The launching of Arena Wira !

A milestone to remember !
The 50th Merdeka and Mooncake Festival Charity Dinner held on the 23rd September 2007 was a very significant occasion for SMK Taman Desa. It was an event like no other in the school’s history!

The Taman Desa Residents’ Association(TDRA) and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of SMK Taman Desa jointly organized this momentous event to celebrate the nation’s 50th birthday as well as the Lunar Calendar’s Mooncake Festival. This joyous occasion not only fostered goodwill in the neighbourhood but had also managed to raise funds for the school’s Metal Deck Roof Project.

Taman Desa folks turned up in full force to give their support.

It was the first ever Charity Dinner of this magnitude with over a hundred tables, held in the school compound.

Lighted lanterns strung around the school compound brightened up the occasion.

Following the fund raising Silver Jubilee Carnival cum Dinner last year, the PTA and the school board had successfully carried out two large projects. Firstly, the school library had been given a ‘face lift” with a new Automated Card System. The other project was the installation of the PA System around the entire school.

The PTA went on with their target of completing a metal deck roofing between blocks F and G of the school. However, the cost of the roof exceeded the funds the PTA had. During this period, TDRA graciously lent support to the school by organizing the aforementioned charity dinner. SP Setia Berhad Group also came forward with a philanthropic gesture by donating RM 50,000.00, to pave way for the completion of the metal deck roof and a new stage for the school.

The Chairman of PTA, Mr Chang Kim Loong AMN, welcomed and thanked everyone for attending the Charity Dinner.

The hall aptly named Arena Wira was unveiled ...

...with pomp and grandeur! The stage was bathed with glittering confetti !!!

Also present at the event were distinguished guests of honour , Captain (R) Liew Siong Sing with his wife, Mrs Liew of the S.P. Setia Berhad Group and Member of Parliament for Seputeh, YB Teresa Kok.

Left to right: The Chairman of PTA , Mr Chang Kim Loong, AMN, The Principal, YB Teresa Kok, Captain Liew,President of TDRA Mr Lee Seng Chai and Vice -President, Mr William Chan.

As guests indulged in the 8-course sumptuous Chinese dinner, they were treated to a variety of entertaining performances .

SMKTD's Chinese Orchestra

Boys’ Brigade band

SMKTD’s idols

TDRA’s choir , line dancing and etc..

Residents with “Big Hearts”

Aunties “stretching out their hands” to buy boxes of mooncakes for a good cause! 200 boxes of mooncakes were sold out!

Indeed, the PTA has accomplished a mammoth task. The school now can proudly boast of a main hall where students and teachers of both sessions can converge for all school functions and activities.

Let us all, the students and teachers of SMKTD take up the challenge to go beyond the marks of success and ultimately to realise the school’s vision and aspiration -to be the Premier School in Bangsar Zone.
KAMI CEMERLANG, SMKTD TERBILANG!

WE EXCEL, SMKTD IS THE BEST OF THE BEST!

Acknowlegdement :
People who made it happen

The Organizing Committee spearheaded by the Vice-President of TDRA ,Mr William Chan, President of TDRA, Mr Lee Seng Chai,
Mr Chang Kim Loong,AMN, the Chairman of the PTA
Mr Koh Swee Hyong, the Vice-Chairman of the PTA
Council members of PTA : Mr Lim Poh Huu, Mr Kenneth Gorden Ng, Mr K. C. Wong, Dr Tiew Chew Ming, Dr Chew Chong Key, Mr Kenny Heng, En. Jaffar B Sedek and Mdm Prabha Raman
Mr Christie Daniels
YB Dato Seri Chang Kong Choy
YB Teresa Kok
Tan Sri Dato' Sri Liew Kee Sin, Group Managing Director and Ceo of SP Setia Bhd. Group
Dato Hong Lee Pee
Dato David Lau
KenTyu Engineering Sdn Bhd.
The Principal, Mr Gan Peng Kheang, all dedicated teachers and students of SMKTD
Former Principal, Mr Chan Beng Tuan
All faithful alumni
All generous sponsors and donors
This project would not be possible without your generous support and contribution.
Thank you very much.
************************************************************************************ TEXT SPEECH
By Mr. Chang Kim Loong AMN,
Chairman of PIBG SMK Taman Desa

Selamat Petang dan Selamat Muhibbah
YB Teresa Kok, MP Seputeh Consituency, Yg Berbahagia Capt Liew Siong Sing bagi pihak SP Setia group, Saudara Lee Seng Chai, President of TDRA, Saudara William Chan, Organising Chairman, Saudara Gan Peng Kheang, Pengetua SMK Taman Desa, Dato-Dato, Datin-Datin, Honourable Guests, Ladies & Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Parents-Teachers Association SMK Taman Desa, it gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to this joint TDRA-PIBG Charity Dinner in conjunction with the 50th Merdeka Anniversary and the Moon Cake Festival.

