Speech by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower, at the First Anniversary Celebrations of Kelab Obor, Berita Harian Media Club at SPH Auditorium on Monday, 12 Mar 2007 at 3.00pm

Mr Guntor Sadali
Editor, Berita Harian

Mr Zulkifli Rahmat
Deputy Editor,

Teachers and Students.

Aloha and good afternoon to everyone. I am happy to join you today as you celebrate Kelab Obor’s first anniversary.
Kelab Obor was set up to make the learning of Malay language more fun for secondary school students. Indeed, Obor, or torch in Malay, is an apt name as the media club has worked hard to be the symbolic flame that ignites and sustains our students’ passion for the Malay language.

Promoting the use of Malay Language

To fire this passion in the Malay language, MOE has introduced measures to make the learning and teaching of Malay language interesting and lively. Recently, MOE announced that the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee (MLLPC), will collaborate with partner organisations to roll out a host of language, literature and cultural activities for students and teachers, like the Arif Budiman lectures, workshops on debating skills and overseas immersion programmes. These activities will foster an environment in which the Malay language becomes an intrinsic and relevant aspect of students' lives. MLLPC programmes and activities will complement other measures MOE had already initiated, such as the new Malay language curriculum that will be implemented at Primary 1 to Primary 4 levels in 2008.
The MLLPC also invited individuals and organisations to apply for funding for their programmes that promote the Malay language. Our goal is to enhance the use of spoken Malay and encourage greater participation by students, teachers and other Malay language users in various activites. So far, four organisations, including the Malay Youth Literary Association and Angkatan Sasterawan, have successfully obtained funding for their programmes which range from debating skills to creative writing. I hope that more organisations and individuals will come forward with innovative proposals to help broaden the Malay language environment.

Exciting activities by Kelab Obor

Now, let’s look at some of the fun and exciting activities organised by Kelab Obor.
Last year, two media camps were organised and students had the opportunity to interview celebrities like Singapore Idol Taufik Batisah, MTV VJ Colby and an up-and-coming American group, M-Pact. I am sure our students gained valuable insights into the exciting world of journalism, observed at first hand how the Berita Harian journalists, photo-journalists, sub-editors and designers work together under the pressure of deadlines. For some of you, taking part in Kelab Obor’s activities may be the first step that sparks your interest in journalism.
Teachers, too, have benefitted from activities organised by Kelab Obor, including workshops to help teachers kick start a Malay language newspaper in schools. Some 50 teachers attended these workshops and many are well on their way to starting their very own school newspaper. For example, Ms Nurlisa Ali and her students from Xinmin Secondary are actively involved in the editorial and printing process of the school’s newspaper “Fikrah”. At Tanjong Katong Girls’, the students have competently taken on the roles of editor, writers, photographers and layout designers, to produce the school’s annual magazine “Citra”.
In September 2006, Kelab Obor organised a Teachers’ Forum where Malay language experts from Malaysia and Singapore gave valuable insights into new, innovative teaching methods for the classroom.
As a one-year-old club, Kelab Obor has come a long way and benefitted a significant number of students and teachers. I would like to commend Berita Harian for your initiative in reaching out to the young through Kelab Obor and helping to enhance the teaching and learning of the Malay language, making it lively and fun.
I am also happy to learn that Berita Harian has plans to launch a primary school initiative, similar to Kelab Obor and I look forward to hearing more about the club’s upcoming plans in the near future.
Thank you for inviting me to your celebrations today and I wish Kelab Obor all the best in the years ahead. Thank you.