MBOR CERTIFICATE PRESENTATION DAY FOR “MOST WING CHUN PERFORMANCE BY AN INDIVIDUAL”
SPEECH BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW ON THE MBOR CERTIFICATE PRESENTATION DAY FOR “MOST WING CHUN PERFORMANCE BY AN INDIVIDUAL”
27 October 2022
Phoenix Asia Rebirth Campus, 2 & 4 Gat Lebuh Chulia
YB Chris Lee Chun Kit
Assemblyman of Pulau Tikus
Sifu Aaron Boey
Wing Chun Master & our celebrated record holder today
Dato’ H’ng Ban Choon
President of the Penang Wushu, Lion & Dragon Dance Association
Mr Kenneth Phoenix Quah
Founder & President of Phoenix Asia Academy of Technology
Mr Edwin Yeoh
Representative of Malaysia Book of Records (MBOR)
Media friends
Ladies & Gentlemen
Good afternoon, everyone.
First of all, I would like to thank the organiser for inviting me to witness this recognition by the Malaysia Book of Records (MBOR) for the “Most Wing Chun Performance By An Individual” which is won by Sifu Aaron Boey.
To date, Sifu Aaron Boey had given a total of 112 performances displaying this martial arts Wing Chun which caught the world’s attention with the release of the first Ip Man movie in 2008 starring Donnie Yen who played the title character.
I am sure all of us here had watched and still remember that movie!
There were four Ip Man films altogether and in each of them, the Grand Master of Wing Chun, Sifu Ip Man fought with martial artists from different schools; Karate, Western boxing, Thai Kickboxing, Tai-Chi and even a US Marine Instructor in the Finale.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
The main message to the audience from the Ip Man films is not which martial art is the best or that we Asians are better at fighting when it comes to close combat. The main message, I believe, is that Good Always Triumph Over Evil no matter how difficult or challenging a situation is. This is because at the end of the day, as long as we do the right thing no matter what the odds are in front of us, we will be the winner.
I am sure this message or belief applies on every one of us who are here today.
Whether as individuals like myself or Sifu Aaron Boey or an organisation like the Ip Man Wing Chun Penang founded in 2010 to promote the famous martial arts or even the Penang state government led by me since 2018, we believe in doing the right thing despite what others may say.
Hence, when it comes to the martial arts world in Penang or Malaysia, I am very delighted to know that there are still young men like 44-year-old Sifu Aaron Boey who truly love what they are doing to promote this martial art through performances, live demonstrations, cultural & heritage events, workshops around Penang and even in China.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
I would also like to take this opportunity to encourage the members of the public who are interested in martial arts to learn Wing Chun. Martial arts like sports, is a good way to channel our energy positively and in a healthy manner.
This is why towards the end of July and in August the Penang state government organised and supported several sports tournaments involving basketball, volleyball and table tennis and some were promoted through the LovePenang platform.
We are still recovering from what we went through for a 2-year period when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak. And there is no better way for us to bounce back apart from being physically active, have meaningful physical contact with others and to be fit in terms of our physique and mind.
Once again, I would like to congratulate Sifu Aaron Boey for your achievement today by getting yourself an entry in the Malaysia Book of Records. I am sure as a direct disciple of Grandmaster Ip Man’s son, Sifu Ip Ching, you have made your sifu very proud of you.
Thank you very much.