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EVENTS
The Oxbridge Malaysia Inaugural Boat Race 2005
Apr 13: EVERY year, a quaint British tradition gets re-enacted right here in equatorial Kuala Lumpur, far, far away from the reaches of Whitehall. Straight out of an Anglophile’s dream, the famous Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race is an annual rowing event fiercely contested by the young men and women of the two titans of old-world universities: Oxford and Cambridge. In England, this annual event dates back all the way to 1829 and there is even a website dedicated to the race — www.theboatrace.org And there are even books written about it, the most notable being The Battle of the Blues. This year’s race won six million viewers who turned on their telly sets to watch the nearly 17 minutes of frantic rowing on Easter Sunday. Not to mention the nearly 250,000 supporters who lined the banks of the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake to witness the race. Don’t play, play. The Brits are serious about going down the creek with their paddles a-flying. But they don’t just call it rowing, it’s “sculling and sweep” and a rowing stroke can have what they call “drive and recovery”. And yes, I’ve been told that it’s an “oar” or “blade” that the rowers use and not a paddle. LOCAL TALENTS: The rowers who battled it out at Taman Tasik Perdana But the way the Oxford and Cambridge Society Malaysia “raced” bore little resemblance to the physical huffing and puffing witnessed on the Thames. It’s all very civilised and has something to do with a black tie dinner and a “live” broadcast to catch the action in London amidst port and pudding in an exclusive dining hall. Till this year. On April 3, for the first time ever, the Malaysian Oxbridge Society organised their Annual Boat Race which actually involved boats, paddles, rowers and a body of water. It was spearheaded by a spunky young woman, Chook Yuh Yng, who was quite overcome with the high spirits displayed by both teams. Oxford (in England) won this year’s Boat Race but let us see how the teams who represented Oxford and Cambridge did in the muddy lake at Taman Tasik Perdana, Kuala Lumpur. Strangely enough it was almost a replica of the one which took place in the Thames, London. Oxford made a strong start and led the way for the first few legs. Cambridge had a different strategy and fielded its best duo for the last leg of the Race, hoping to out-row the Oxford boys and girls. They almost did it too, but the Oxford rowers battled their fatigue and won the day. By a wee margin. I talked to Elizabeth Lee, the president of Oxford and Cambridge Society Malaysia to find out more about this club of alumni of those prestigious universities. The Society was formed on Jan 11, 1960 with Tun Sir Henry H. S. Lee as its first President. Past presidents read like a veritable who’s who of Malaysia’s opinion-formers: Tun Suffian Mohammad, Tan Sri Lal Vorah, Tristan Russell, Dr Goh Cheng Teik, H.E. Graham Fry and more recently, Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad. Elizabeth Lee has the distinction of being the first lady president of the illustrious society, she was voted into office in June 2004. Not a coincidence because times are changing and even Cambridge has, for the first time, a lady Vice Chancellor. The Society’s objectives are to promote social, recreational and cultural activities between past and present members of the two universities; to arrange for a dinner on the eve of the annual Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race and to further any cause or project in the interests of the universities or its members. Recently, a survey was taken among the 500-strong member base to find out what events were most relevant and desirable. The results were incorporated into the rebranding exercise undertaken by the Society’s committee to take the society forward. In addition to the original objectives, the Society now has
three separate but related objectives, which are to provide
its To meet the objectives, several programmes were launched. Monthly networking opportunities were organised, resulting in the Third Wednesdays Drinks evening each month. Mentoring and internship programmes were also recommended. Members also signified that they wanted more talks, which culminated in quarterly Dinner Talks where either members or guest speakers were invited to discuss topics of interest. Lastly, four high profile social events were put in place to add more sparkle to Kuala Lumpur’s social calendar: the Annual Boat Race Dinner, the Annual Oxbridge Society Lecture, the Annual Oxbridge Debate and the Royal Programme. And the Society has been extremely busy in 2005, starting the year off with a wine tasting evening on Jan 19, three events in February, followed by invitations to talks and colloquium by Sunway University College, and the Harvard Club featuring visiting professors from Singapore and the United States. Selection and three practice sessions for the Inaugural Boat Race also took place in March, which led to the big day on April 3. By all accounts it was not as elaborate, serious nor taxing as the English Boat Race, but it was a start. The Brits use boats with eight Olympic-standard rowers with a cox, the on-board coach, steering and guiding them on. The Malaysians used canoes so that everyone can participate in this event. Each team consisted of eight crew members with at least two female rowers. The Race consists of four relay legs with two rowers per canoe. Each leg started at the Boat House with each changeover for the next leg at the Boat House itself. The order of the day was to have fun, bond and generally be a good sport! Remember, this is Malaysia, where the temperature and humidity will sap your strength even before the race starts. And finally, the social event of the year for the Society: the Annual Gala Boat Race Ball, which will be held on Friday. This will be held at the Grand Ballroom of Le Meridien Kuala
Lumpur. The theme is “Celebrate all that is blue, in style,
at Kindly allow me to shed a little light on this whole blue business. The Oxford team is popularly known as the Dark Blues and the Cambridge rowers are known as the Light Blues. The Race is often referred to as the Battle of the Blues. The logo of the Oxbridge Boat Race on the official website also uses two shades of blue. This is because the colours of the two universities are dark blue and light blue respectively. Elizabeth Lee recently headed a delegation of six Oxbridge Society Malaysia members to Japan to visit the Cambridge Oxford Society in Tokyo! “We were invited to join them in their centenary celebrations,” explained Lee. “The Society values good relationships and works with other Oxbridge societies in the region to achieve mutual objectives. “One of the goals I hope to achieve during my tenure is to revive another great tradition of the Oxford and Cambridge Society: the Annual Debates which are based on the Union Society that Oxford University is so famous for. We haven’t had one for some time now.” Lee is an educator and executive director of Sunway University College and Sunway Group of Colleges, one of Malaysia’s largest and most established institutions of higher learning. She graduated from Cambridge with a Masters in Education. The ebullient Lee also pointed out “We are really not as elitist as we are seen to be. The Society has worked on an English language project for three years. We are helping the Government to improve the standard of English. It takes a multi-pronged attack, via lectures and talks by Oxbridge’s well-known personalities, like Datuk Paddy Bowie, Farriz Mashudi and Professor John Zinkin.” “The Society also organises an Annual Oxbridge English essay competition each June. This is aimed at students in Forms 4 and 5. The format is quite straightforward. It is conducted exam-style where the students are given the topics, and they have to complete their essay within the allocated time. Their papers are collected, graded and the best efforts rewarded, all within the same day,” explained Lee. She continues, “We hope to do our bit in working with the Malaysian government to improve the standard of English.” Participation is very enthusiastic, with almost 100 students converging on Sunway University College each year to have a shot at essay-winning glory and prize money. Sunway University College is the sponsor of the event. For the next few months, the Society has planned talks and gatherings: a dinner talk with Bruce Cleghorn, the British High Commissioner and the Oxbridge Society Lecture in May. June is an important month with an English Language event with Sunway University College and the annual general meeting of the Society scheduled for mid month. And for the foreseeable future, Lee expresses that the Society is keen to welcome younger members and fresh graduates of Oxford and Cambridge. Application forms are available at the Society's website: www.oxbridgemalaysia.com Young blood, new ideas, renewed energy. Exactly what the Oxford and Cambridge Society of Malaysia needs to propel it into 2006 and beyond. And yes, we heard that there will be a Second Annual Oxbridge Boat Race in Kuala Lumpur next year due to the success of this year’s outing.
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