I am a LION: 8: LIONS WORKERS' WEEK (LWW)

Lions Workers’ Week (LWW)

The ‘Lions Workers Week’ was a week-long project. The theme of the LWW was “Towards a Better Understanding and Appreciation of the Workers’ Role in Society”. We held a successful press conference.

More than 200 participants from factories, firms, banks, co-operative societies and professional bodies attended the Opening Ceremony. YB Encik K. Pathmanaban, the Deputy Minister for Labour and Manpower graced the event.

The main objective of the LWW was to foster closer ties, goodwill, and fellowship among workers in the various industrial and commercial sectors.

A Charity Big Walk was organised with all the public and private sectors participating in full support. Hundreds of workers from the island and mainland Butterworth participated. The Walk brought together men and women who formed the backbone of the industrial and commercial sectors of Penang. The event is still fondly remembered to this day.

We also organised a Festival of Films. Four blockbusters were singled out. First, there was a western cowboy film titled “MacKenna’s Gold” starring Omar Shariff. Then, there was the immensely hilarious “Carry on Again Doctor” and a musical called” The Singing Nun” with Debbie Reynolds. Rock and Roll legend’s “Elvis, that’s the Way It is” completed the foursome. Penangites, in particular the workers from the factories thronged the cinemas in droves. Besides the crowd-pullers, there was also a screening of 16mm educational films on drug abuse, family planning, road safety, culture, and the environment, and feature films throughout the week. Our two-pronged approach to creating better awareness of social issues and providing entertainment was a resounding success. Free tickets were distributed to all factories and participating firms.

Everyone knows the universal maxim that “Sport Unites”. We subscribed to this maxim and had four sports events, namely Bowling, Football, Sepak Takraw and

Badminton. The games were well received and indeed it promoted sportsmanship and goodwill among the participants from the FTZ and various organizations. I truly believe we should revisit and organise more unity programmes. We took the opportunity to recognise the few top Boys' Scouts and Girl Guides in the State of Penang.

There was also a fun-filled Telematch, a well-attended Workers’ Seminar and an informative Industrial Poster Exhibition. It culminated with a Grand Dinner and Dance. Kudos to all who helped organise and to those who participated!

A Beauty Queen Contest was held to find the fairest Miss LWW. It was the first beauty contest involving contestants from the Free Trade Zone. Response to the event was quite encouraging!

We must also acknowledge the support and cooperation of the Penang Development Corporation, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, the Penang Chambers of Commerce and several Banks in this mammoth project. The LWW would not have had such a strong participation without their involvement. Fast forward to today, I would urge for more meaningful tie-ups with the many, many FTZ industries. Giants such as Motorola, Hewlett Packard and B. Braun have huge CSR fundings and huge human resources. Such a tie-up is certainly a win-win situation for all stakeholders.

Goodwill Visits to Sister Clubs

I had the opportunity to further foster the friendship with our sister clubs overseas after signing a new sisterhood alliance with three new clubs, namely, Lions Club of Hong Kong Castle Peak, Lions Club of Adelaide Light, Australia, and Lions Club of Lions Club of Taipei North-West.