District 51: Origin of Toastmasters Clubs since 1954

Toastmasters International officially started on Oct 22, 1924. When did Toastmasters Club first arrived in Southeast Asia...

Not surprising, most Toastmasters Clubs were started by expatriates from USA, UK, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Like other Toastmasters Clubs, some of these early clubs were running for a few years and then discontinued. Others restarted while the "oldest clubs" listed below continued non-stop from day one to the present.

District 75 (Philippines) had been in existence long before District 51 was given full District status in 1996. District 51 reached her peak in geographic size when District 51 covered clubs from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and Brunei. To date, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau are now in another district - District 80.

HONG KONG since 1954
According to "The Story of The Hong Kong Toastmasters Club 1954-2004" by Bernad Yue, a Scottish gentleman Adam Aitken at American International Assurance (HK) Ltd who was a Toastmaster at High Noon Hoon Toastmasters Club, New York City had helped to start the Hong Kong Toastmasters Club(Club 1364) in December 1954 with his fellow Jaycees members.

THAILAND since 1955
I attended Bangkok Toastmasters 50th anniversary celebration in Bangkok, Thailand at the invitation of Paisal Sae Lor. Bangkok Toastmasters (Club 2010) was started in December 1955.

SINGAPORE since 1967
The "oldest club" in Singapore is Toastmasters Club of Singapore (Club No. 357) was chartered in October 1967. The "second oldest club" in Singapore is the Lion City Toastmasters Club (Club No. 2086) which was formed earlier and then charted again in February 1977.

INDONESIA since 1979
It is not surprising the "earliest club" in Indonesia is in Jakarta. Jakarta Toastmasters (Club 4067) was chartered in Dec 1979.

MALAYSIA since 1978
The "oldest club" in Malaysia is the Toastmasters International Kuala Lumpur (Club 1997) was chartered on July 1978. I had the opportunity of meeting one of the "founders" of this first club, a Mr. Sheppard from New Zealand during the Division C International Speech Contest in Kuala Lumpur.

It was the "folks" from "TI KL" who helped chartered the Butterworth Toastmasters (Club 4388) in October 1980.

Members of Butterworth Toastmasters in turn helped to charter YMCA Penang (Club 5955) in August 1985.

In turn YMCA Penang was instrumental in the chartering of PDC Toastmasters (Club 7371) in April 1989.

Bayan Baru Toastmasters (Club 7764) was chartered on Feb 1996 with PDC as the sponsoring Club.

Later, Bayan Baru members helped to sponsor Bayan Baru Mandarin (Club 7050) in Jun 1988, Penang Seagate (Club 6843) in Mar 2002, Farlim (Club 811512) in Jun 2005.

And the story continues....

Announcement: China Toastmasters - Division D Speech Contest in Shanghai

I visited the Shanghai People's Square Toastmasters Club of Shanghai before and since being on their email distribution list of meeting notification.

Today, I just received their email of their Division D Speech Contest. So if you are in Shanghai this Saturday, do not miss this opportunity to meet up with fellow Toastmasters in Shanghai area and observe the best of public speaking.




Dear members and guests,
What's your plan for this saturday, sleep? shopping? or just stay at home

(宅男，宅女）。。。Come on, Why not come to Division D Speech contest? only 20 RMB for the top quality speech contest in Shanghai Toastmasters Community。。。

2:30 to 5:30 pm April 25th
YunFeng Hotel 云峰大酒店
Jing’an Temple Station Exit 1, MetroLine#2

Contestants who are champions from 18 toastmasters club will compete in the division D contest, the winner will go to Beijing for the national final and possibly get the ticket to US for the global contest!

来自toastmaster华东D区18个toastmaster俱乐部的演讲冠军将展开激烈角逐, 胜者将到北京参加全国比赛, 冠军将代表中国到美国参加全球大赛!

Each member and guest will vote for Most Popular Speaker, Best Humor, and Best Message awards!

每位到场的会员和嘉宾都将投出自己神圣的一票, 选出你心目中的最佳人气奖, 最佳幽默奖和最佳演讲内涵奖!

On-site Q&A with contestants, prepare your question and speak out in front of 150 people!

安排了现场访谈环节, 准备好你要问比赛选手的问题, 在150名观众面前大声说出你的问题!