It is heartening to see so many of you this Sunday evening. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your response to TDRA-PIBG’s call by attending this function. Your presence demonstrates your strong commitment to community service as well as student/ children welfare. I am extremely delighted that TDRA, headed by Saudara Lee Seng Chai has chosen our School to hold the current function and am particularly thankful to my Deputy Chairman Mr Koh Swee Hyong and Mr Lim Poh Huu, our PTA council member who are both office bearers in TDRA and our PIBG. Kudos too, to our strongman, Mr Kenneth Gordan Ng for his diligence in ensuring that the construction of our brand new “Metal Deck Roof’ and the performance stage is ready for today’s function. It is ready and we are here today because of all of you who have put in your sweat, time and skill and money to make it happen.

This year marks the 50th year of national independence, a half-century of self-rule. Since Merdeka we have been able to exercise our own political destiny, through our own elected members in Parliament. Independence does give rise to high expectations. While some are thoroughly happy and satisfied with Malaysian democracy, others are not. But we are not here to take about politics.

Ladies & Gentlemen,

Tonight, we celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival aka Moon Cake Festival. For us in Malaysia, it has become a major festival particularly for Chinese – when family members seek to enjoy the full moon - an auspicious symbol of abundance, harmony and luck.

In multi-racial, multi-cultural Malaysia, we have a range of traditions, festivals, and rituals all round the year. For us these festivals and rituals go beyond the superficial. They are part of our rich heritage, and remain deep in our values; irrespective of religion, race or creed. Often old traditions, customs and festivals assume new meanings and new symbolism over time. We hope it will be so, always. They still flourish today because many among the older generation have persisted in seeking to preserve and sustain them as part of our culture and heritage.

We need to ask ourselves how these festivals and traditions can be sustained in the future. To avoid our young becoming skeptical and critical, we need to make these festivals and their significance in value-terms intelligible to them. Otherwise, views that festivals and rituals are superstitious nonsense will acquire greater currency. With time they would end up in being done away with. Such a development will be a great loss for Malaysia.

Festivals, like the Moon-Cake Festival, have become occasions to get together to renew family ties and friendships. This alone is reason enough for us to continue celebrating them. We observe them today because they anchor us to our past as well as link our children to us.

Ladies & Gentlemen

The School academic performance has enjoyed a progressive chart with the aim to achieve the vision of “BERHASRAT UNTUK MENJADI SEKOLAH TERPILIH DALAM ZON BANGSAR”. Last year had been a fruitful year for the School. The School excels in both academic performances and the extra mural activities. On the academic front, the School has achieved significant improvements in the three (3) public examinations ie PMR, SPM and STPM. Last year, we had the good fortune of a student having 12 straight A1s and his proud father is amongst us this evening.

Most of the students of this School comes from primary schools of Taman Desa, Kuen Cheng, Yoke Nam, Choong Wen and they are good students. The PIBG will continue to strive for all the students' well being.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt appreciation to Mr Gan Peng Kheang (School Principal) and the Teachers who have volunteered to be here today. A ‘Big Thank You’ to Mr Chan Beng Tuan, the just retired Principal; Mr Christie Daniels, the immediate past Chairman of the School PTA; the Chinese Orchestra, The Boys’ Brigade, Line Dancers and the Chinese Choir of TDRA. Aspiring singers from the School will be entertaining us with their songs in Chinese and English. Lets’ give them a round of applauds for these brave students.

There are also young volunteers from TDRA who have come to help out tonight. We are appreciative of people who know how to make volunteering part of their life.To all Chinese Malaysian, may I wish you a very joyous Mid-Autumn Festival. And to all Malaysian, Selamat mengambut 50 tahun Merdeka.
Sekian, Terima kasih.
************************************************************************************

Photographers: Lee Ming Yew, Julian, Phang Wen Jing, ec800@yahoo.com