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This time I was invited to the International APICTA 2010 Awards Ceremony that happened last Friday, October 15 at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I hope Rahul and Calvin did too as I brought them under my invitation. It was time we celebrated the great achievements in ICT (Information and communication technologies) in the region, and in my humble opinion it has been a great journey at least from some of the countries involved in Asia Pacific.
It was also the first time that the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) conferred the APICTA Lifetime Achievement Award to YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, our previous Prime Minister, at this particular ceremony that marks their 10th Anniversary of the APICTA Awards, having first started from Malaysia and then hosted at other countries before making a glorious return.
As the dress code dictated for a Black Tie event, we were dressed to kill with the purpose to mingle with about 300 delegates from 16 other countries which makes part of the alliance like Pakistan, Hong Kong and most recently Taiwan!
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Yours truly and Denise Hooi posing with the banner
Like I said, everyone was dressed to kill! I knew Denise from a long time ago while I was still studying at Imperial College London, and now we’ve all pretty much grown up since then lol!
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Students from SRK and SMK were here sponsored by MSC Malaysia
I liked the fact that they brought our students to attend the event, giving them an inspiration to look for when it comes to identifying their own set of skills that will surely help them in the game of life, both for themselves and the country!
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Tun Mahathir leaving the Awards Ceremony
Managed to catch Tun as he got mobbed by many of the people present. Whatever he’s done, for good or for bad, intentional or not, I cannot deny the fact that he’s gotten Malaysia to where she is today in the global arena. Some of you say that it could have been better if he left the Prime Ministerial seat earlier, but with a country like ours, it not an easy task whether you like it or not! For all that’s happened and happening right now, Tun Mahathir still remains the Prime Minister I’ve come to love and admire, especially in the ICT area. The APICTA Lifetime Achievement Award could go to no one else better than him 🙂 CONGRATS TUN!
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Entering the Dinner Gala ballroom, magnificently presented!
After the Awards was over we were ushered to the International APICTA Gala Diner 2010 and had performances planned out for us by star-studded celebrities like Datuk Siti Nurhaliza and Jaclyn Victor!
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LOVE the amazing moving GIANT LEDS!
It was a really top class event and I really picked up an idea or two for use of our Young Corporate Malaysians Summit 2010 happening this 11th December 2010. If you haven’t booked your date yet you’d better do it now!
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Violinists were performing magical numbers for us
While waiting for the presentation to start and the food to be served we were entranced by the performance of the band. Really gave a touch of class to the gala dinner!
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It's a full house... with giant moving words!
Again a look at the fully filled hall and large moving LEDs… I LOVE IT! How much does it cost, does anyone know?
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The hosts were none other than Naz and Daphne Iking
Having great hosts does play a part in ensuring the event was a success. And in this case, both of them were exceptional!
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At last the appetizer came! The rest of the food wasn't worth mentioning.
Soon after the food came, and as much as I’d like to share about the food here in Kuala Lumpur Conven
tion Centre, I thought about how unaccustomedly bad it was that particular day that I decide to skip it. The appetizer was the only thing worth shooting and sharing, compromising of 2 pieces of fresh prawns and
what seemed to be a delicate piece of pate. Heh.
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The Malay Cultural Performance, with Asmaradana music, gorgeous!
The cultural dance performance was next to impress us. The group, called Astana Arts, were nothing short of fabulous! We had so much fun watching as they dance and move along like free spirits on the stage 🙂
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Chinese dance then ensued
Typically, the Chinese dance came afterwards. Don’t particularly like their choice of music but the smiling faces of them performers was enough to magically make my day!
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The 1Malaysia dance? 😛
Then the Indian performance happened, before everyone congregated to do a somewhat 1Malaysia dance, if you can call it that haha! Nevertheless it was really beautiful, a show of splendour filled with colours and culture that Malaysia are rich with… something that we can be proud of in front of the other countries within the APICTA alliance 😀
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Jaclyn Victor belting Gemilang at the end of the show!
Finally we had an amazing performance by Jaclyn Victor of Malaysia Idol fame, grooving the stage with a few jazzy numbers before the crowd decided to request for Gemilang, which is also her winning music on Malaysian Idol a few years back! I sang along to the song too, it’s irresistible and having Jaclyn sing it live in front of us was an experience one could never forget 🙂
And that was the end of the Gala Dinner!
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Some of the recipients of the award
Before we left we got the chance to take some photos… so presenting to you some of our finalists consisting of students, even! Did you know that Malaysia won four outright and six merit awards? Amazing kan? 😀
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This is how the trophy looks like... I want one too 😛
The recipients of the trophy above can go back knowing that their work has been recognized by many economies of the APICTA alliance. Following APICTA Chairman Sutee Satanasathapon‘s words, “At the core of it, the International APICTA Award is proof that much can be accomplished when countries work together in synergy”, is something our generation should recognize and start building relations to expand businesses and initiatives outside of Malaysia if you want to truly excel!
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The Judges: First two not too sure from where, last two are Google Consultants from Pakistan and Malaysia respectively
The judges consists of leaders of the ICT sector within the 16 economies of APICTA, for example, the Google consultant from Pakistan. Our friend Hanson Toh beside him (far right) isn’t a judge, but he’s equally distinguished and recognized by the ICT industry in the region :p
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The Google Consultant and I
Which is why I didn’t hesitate to take a photo with him 😛 FEHMES MAN WOR! hahahaha!
We left the Awards night feeling in awe of what took place, and also with a few business cards that could otherwise be our ticket to fortune (who knows) as we realized, from what we’ve seen, the power of leveraging skills across the countries in order to create amazing technologies that will help with our everyday lives. I for one, coming from a tech background, will definitely push for advancements that peopl
e are so fond of dismissing. Never say never, we can do it together!
View more pictures over at my Facebook album
