On 30th April, the whole of Malakoff once again gathered for the annual sports carnival that was hosted this year by Tanjung Bin Power Plant (TBPP). Many arrived as early as Thursday to take part in 16 games, which included cycling criterium for the first time.

The main venue was UTM, and some games were held at a few places within Johor Bahru. The players were put up in Scholar’s Inn and an apartment in UTM, and Good Hope Hotel in Skudai. The accommodation was cozy for the players to rest before competing in their events and convenient get to the games venues.

Danga City Mall was selected as one of the venues for a favourite game – bowling. Archery and paintball were also played there – who would have thought that a shopping mall would have indoor facilities for these outdoor events!

Congkak, pool and carom were also played here, with congkak being a popular event for the ladies and children. Unfortunately the games were halted by a blackout at 11pm and everyone had no choice but to return to their abodes with bowling and pool left unfinished. It was decided that only points for the first 2 games of bowling were tallied to determine the champion and joint winners were awarded for pool.

The prize giving ceremony was held at Dewan Sultan Iskandar in UTM during the grand dinner on 1st May. The Chairman of Malakoff, Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali graced the function and presented awards for UPSR high achievers and long term service award (LTSA) for staff who has served the company for more than 10 years.

Pride could be seen from the faces of their parents who accompanied their children on stage to receive the UPSR award. Their sacrifices, sweat and tears in bringing up the children finally paid off and what more, the joy were shared and acknowledged by the company. The UPSR high achievers received RM500 each while the LTSA recipients received a watch, a plaque and certificate as a token of appreciation for their years of service with the company. The company certainly valued their dedication and service given to the company from the day they joined the workforce, hence the award and the guaranteed gratuity for those who has served more than 10 years.

The theme for this year’s dinner was ethnic traditional and the attendees wore colourful costumes from the traditional baju kurung and kebaya, the sexy saree and daring cheongsam. One of the winners came in Javanese prince attire and walked barefoot in the hall! Senior Vice President, Operation & Maintenance division, En Nordin Kasim presented prizes for the best dress winners that night.

Deputy CEO of Malakoff, En Mohd Radzuan Yahya gave away the prizes to the champions of the 16 games held this year. Due to objections in several events, the overall champion was not announced by the secretariat and the announcement will only be made within this week.

While enjoying dinner, the audience was entertained by cultural drum show by Muhibah Drum, cultural dances by LC Mutiara Warisan and live band performance by Yayasan Warisan Johor. The highlight of the night was the lucky draw and grand lucky draw, which were drawn and presented by Chief Financial Officer, Puan Ruswati Othman and En Mohd Radzuan. The audience was kept at the edges of their seats, where 20 winners were announced during dinner and they received prizes of electrical goods each, sponsored by Malakoff.

Once again, appreciation and congratulations are in order, to TBPP Plant Manager, Mr Chew Yee Chuan and staff at TBPP for welcoming us and making us feel at home, to all Chef-de-Missions for spearheading their respective teams to victory, all participants and to Corporate Affairs & Communications department for the teamwork and co-ordination in making this year’s sports carnival an event to remember.