FLAG HANDOVER “2022 PENANG CHESHIRE HOME SCOUT EXCURSION”

SPEECH BY YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW
THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG
FLAG HANDOVER “2022 PENANG CHESHIRE HOME SCOUT EXCURSION”
18TH JUNE 2022

 

Dato’ Rowland Chin
President of Malaysian Council of Cheshire Homes and Services

Mr. Ong Ewe Keat
Hon. Treasurer of Penang State Scout Council

Mr. Oi Siou Hean
District Scouts Commissioner of George Town (South)

Ms. Veronica Pau
Organising Chairperson cum Contingent Leader

Mr. Koay Say Loke Andrew
President of Penang Cheshire Home

 

Distinguished guests,

Members of the media,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A very good afternoon to all.

Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to the organiser for inviting me to this special occasion. I am delighted to learn that Penang Cheshire Home is home to a Special Scout Troop.

Scouting, as we all know, is a global movement dedicated to the physical and mental development of young people, and thus is a most suitable organisation for the Home’s residents to be members of. Most importantly, scouting fosters values such as caring for others and respect for the community and the environment.

 

Upgrading knowledge and improving living skills are important aspects of scouting, and this has fuelled the well-known phenomenon of the Scout Journey, which is a must-do activity for every scout, male or female, able or disabled.

Penang Cheshire Home Special Scout Troop is thus highly commendable for its pioneering spirit in organising annual scout journeys since 2006 for its members, taking them to far-flung destinations, even on wheelchairs. This was done with the aim of further enhancing the educational and social development of the special scouts, some of whom later participated in international agoonorees and jamborees in Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan.

This year's agoonoree, dubbed excursion as it does not include special scouts from other scout troops in Penang, will enable the special scouts to visit Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. They will be able to view our country’s highest peak - an experience not many wheelchair users will have, as well as exchange ideas and experiences with their counterpart in Sabah Cheshire Home.

The Scout Troop of Penang Cheshire Home will cover all expenditures for all 40 participants, which is made up of 18 special scout residents, 12 staff members, 3 Committee members, 5 volunteers with medical backgrounds, and 2 volunteers. The Penang State Government contributed RM 10,000.00 to the Penang Cheshire Home's fund-raising efforts in order to support this worthy cause.

In line with one of the Penang2030 vision's strategic initiatives to uplift vulnerable communities and reduce inequalities, I sincerely hope that Penang Cheshire Home will continue to be a leading model for all organizations to further promote the educational and social advancement of special scouts.

 
Having said this, I wish to express my fervent hope that more members of the community will step forward to support the disabled among us so that we can all move forward as a more mutually supportive and united community, which will augur well for the state and nation.

This year’s excursion will undoubtedly enable Penang Cheshire Home scouts to carry the Penang Flag, with great pride, to the Land Below the Wind.

With that, I wish them a joyful and memorable journey.

Thank you.