It was also the first time that the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) conferred the APICTA Lifetime Achievement Award to YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, our previous Prime Minister, at this particular ceremony that marks their 10th Anniversary of the APICTA Awards, having first started from Malaysia and then hosted at other countries before making a glorious return.

As the dress code dictated for a Black Tie event, we were dressed to kill with the purpose to mingle with about 300 delegates from 16 other countries which makes part of the alliance like Pakistan, Hong Kong and most recently Taiwan!

Like I said, everyone was dressed to kill! I knew Denise from a long time ago while I was still studying at Imperial College London, and now we’ve all pretty much grown up since then lol!

I liked the fact that they brought our students to attend the event, giving them an inspiration to look for when it comes to identifying their own set of skills that will surely help them in the game of life, both for themselves and the country!

Managed to catch Tun as he got mobbed by many of the people present. Whatever he’s done, for good or for bad, intentional or not, I cannot deny the fact that he’s gotten Malaysia to where she is today in the global arena. Some of you say that it could have been better if he left the Prime Ministerial seat earlier, but with a country like ours, it not an easy task whether you like it or not! For all that’s happened and happening right now, Tun Mahathir still remains the Prime Minister I’ve come to love and admire, especially in the ICT area. The APICTA Lifetime Achievement Award could go to no one else better than him CONGRATS TUN!

After the Awards was over we were ushered to the International APICTA Gala Diner 2010 and had performances planned out for us by star-studded celebrities like Datuk Siti Nurhaliza and Jaclyn Victor!

It was a really top class event and I really picked up an idea or two for use of our Young Corporate Malaysians Summit 2010 happening this 11th December 2010. If you haven’t booked your date yet you’d better do it now!

While waiting for the presentation to start and the food to be served we were entranced by the performance of the band. Really gave a touch of class to the gala dinner!

Again a look at the fully filled hall and large moving LEDs… I LOVE IT! How much does it cost, does anyone know?

Having great hosts does play a part in ensuring the event was a success. And in this case, both of them were exceptional!

Soon after the food came, and as much as I’d like to share about the food here in Kuala Lumpur Conven
tion Centre, I thought about how unaccustomedly bad it was that particular day that I decide to skip it. The appetizer was the only thing worth shooting and sharing, compromising of 2 pieces of fresh prawns and

what seemed to be a delicate piece of pate. Heh.

The cultural dance performance was next to impress us. The group, called Astana Arts, were nothing short of fabulous! We had so much fun watching as they dance and move along like free spirits on the stage

Typically, the Chinese dance came afterwards. Don’t particularly like their choice of music but the smiling faces of them performers was enough to magically make my day!

Then the Indian performance happened, before everyone congregated to do a somewhat 1Malaysia dance, if you can call it that haha! Nevertheless it was really beautiful, a show of splendour filled with colours and culture that Malaysia are rich with… something that we can be proud of in front of the other countries within the APICTA alliance

Finally we had an amazing performance by Jaclyn Victor of Malaysia Idol fame, grooving the stage with a few jazzy numbers before the crowd decided to request for Gemilang, which is also her winning music on Malaysian Idol a few years back! I sang along to the song too, it’s irresistible and having Jaclyn sing it live in front of us was an experience one could never forget

And that was the end of the Gala Dinner!

Before we left we got the chance to take some photos… so presenting to you some of our finalists consisting of students, even! Did you know that Malaysia won four outright and six merit awards? Amazing kan?

The recipients of the trophy above can go back knowing that their work has been recognized by many economies of the APICTA alliance. Following APICTA Chairman Sutee Satanasathapon‘s words, “At the core of it, the International APICTA Award is proof that much can be accomplished when countries work together in synergy”, is something our generation should recognize and start building relations to expand businesses and initiatives outside of Malaysia if you want to truly excel!

The judges consists of leaders of the ICT sector within the 16 economies of APICTA, for example, the Google consultant from Pakistan. Our friend Hanson Toh beside him (far right) isn’t a judge, but he’s equally distinguished and recognized by the ICT industry in the region :p

Which is why I didn’t hesitate to take a photo with him FEHMES MAN WOR! hahahaha!

We left the Awards night feeling in awe of what took place, and also with a few business cards that could otherwise be our ticket to fortune (who knows) as we realized, from what we’ve seen, the power of leveraging skills across the countries in order to create amazing technologies that will help with our everyday lives. I for one, coming from a tech background, will definitely push for advancements that peopl
e are so fond of dismissing. Never say never, we can do it together!

View more pictures over at my Facebook album

The post The 10th International APICTA Awards Ceremony 2010 appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.

Oktoberfest is arriving next month, and it’s celebrating its 200th year in style! For me, it came in a form of an awesome hat mailed to my house Check it out below!

Beautiful women in authentic beer garden costumes, large steins of beer, packs of wiener dogs racing, great tunes and sing-along, immeasurable fun, uncontrollable laughter, and of course, throngs of people doing the chicken dance.

It all started in 1810 and for the 200^th Year of Oktoberfest Celebration, Guinness Anchor Berhad (GAB) is proud to spread the spirit of one of the world’s oldest parties to Malaysians, with fun-filled street parties, special promotions and events. Stay tuned for more peeps, media invite happening this Friday

so do follow me on twitter for live updates!

Eins, zwei, drei, g’suffa!

Zicke-Zacke-Zicke-Zacke Hoy, Hoy, Hoy!

The post 2OO Years Of Oktoberfest Cheers beginning next month! appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.

First thing I saw when I arrived was a bunch of people playing some football games, this guy was demonstrating his balancing skills and some participants were supposed to follow suit to win a prize!

It looked easy, but the participants were about to find out that it requires more than just putting the ball up there and expect it to stick :p Can you do it? For how long? If you are good, you may be a candidate on something I’ve been working on…. VERY football related

But of course, what completes football and booze? Girls of course! Introducing some of the models they had on that day… along with some good munchies by Cold Storage, yes the one at Solaris

There were the three of us; Ren, Sammy and myself. Ren and Sammy met for the first time after meeting each other on Plurk, it was too funny not to take notice! Meantime, I’ve known Sammy for quite a while and I say she’s a doll Too bad she’s taken though, sigh, sweet young things are always quick to get snapped up eh? :p

Oh and did I mention they had a replica of the trophy around? When we first saw it we couldn’t resist not touching it.. It was a phenomenal experience! It’s heavy I tell you, and it shone brilliant gold

Yes, you can tell I was quite high. HAHA.

Okay a more normal picture. Winning the World Cup is an amazing experience I can tell you that, just by kissing it :p

I took this picture cause it was a candid moment. Read: Celebrate Africa’s golden trophy. Why hello there Sammy :p

We got to try Amarula and I found it particularly smooth and sweet, just like Baileys but less impact, more sweet. That’s cause Amarula is made from marula fruits. The tree is also known as the marriage tree as tribes at South Africa held their weddings under the sacred tree .You wouldn’t notice the alcohol even if you took a few shots of it. Perfect for light drinkers to go just a little tipsy

And there beside it, of course, is the trophy that all participating countries in the FIFA World Cup South Africa wants to have!

So heads up guys, let’s enjoy the moment that only comes once in 5 years! WAKA WAKA BABY!

The post Celebrating World Cup 2010 South Africa with Amarula appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.