President: Brenda Cheah
Vice President: Khairul Nadzrin
Secretary: Sim Li Tjen
Treasurer: Thum Wei Wen
Cultural Officer 1: Arif Zahlan
Sports Officer 1: Mohd. Firdouse
Events Coordinator 1: Ng Jun Yang
Events Coordinator 2: Lim Eu Lynn
Events Coordinator 3: Asyraf Syahmi
Marketing Officer: Goh Jun Yi
Communications Officer: Tee Tze Li
Assistant Treasurer: Yvonne Goh
Cultural Officer 2: Illya Syuhadah
Sports Officer 2: Lee Nyeok Kit

Congratulations to the newly elected committee members and thank you to everyone who ran for posts, your contribution to MSA remains invaluable! We look forward to bringing you an outstanding year ahead with MSA!

Credits to Doug Chung for the picture

Here are some updates in case you missed a few of our October events!

Freshers’ Campus and Coventry Tour
The Freshers’ Tour was held on October  8th where 39 freshers were shown around our beautiful Warwick campus, including places like the Cryfield Pavilion, Tocil Woods, Cannon Park, University House, Westwood Games Hall and many others. A giant thank you to the seniors who volunteered to help guide the freshers around.
Everyone then adjourned to Cosmo Restaurant in Coventry for a buffet lunch before the Coventry city tour commenced!
 Thank you to everyone for participating, we hope you thoroughly enjoyed yourselves!

Traffic Light Welcome Party
As the first Meet & Greet social of the academic year, MSA held a Traffic Light Party on the 12th of October in MS.02 to officially welcome all the freshers and also to welcome back all the returning seniors. It was free for all members as well as Malaysian, Singaporean and Bruneian freshers. On the menu were Nasi Briyani, Rendang, Mee Goreng and Banana Cake that (we trust) kept everyone happy! It was so nice to see all 250 attendees dressed in traffic light colours and mingling. Thank you to everyone who came, with MSA you know there are more free food socials to come! :)

Credits to Doug Chung for the picture

But firstly, A BIG thank you to the outgoing MSA committee of 2010/11 :)

(Absent: Michelle Tan)

Now for the incoming committee of 2011/12:

President: Brenda Cheah

Vice President: Khairul Nadzrin Khairul Zaman

Secretary: Sim Li Tjen

Treasurer: Thum Wei Wen

Sports Officer: Mohd Firdouse bin Shamsudin

Cultural Officer: Arif Zahlan

Congratulations to everyone, thank you to all candidates who ran for positions and thank you to all members for coming and electing your new committee! We look forward to a brilliant 2011/2012 for Warwick MSA! :)

To kick things off, we would like to proudly announce with great excitement, that the University of Warwick Students’ Union has awarded the Best Social Event of the Year Award 2011 to Warwick MSA for Malaysia Night 2011! This is a huge honour and we would like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed, participated and spectated this event for making it such a success. To top it all off, we were also shortlisted for the Most Improved Society Award and nominated for the Best Society Award!

Speaking of our (now award-winning) MNight, the MNight DVDs are still obtainable at £7 each! Relive every moment of that spectacular night (you know you want to!). Simply place your orders by sending an email to MSA at WarwickMSA+DVD@gmail.com

In addition to that, Warwick MSA Hoodies and T-Shirts are also available! Don’t miss your chance to purchase a custom-designed MSA Hoodie / T-Shirt, with your name printed on it! Hoodies are priced at £23 each and T-Shirts are £13 each. Place your orders here at http://warwickmsa.co.uk/resources/members/hoodie/

On another note, we would like to announce that our treasurer, Chung Rui-Zhe has officially resigned from his post in the committee. Taking over the position as Treasurer until the AGM will be Samantha Chin Xin Yin, as voted for in the Special General Meeting.

On the topic of AGMs, the time has come for our next annual AGM. It will be held on (coincidentally) Friday, May 13th 2011 in H0.51 at 6pm, meaning our executive committees will be stepping down to make way for the new committee! If you feel like you should be a part of the new committee, just nominate yourself here! But not before you read the election info!

Nominations have opened and will stay open till 3pm, Wednesday, 11th May 2011. Do RSVP on the facebook event page!

Finally, Warwick MSA is also throwing an annual Charity Night on the 18th May 2011 (Wednesday). Come showcase your talent, or give support to your friends, while indulging in some delicious Malaysian food! This year’s Charity Night will have the same concept as last year’s! Human Auctions! Here’s how it works! Nominate someone you know (or yourself, if you’re brave) at http://warwickmsa.co.uk/charity/ to do something ‘interesting’ during the night itself, we will contact the nominee to get his/her approval, bidding will begin during the event and all proceeds will go to charity! Last year, our President, Paul, was so fortunate to have his legs waxed for charity! Here’s your chance to: Make someone drink some nasty concoction! Have your friend give someone a lapdance! Shave your friends’ eyebrows! Set someone up on a date! All in the name of charity!

