My first winter holiday in Wellington did not seem as a holiday. It was the most hectic times I’ve ever experienced of. I was juggling three commitments and four events either at the same time or simultaneously. In short, my schedule of events during my holiday was as below:
28th June 2008
12.00pm-3.30pm: CA training
7.00pm-9.00pm: BERSATU Games Opening ceremony
29th June 2008 – 1st July 2008
7.00am – 6.00pm : New Zealand Model United Nations (NZMUN)
6.00pm – 12.00am: Umno Club –Chair of Malay Studies New Zealand Parliamentary Style Malay Language Debate Competition
2nd July 2008
BERSATU Games Closing ceremony
3rd July 2008
9.00am – 2.00pm : UMNO NZ Clubs New Zealand Rugby 10’s Tournament
My schedule was amazingly tight due to my roles in each of the event.
New Zealand Model United Nations (NZMUN) was basically a national level debate competition for high school students throughout New Zealand. The event organized by United Nations Youth Association of New Zealand (UNYANZ) in collaboration with Victoria University of Wellington and some committee of United Nations itself. Thence, the debate motion modeled the actual UN conference with the involvement around 194 delegates representing each UN member states. The theme of NZMUN this year was “Human Rights: A struggle for global values”
I was involved in the NZMUN as a conference assistant. However, my role was restricted as a magazine contributor that wrote articles and reports of the conference. (Writing.yeah.writing and writing..) Personally I didn’t really enjoy the roles because I had less social activities with the delegates and the other conference assistants compared to previous conference I attended. Being in the magazine team, I was only able to attend my assigned committee conferences and speeches. Most of my time was devoured in front of my laptop writing up the reports that must be done by the end of the event. The magazine team was formed for the first time this year. Thence, good image must be portrayed through the magazine to attract potential sponsors and delegates next time around.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy every discussion that I managed to attend. I was highly impressed by the performances of the delegates. They debated every issue critically and a bit witty sometimes. The best part of NZMUN was the opening ceremony. It was held at the Beehive, the Parliament of New Zealand. I’ve got to be in the Beehive for the first time in my very first year in New Zealand! The opening speech was made by Marian Hobbs, the former MP (Member of Parliament) and she used to be a teacher as well. For more information about UNYANZ or Model UN, feel free to visit http://www.unyanz.co.nz/
At night, I shifted my role as a conference assistant to be the WUC secretary and the host of the Umno Club –Chair of Malay Studies New Zealand Parliamentary Style Malay Language Debate Competition. The debate was my first project since I held my post in Wellington UMNO Club and it was also the first inter-UMNO NZ clubs debate competition. WUC initiated this competition to uphold the use of Malay Language as the national language of Malaysia and to instill awareness of using proper Malay language among younger generations. The participated clubs were Otago Umno Club, Auckland Umno Club, Christchurch Umno Club and the host of the event itself, Wellington Umno Club.
There were two topics debated. The topic entitled “Bahasa Melayu Mampu Bergelar Bahasa Dunia” was debated during the preliminary rounds and an FDI topic; “Pelaburan Langsung Asing Menjamin Pembangunan Negara Mapan” was debated on the final. Again, I was highly impressed by the intelligence and the wittiness of the debaters. I could say that it was the most humorous and exciting debates I’ve ever watched. The spectators turned out be quite a large crowd as well, way more than I anticipated before. In short, all I could say was, it was a great success. Congratulations to Otago UMNO Club of their winning and thanks for everyone’s supports and commitments on something very well done.
The next event was all about BERSATU Games. BERSATU Games was an annual sports event for Malaysian students in New Zealand. As of this year, Wellington was the host and in collaboration with MUMSA from Palmerston North. For more info on BERSATU Games, feel free to visit http://wmso.110mb.com/info.htm. It was the biggest event for Malaysian Students in Wellington this year. Unfortunately, due to clashes with pre-determined schedule of NZMUN, I was not able to watch any of the games. Sorry guys..I felt sorry as well as I didn’t join any games or even went to support the teams. It was quite a big loss for me as I couldn’t share the memories with my fellow friends.
In exchange of my absence during the entire sports events, I dedicated some of my time to attend BERSATU opening ceremony and most importantly, I got myself involved in BERSATU Closing ceremony. The closing ceremony was held at De Loitte Gallery, Westpac Stadium (the most prestigious stadium in New Zealand). I became a dinner crew of the event. It was the last thing I could to do to show my support and appreciation to WMSO particularly and Malaysians, generally. On top of that, it was like a reward after my challenging days in prior to the event. For me, the best part of the closing ceremony was the band performances. One of the factors was the band members were my friends. One of them in fact was my relative but the main factor was the joy and the sparkles that they brought into the night. Personally I felt like they covered up some flaws of the event by their singing and melodies.
During the UMNO NZ Clubs New Zealand Rugby 10’s Tournament, I did not have major roles since the main organizer was Auckland UMNO Club. However, I went to Polo Ground Miramar to support Wellington team. The weather was not very good but I felt proud to see the players run back and forth regardless the strong winds and the heavy rains.(and it's winter!!) They dedicated their life for the game and looked pretty determined to win. In the end, Wellington team was awarded by silver medals. Congratulations!!
Phew! I’m writing towards the end of my post. Frankly, there are much more stories and experiences that I would like to share but probably, it is just not the right way of doing it. This post is getting too long for the readers’ eyes.
As a conclusion, it is never easy to juggle big responsibilities at the same time but I believe that even if we think we know our limits and abilities, we must also try to surpass our limit. For behind a limit, there’s always another limit. We just need to explore and endure it. It is because the thing that we expect as a limit might become an opportunity.
Daniel Bego (Jaguh Renang Negara)“Rekod bukan untuk dipegang, tapi untuk dipecahkan”