is the Leo International Day. Our Club took this opportunity to bring a few international Leos to Genting Highland for a 2 days 1 night trip. It was the first week of Saturday of the month, so coincidently that we also have our monthly general meeting on that day. The club member and a number of guests have the general meeting at Genting Inti College and as well as our accommodation at the college’s guest chalet. These are all arranged by the club’s leo advisor.
After our meeting, we had BBQ dinner as our club social. There is a proper place for us to light up the campfire to keep us warm. We started to barbeque our foods that we brought up. It was a lovely night, we enjoyed eating the hot and tasty chicken wings at the cooling weather. Well, I could say that is also a best chance to chit chat around. After dinner, we drove up to Genting Highland. It was a good chance for us to introduce the famous attractions in our country to the foreigners. They were attracted to the place and said would visit to Genting again.
The next day, it was another free and easy day for us to explore. Once again we went up to Genting Highland by cable car. But this time the main purpose is to have our buffet lunch before we leave. The buffet filled with variety of cuisines. There are Chinese, Indian, Western, Japanese and more other type of cuisines.
After this trip, the friendship of the members is stronger now. Nevertheless, the guests get to know better about our club and so to do the club members, some even interested to join the club. In the end, everyone has gain a stronger friendship and have earn another memorable day in their life and for the following club minute get to jot another tremendous report of the day.

Chinese New Year Visit to PECH

On the 30th of January, 4 leos and 3 guests comprises of Leo Hooi Jett, Leo Eong Xien, Leo Sheng Wei, Leo Wei Keat, guest Maria, Roberto and Chelsea attended the event, Chinese new year visit to PECH!

We arrived at PECH at about 5pm. We bought mandarin oranges and various types of Chinese New Year cookies for them. Most of us brought a few packets of ang pows from home to teach them how to make some Chinese new year's decorations. As all of them gathered in the small hall, some Leos began to talk to them and explain to them about Chinese New Year.

After they have settled down, we taught them how to make Chinese New Year decorations from one to another and to another much more complicated and interesting one. Looks like they are having fun! some of them even began to enhance their creativity by connecting one decoration to another and to another! see how creative are they!



In the beginning...











Having fun..





hand made fan.. xD


Leo Sheng wei and Leo Eong xien explaining to the kids




Finally...


Look at the lantern!!

I would say that both the leos and kids had a lot of fun making Chinese new year decorations! Hope to pay them another visit again!

Roar!

Cameronian Escapade

19th December 2009 - To mark the end of the decade, we decided to organize a community service cum social trip to Cameron Highlands. With a great help and arrangement from Lions Club of Hill View Cameron, we managed to visit the Orang Asli settlement. A total of 4 members of KL Unity, 3 from Leo Club of SMK Jinjang as well as a guest attended the activity. We arrived at Ringlet in the afternoon and it was drizzling, naturally considering it was the raining season then. After lunch, we rendezvous with the lions who briefed us roughly on the families there. As it was wet, they couldn't bring us into settlements deeper inside. So we visited the one that is closest to the town.

We first unloaded our stuff - mostly groceries, chocolates and sweets brought one day prior to the visit as well as some old clothes collected the week earlier. The kids were most excited and gathered around us. We went from house to house and the kids played their part in knocking each house's doors. =D We greeted every family and handed them some of the old clothes and groceries.



Then, it was Santa Clause time. We brought out the bags of sweets and chocolates and started giving up the kids. The kids eagerly but patiently stood in a line whilst Leo Sheng Wei and Leo Tze Yoong gave them a handful of confectioneries. It goes without saying that they were delighted and even the older ones loved them. Our short visit ended when we gave out all the stuff, and we took a group photo before saying our goodbyes to the families.



Next we checked into our apartment at Brinchang. We took some time to settle down and had a rest after a whole day of driving before heading out for a nearby Strawberry Farm. As it was close to late-evening, most of the shops there were about to close and we ended up at the pasar malam nearby. The pasar malam there was a tourist spot, although there were a number of delicacies sold, it was pretty much a hit-and-miss affair. After dinner we decided to head home. We didn't stay up pretty late, although we had a pack of poker cards and Monopoly Hong Kong to accompany us. It was great fun and by midnight, we slept like babies.

The next morning, we went down to Tanah Rata for our breakfast. There were a couple of western-style restaurants, which apparently have been opened for a long time. It wasn't too bad and after breakfast we visited several tourist attractions - namely the Cameron Valley Tea Plantation, honey bee farm and the Boh tea factory. The Cameron Valley stop had a cafe for -literally- yum cha sessions with a nice overall view of the plantation (As you can see below). As we had a heavy breakfast, we didn't stop long and went for the next stop.


By the time we reach the Boh tea factory, we were running a little late, so we decided to skip the factory visit and instead had a nice cup of hot tea. In the midst of misty cold weather it's quite bliss actually. Shortly after that, we headed back home and rather unsurprisingly, it was starting to jam (Being a long weekend). Thankfully it wasn't as bad as the Leo Forum jam back to KL and we managed to reach home by 7pm.

We had lots of fun there and hopefully there will be another orang asli settlement visit trip soon as according to the lions, the best time to visit the settlement is during June/July period when it's dry. It's because some settlements aren't as accessible and needs a few jeeps or Hilux to get there. I guess it will be interesting and hopefully it won't be too long before the next one comes along. =)

Roar!