Investment: only 20 RMB for the top quality speech contest in Shanghai Toastmasters Community, no need to book the ticket, just come and pay on door

您只需投资20元人民币, 便可以观看上海Toastmaster的顶级演讲大赛, 无须预购门票, 直接到会场前台支付

We will ROCK you with our passion and dedication, because you deserve a great event to feast your eyes and ear

我们将用激情点燃会场, 用一场极具震撼力的演讲大赛来为您奉献一场如梦如幻的视听盛宴!

Time: 2:30 to 5:30 pm April 25th
2/F, Confrence Room,South Building,
YunFeng Hotel,No#1700, West Beijing Rd.
(Near Jing’anTemple Station Exit 1,MetroLine#2)

云峰大酒店南楼二楼会议室,近地铁2号线静安寺站1 号出口,北京西路1700 (万航渡路口）

Nika Xu
Secretary Shanghai People's Square Toastmasters Club
Email: secretary@shanghai585.com
Website: http://shanghai585.freetoasthost.info/
Blog: http://tmc585.blog.sohu.com/




Time: 19:10-21:10 Every Tuesday (except public holiday)
Venue: Conference room, 4/F Finance Square, 333 Jiujiang Road
九江路333号金融广场4楼会议室

Metro No.2, East Nanjing Road Station, Exit4,turn left, opposite the road 地铁二号线，南京东路站4号口，左转，马路对面

District 51 Kuching Convention Photos

Photo 1 - A happy convention family photo of Bayan Baru Toastmasters Club members at District 51 Kuching Annual Convention , April 17-19, 2009. From left to right:

Koay Kay Hin - Division N Governor Elect 2009-2010
Rosalind Chan - Newly appointed District 51 District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) 2009-2010
Ong Swee Keat - District 51 International Speech Champion 2009
Jessica Teo - Bayan Baru Toastmasters Vice President Education
Mah Swee Chin - Bayan Baru Toastmasters Past President and Past N2 Area Governor





Photo 2 - WInners of District 51 International Speech Contest - 1st Ong Swee Keat, 2nd Stephen Fernando, 3rd Saw Chin Bin





Photo 3 - Double championship victories for Division N - Ong Swee Keat for International Speech and Palaniappa Subramaniam for Table Topics Speech.

District 51 Kuching Convention - International Speech Contest & Table Topics Contest - Breaking News

Wow... Heartiest congratulations to the Champions of the 2009 International Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest.

Just received sms-es from Mah Swee Chin, Jessica Teo and Koay Kah Hin of Bayan Baru Toastmasters reporting live from Kuching...

The Champion of District 51 International Speech Contest 2009 is ONG SWEE KEAT of Bayan Baru Toastmasters Club of Penang, Division N. Swee Keat will proceed to represent District 51 in Connecticut, USA at Toastmasters International Convention this August, 2009.





The Champion of District 51 Table Topics Speech Contest 2009 is Palaniappa Subramaniam of Silterra Toastmasters in Kulim, Kedah, Division N.



Wow... double victory for Toastmasters of Division N. Heartiest congratulations to Swee Keat and Pala from all of us back in Division N in Penang and Kedah, Malaysia.

Kuching Convention - Breaking News

Breaking News from District 51 Kuching Annual Convention - April 17

Just received sms from Mah Swee Chin and Jessica Teo of Bayan Baru that Koay Kah Hin has won the election contest for Division N Governor (Penang, Kedah) for term 2009-2010 by a big majority of 200 votes.

Syabas to Division N Governor Elect Koay Kah Hin (Bayan Baru, Penang, Malaysia).





For Lieutenant Governor Marketing for Peninsula, the LGM Elect is Francis Ng of Money Mastery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.




For Lieutenant Governor Marketing for Rest, the LGM Elect is Mien Soenari of The Catalyst, Jakarta, Indonesia.




Congrats to both LGM Elects too.

Visiting Butterworth Toastmasters, Penang Island - April 8, 2009

I received an email from Jayie Tan inviting me to attend the Butterworth Toastmasters Club meeting in their new state-of-the-art venue at Suntech City, 10th Floor, Metal Room, Bayan Baru in Penang Island at 7:30 pm -9:30 pm every 2nd and 4th Wednesday.

As a former Butterworth Toastmasters Club member, I could not resist to see "old friends" again and visit this fantastic venue next to Sunshine Square, Bayan Baru in Penang Island and I was not disappointed but pleasantly delighted.

The Toastmaster of the Meeting SK Yao was in her usual element and led a very enjoyable and entertaining meeting with full laughter and fellowship.