This year, all our proceeds will be split between BCAS and OrphanCARE!

So get creative, and let’s raise some funds for charity! :)

It gives me great pleasure to write in Warwick’s Malaysian Society Association newsletter as the Director of Projek Kalsom 17. Yes, it has been seventeen years! Projek Kalsom has been organised and grown from strength to strength since its inception in 1993.

Projek Kalsom was first organised by a group of London School of Economics Malaysian students upon reading a newspaper cutting at the Malaysian Students’ Department of Mrs. Kelthom’s plight as a single mother in 1993. Mrs. Kelthom’s children had to stop schooling due to poverty. For this group of Malaysian students, it was not just enough to raise money as a one-off effort, they decided to go one step further to organise a motivational event which, over the years, has become an event which many feel attached to.

Projek Kalsom has gone through many phases and stages. Upon official establishment of United Kingdom & Eire Council for Malaysian Students (UKEC) in 1995, Projek Kalsom blossomed as a structured motivational programme for Form Four students from less fortunate backgrounds. However, it must be noted that Projek Kalsom remains to this day as an organisation of its own, with its own unique Kalsom family.

Today, with the establishment of Kelab Kalsom in 2011, Projek Kalsom has become a collaborative project between Kelab Kalsom and UKEC. While there have been organisational changes to reflect this collaboration, we believe that Projek Kalsom will become better and bigger. It is also the philosophy of Kelab Kalsom to expand charity programmes to all levels of society. Projek Kalsom has received official recognition by the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports and I dare say that we will receive more funding and support from other ministries and corporate bodies as well.

The Projek Kalsom programme for this past decade is different to the programme initiated by the university students in 1993, but the ethos of Projek Kalsom, that is to provide hope, provide exposure and create awareness of the range educational opportunities that these Form Four students can exploit, remains the same. What makes Projek Kalsom exceptional is that it is an event borne out of love from youths for youths.

I shan’t bore you anymore with history and organisations at this point. I must say that I really, really enjoyed Projek Kalsom 16 which was held in Setiu, Terengganu last year. Projek Kalsom is an amazing opportunity to experience first-hand the socio-economic differences of different parts of Malaysia. Each state is unique and presents interesting culture. But what is essentially the same across the Peninsula are the students – they are talented academically and deserve to have their efforts and talents recognised despite not having the financial means. They too, deserve a chance to shine. And you, dear reader can help us shape the future of Malaysia.

All of us grow up wanting to make a difference to the world. Projek Kalsom may not be the avenue to “change the world”, but it is your chance to positively affect the lives of these students. Join Projek Kalsom (www.projek-kalsom.com) and make a difference.

Yours truly,
Hannah Nazri
Director, Projek Kalsom 17 &
3^rd year medical student, University of Bristol

We bring you: “Humanity: a Photography Competition“.

In light of the unrest in the Middle East, earthquakes in Japan, Myanmar, NZ, etc., Warwick MSA would like to do our part to increase awareness among our members on these humanitarian issues.

The details are as follows:
1. The competition will run from Monday the 28st of March to Sunday the 1st of May, 2011
2. Only Warwick MSA members are allowed to participate
3. Only one submission of photograph (entry) per participant, to be sent to msaphotocompetition@gmail.com
4. Entry should be accompanied by a description of not more than 250 words, relating the photograph with the theme “Humanity”
5. Entries will be judged based upon the appropriateness to the theme as the main criteria (among others)
6. Results can be expected on the week starting May the 9th, 2011
7. 40 chosen entries will be printed in colour for the participants’ keeping
8. The winning entry will be printed in colour and framed for the winner

Any queries please email msaphotocompetition@gmail.com or contact Khairul (07595846482).

Facebook event: http://on.fb.me/gDE2tZ

Looking forward to your amazing photo entries!

Welcome back everyone! We hope you’ve had a great first week of Term 2 and a fantastic winter break! We trust that you have settled back into uni life smoothly and that you’re ready for the biggest, grandest and most spectacular MSA event of the year.

Warwick Malaysia Night is a theatrical and cultural extravaganza which aims to display the rich and diverse culture of Malaysia. Warwick Malaysia Night is undoubtedly one of the best Malaysia Nights anywhere in the UK. Last year, we attracted over 700 audience members and featured a cast of over 100 students!

This year our play is set in the 1960’s when Malaysia had just gained her independence and was not politically or racially stable yet, climaxing on the darkest day in Malaysian history, May 13 1969. We will be following the life of a young Malaysian who was born during that era, Awang, an innocent boy who finds himself in the middle of an identity crisis which threatens to tear his family and village apart, and take everything he has away from him, because of his race.

