Year 2005 marks a new experience for the collegians as every morning, a so-called ‘in nurturing a leader who enables to orate’ program, widely known as the Good to Talk program was incepted. Every morning (except for Saturday and Sunday), a person’s name will be picked out randomly out from the lucky jar by the principal (or his vices). Ready or not, the lucky person will have to show what he got in oratory.

But let me first define what oratory is all about. Well, a good friend of mine, Muhammad Za’im Yusoff, once told me how he regrets about the program. He felt very sorry about how the program is being carried out. It is like just a waste of time. But the main objective was clear and for a good reason of course. But thanks anyway to Ahmad Khalis b. Nazib, the head boy for giving such a new edge idea in incepting this program.

Oratory is addressing an audience formally (usually a long and rhetorical address and often pompous). Oratory plays an essential role as a medium where thinkers, politicians, businessmen, and even teachers tongued out what they feel, be it on social problems, current affairs, sports, and even neighborhood gossips. But the idea of oratory is now being stamped out by those who got the chance in the program.

Why I say it so? Yes. Most of the boys failed in pausing me to hear what they said. Often they made me bored to death as I would be more interested in thinking what subjects are in the day’s schedule. It is not the fact that they are too bad in giving speeches. But they are not ready to face it. Often they simply borrowed their friend’s text when their name picked out and they simply read it from a to z without knowing what the content is all about as if it was a Good to Read program.

One more thing which needs to be highlighted is, the participation of the program MUST include all the collegians, without exception. Your name has to be placed in the lucky jar no matter who you are or how big your cubicle is.

Anyway, some of the students who got lucky to get on the rostrum to give their speech did very well and did get my respect. I hope that in the years to come, there will be more Muhammad Za’im, Amirul Hafidz, Isyamuddin Othman, Izyan Ariff, Azim Rashdi, Mukhlis Izam and Shafiq Othman.

2:49AM

Monday, 31st October 2005