So a visit to Butterworth Toastmasters Club at their great new meeting venue is highly recommended.

The meeting floor is carpeted with modern ergonomic chairs with restrooms complete with sauna albeit not in operation yet and coffee break at the open terrace on the 10th floor overlooking Bayan Baru township is break for a breathe of fresh air. All for RM5 for guests and visiting Toastmasters.

Photos below:
1) Welcoming sign at this impressive post modern building.
2) One of the most impressive meeting rooms that I have been.
3) Club President Leong Siew Foong
4) Advanced speech by KH Tan on the wisdom on the Second Penang Bridge.
5) Supportive friendly members and guests.

NEWS: Division Level International Speech & Table Topics Speech Contest Winners 2009

From Melaka and Johor of Division A

Division A International Speech
- Champion: Theresa Leong (Area A-3, Sacred Heart)

Division A Table Topics Speech
- Champion: Marianna Pascal (Area A-3, Sacred Heart)



From Kolej Putra Intelek, Puchong in Division B



Division B International Speech
- Champion: Dennis Wee (Area B-1, D'Utama Advanced)
- Ist Runner Up: Eugene Ng (Area B-4, D'Utama)
- 2nd Runner Up: Lee Mei Foong (Area B-5, Crystal)



Division B Table Topics Contest
- Champion: G. Sivalingam (Area B-4, D'Utama)
- 1st Runner Up: Gerald Quinten (Area B-2, MAS Mawar)
- 2nd Runner Up: Nicole Choe (Area B-5, Phoenix)



From Division C



Division C International Speech Contest Winners
- Champion : Stephen Fernando (Area C-2, Hilton Petaling Jaya)
- 1st Runner Up: Jeremy Teo (Area C-5, NUC)




Division C Table Topics Contest Winners
- Champion: Jeremy Teo (Area C-5, NUC)



From Kuching of Division D

Division D International Speech Contest:
- Champion: Rebecca Chieng

Division D Table Topics Speech Contest:
- Champion: Albert George (Area D-2, Azam)



From Sarawak of Division E

Division E International Speech Contest:
- Champion: Luke Bong (Area E-1, Miri)

Division E Table Topics Speech Contest:
- Champion: Lili Puk (Area E-1, Miri)



From Sumatra-Riau, Indonesia, Division H



Division H International Speech Winners
- Champion: Inn Haryani (Area H-1, Medan First)




Division H Table Topics Contest Winners
- Champion: Sutarno (Area H-2, Polonia)



From Java-Borneo, Indonesia of Division I

Division I Interantional Speech Contest:
- Champion: Vanessa Hendriadi (Area I-1, Jakarta)

Division I Table Topics Contest:
- Champion: Cindy Resita



From Java-Bali, Indonesia of Division J

Division J International Speech Contest:
- Champion: Dinesh Vaswani (Area J-1, The Innovators)

Division J Table Topics Contest:
- Champion: Samaoati Siringoringo (Area J-1, The Innovators)



From Beverly Hotel, Kota Kinabalu in Division K



Division K International Speech
- Champion : Grace Yong (Area K-2, Tawau)
- 1st Runner up: Raymond Pang (Area K-1, Labuan)

Division K Table Topics Contest
- Champion : John Liew (Area K-1, Kota Kinabalu)
- 1st Runner up: Siti Rozana Yunos, (Area K-6, Brunei Speakers)



From Disted College, Penang in Division N



Division N International Speech Contest
- Champion: Ong Swee Keat (Area N-2, Bayan Baru)
- 1st Runner Up : Palaniappa (Area N-4, Silterra)
- 2nd Runner Up: Shankar K (Area N-5, Kulim)




Division N Table Topics Contest
- Champion: Palaniappa Subramaniam (Area N4 - Silterra)
- 1st Runner Up: Ong Swee Keat (Area N2 - Bayan Baru)
- 2nd Runner Up: Shankar K(Area N5 - Kulim)



From Kuala Lumpur of Division P

Division P International Speech Contest:
- Champion: Ahmad Fakhri Hamzah (Area P-1, Semarak)

Division P International Speech Contest:
- Champion: Ahmad Fakri Hamzah (Area P-1, Semarak)



From Penang Adventist Hospital (Nursing College) in Division S



Division S International Speech
- Champion: Saw Chin Bin (Area S-3. Penang Advanced)
- 1st Runner Up: Andrew Oon (Area S-7, Motorola Penang)
- 2nd Runner Up: Lim Seow Hoe (Area S-5, Farlim)