Will he succeed to untie the conflict and the prejudice?

Watch our trailer for a sneak preview!

Warwick Malaysia Night 2009

Immerse yourself in the rich cultures of the beautiful country that is Malaysia and be captivated by the impressive array of traditional performances we have in store for you. From the bold Sabahan warrior dance to the energetic Indian dance to the artistic Chinese fan dance to the dynamic Modern dance, we aim to share with you a glimpse of what our beautiful country Malaysia has to offer.

Warwick Malaysia Night would not be complete without a performance from our eminent and talented dikir barat team, which is definitely one of the best student dikir barat teams in the UK. Don’t believe us? Watch for yourself here :)

With such a spectacularly diverse range of performances lined up, Warwick Malaysia Night 2011 will undoubtedly have something for everyone. You would NOT want to miss out!! Click here for the official M Night website. RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179351315418813

What separates us from the other Malaysia Nights in the UK?

Warwick MSA is proud to present the grand debut of a revolutionary M’Night after party, Rock it Out!

Right after our Warwick M’Night, we will be heading over to the University of Warwick Copper Rooms for a musical extravaganza featuring two outstanding Malaysian bands, Altimet and Monoloque, two local British acts that we will be auditioning for in January, and our very own Warwick MSA Band followed by an all-night afterparty featuring Malaysian DJs, DJ Ribut, DJ Fuzz, DJ Evo and a local DJ.

It will be our first ever rock concert, and it will be sensational!

RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101264086596913

Of course, no Malaysian event is complete without food, so this year, at the interval after M Night and before Rock it Out we will be serving supper (buffet-style) catered by Warwick Student Union’s Xananas. The mouthwatering menu can be found here at http://www.warwicksu.com/refresh/menus/fusion/

What are you waiting for? Come join us this February 18th for a night of culture, drama, music and entertainment that promises to be all kinds of amazing!!!

As promised, here is the winner of our lucky draw held at the Warwick MSA booth during the Nottingham Malaysian Games 2010:

*drumroll*

Chua Ken Vui (David) from Cardiff University!

Congratulations, David! You will receive a pair of combo tickets that will entitle you to our MNight, Rock it Out, as well as our full buffet menu and one free drink at Rock it Out, complements from Warwick MSA :) We will be in touch with you!

HERE IS HOW YOU BUY TICKETS

*drumroll again*

It’s simple. Just click

We hope to see you all on February 18! Be there!

Click here to view the MNight Website again =)

In conjunction with Deepavali (Nov 5th) and Hari Raya Haji (Nov 16th), MSA is hosting yet another social, just for you! If the fireworks haven’t gotten you in a festive mood yet, this social definitely will!

To kick things off, we’ll have FREE FOOD and GAMES, followed by a special presentation about our exciting and much anticipated MNight!
During the social, we will be recruiting dancers/actors/crew members, so remember to sign up! It is a golden opportunity to be a part of something really special :)

In addition to that, there will also be an award ceremony on this night to celebrate the success of our spirited and resolute players at the Nottingham Games 2010 (Nov 6th). Come show your appreciation, especially if they’re your friends!

All Malaysian and Bruneian freshers are invited for FREE, and all MSA members are also welcome for free. Others will be charged 3 pounds at the door.

If you haven’t joined MSA yet, don’t hesitate any longer!

Click here: http://warwicksu.com/societies/warwickmsa

Again, remember that you don’t have to be Malaysian to join MSA or perform for M Night, so do invite all your friends to the social and let’s have a terrific night!

Time: November 12th, Friday, 7pm
Venue: MS.02

Please RSVP as soon as possible on the facebook event page :) http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=159232034112715

-EDIT- This will be our only cultural celebration in Term 1, so please DRESS UP! :)

Speaking at the forum is Warwick’s very own Farquar Haqqani, newly elected Chairman of United Kingdom and Eire Council for Malaysian Students (UKEC). This will be followed by a speech by our guest speaker, prominent Malaysian politician, Y.B. Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Communications Director of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and State Assemblyman for Seri Setia in Selangor. Subsequently, there will be a Q&A session, open to everyone in attendance.

It’s a fantastic opportunity for everyone to gain insight, develop understanding, exchange opinions and widen perspectives on a subject matter highly relevant to all of us. So don’t miss it!

Time: November 8th, Monday, 6.30pm
Venue: MS.01

Dinner will be provided. Please RSVP as soon as possible on the Facebook event page!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=164954233525031

• Events Coordinators: Brenda Cheah, Divya George, Rajapriyah
• Assistant Treasurer: Michelle Tan
• Marketing Officer: Liu Jia Xin
• Communications Officer: Sim Li Tjen
• Cultural Officer: Norma Abdullah
• Sports Officer: Thum Wei Wen

Let’s have a great academic year ahead while making MSA the best society!