George Lew posted on January 10, 2011 17:43
AYA Dream Malaysia 2007 Awards
– Surpassing Boundaries By James Chua
William Arthur Ward once said, “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.”
Becoming a celebrity was no dream of mine. But I got a little feeling of what being under the limelight is all about when I attended the 3rd annual Asian Youth Ambassadors (AYA) Dream Malaysia 2007 Awards ceremony last November.
That night at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, I was accorded the red carpet treatment (never mind that I was covering the event for Challenges and not an awards nominee) and had the chance to mingle with the “movers and shakers” of society as well as the inspiring finalists at a tea reception held prior to the awards ceremony.
AYA and its dream
The brainchild of Kenneth and Sandra Chin, the AYA Dream
Malaysia project was launched 12 years ago to acknowledge the extraordinary achievements of ordinary Malaysians who had triumphed in the face of obstacles.
As such, its vision is “inviting, inspiring, instructing and involving young people to dare to dream and be responsible in fulfilling those dreams for the good of all,” said Kenneth.
The son of the late famous entertainer Mike Bernie Chin, Kenneth, a former lawyer, hopes to see Malaysia as a truly developed nation in terms of infrastructure and culture. He believes that the youths of today are more empowered to build a better Malaysia and through their selfless actions can rally their communities together.
Living the AYA spirit
The Most Outstanding Youth of the Year award is given to the person whose spirit and community actions epitomize the AYA virtues. The winners of the 2005 and 2006 awards, Yvonne Foong and Sia Ling Ling respectively are exemplary in that despite their physical disabilities, they had chosen to soldier on and encourage others to believe in their dreams.
Foong has neurofibromatosis type 2, a disorder associated with tumour growth in the nervous system while Sia was born with muscular dystrophy and is wheelchair-bound. Foong was a presenter while Sia performed at the award ceremony.
The nominees for the Most Outstanding Youth of the Year and Most Youth-Friendly Company of the Year categories were selected from entries and public votes via SMS. Last year’s award saw 14 finalists including Jessica Mak Wei-E, who is Deaf, for the former category while five companies were in the running for the latter category.
The winners were each presented a durian-inspired trophy (the durian fruit is a metaphor for perseverance in achieving one’s dream in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances) and other prizes including a Nokia mobile phone. KLPac’s Pentas Seni was the designated venue for the 2007 awards and indeed it provided the right setting for the glittering event.
Of stars and bright lights…
In the company of guests decked out in their fine suits and elegant dresses, I felt terribly awkward as I stumbled onto a red carpet at the KLPac entrance after alighting from a taxi.
Camera flashes went off, leaving me momentarily dazed. My eyes gradually adjusted to the warm inviting lights that lit the way as I made my way along the red carpet.
Before me, Pentas Seni stood towering with ceiling-high glass walls and soft lighting at every nook and corner. It was like an Oscar awards night where all the stars walked on this important red carpet, escorted to the reception area in the main auditorium where they enjoyed light refreshments and mingled with fellow guests before the curtains went up.
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