Division S Table Topics
- Champion: Selvaraj Maniam (Area S-2, Syuen BG)
- 1st Runner up: Joanne Tan (Area S-3, Gurney)
- 2nd Runner up: Francis Amer (Area S-4, PAH)



From Kuala Lumpur in Division W



District W Internation Speech Contest Winners
- Champion : Jason Lim (Area W-2, Help University College)



District W Table Topics Contest Winners
- Champion : Mary Barton (Area W-4, WIM)

Nominated Candidates for District 51 Election 2009

Here is the announced list of candidates shortlisted by the District 51 Nominating Committee 2009.

Note that additional candidates can be nominated from the floor by delegates during the District Council meeting election at Kuching on Friday afternoon April 17, 2009.

Photos of candidates where available. May the best Toastmaster wins.

1) Position of District 51 Governor
(Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei)

Candidate 1
Richard R Chong
Mas Mawar (5611-51), Selangor, Malaysia




2) Position of Lieutenant Governor Education & Training - Peninsula
(Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, KL, Putrajaya, Negri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu)

Candidate 1
Thannimalai, Letchuman
YMCA Penang (5955-51), Penang, Malaysia




3) Position of Lieutenant Governor Education & Training - Rest
(Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan, Brunei, Indonesia)

Candidate 1
Mohamad Ariff Irwani Azahari
Azam (4904-51), Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia




4) Position of Lieutenant Governor Marketing - Peninsula
(Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, KL, Putrajaya, Negri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Teregganu)

Candidate 1
Mohamad Abdullah
Malaysian Insurance Institute (8495-51)
Selangor, Malaysia




Candidate 2
Ricky Chn'g Beng Tatt
YMCA Penang (5955-51)
Penang, Malaysia




Candidate 3
Lee Ewe Tong
Johor Baru (3406-51)
Johor, Malaysia




Candidate 4
Francis Ng
Money Mastery KL (8141-51)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia





5) Position of Lieutenant Governor Marketing - Rest
(Sarawak, Sabah, Labuan, Brunei, Indonesia)

Candidate 1
Richard Gontusan
Kota Kinabalu Advanced (3277-51)
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia




Candidate 2
Nono Sarwono
Jakarta (4067-51)
Jakarta, Indonesia




Candidate 3
Mien Soenari
The Catalyst (7853-51)
Jakarta, Malaysia





6) Position of Division A Govenor
(Johor-Melaka, Malaysia)

Candiate 1
Cindy Wong
Johor Baru (8406-51)




7) Position of Division B Governor
(Selangor-Pahang-Terengganu, Malaysia)

Candidate 1
Leong Oi Wah
MAICSA (6985-51)


8) Position of Division C Governor
(Selangor- Negri Sembilan, Malaysia)

= No candidates nominated =


9) Position of Division D Governor
(Kuching, Sarawak)

Candidate 1
John Huong Chia Hiang
Kuching Connections (708110)




10) Position of Division E Governor
(Miri-Bintulu-Sibu, Sarawak)

Candidate 1
Toh Kok Peng
Bintulu (2385-51)




11) Position of Division H Governor
(Sumatra-Riau, Indonesia)

Candidate 1
Indriani Asfa
Deli (6313-51)




12) Position of Division I Governor
(Java-Kalimantan-Sulawesi, Indonesia)

= No candidates nominated =


13) Position of Division J Governor
(Java-Bali, Indonesia)

= No candidates nominated =


14) Position of Division K Governor
(Sabah, Labuan, Brunei)

= No candidates nominated =


15) Position of Division M Governor
(Mandarin Clubs in Peninsular Malaysia)

Candidate 1
Ng Cheng Kiat
Johor Baru Mandarin (1538-51)




16) Position of Division N Governor
(Penang-Kedah, Malaysia)

Candidate 1
Koay Kah Hin
Bayan Baru (7764-51)




17) Position of Division P Governor
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Candidate 1
Caren Lee Chiu Sze
Premier Advanced (.954221-51)




Candidate 2
Mandy Ong Shiow Yee
Satu Hati (444-51)





18) Position of Division S Governor
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Candidate 1
Lim Seow Hoe
Farlim (811512-51)





19) Position of Division W Governor

Candidate 1
Soh Fong Wai
Metropolitan Bilingual (1183411-51)