AFTER five thrilling rounds, the participants from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) –‘Beewildered’ – emerged as champions in the ‘7th Oh My Spelling !’ competition organised by Corporate Communication & Innovation Unit of the Penang State Secretariat.
The competition, which was held at the Komtar auditorium today, saw 27 participants from various departments displaying good sportsmanship in their respective groups (nine groups).
“It was a nail-biting moment, we had a close fight as the final scores were not of much difference, and everybody was playing with zest.
“I am happy that we won the competition and congratulations to all the other teams who really played a good game, this competition is not only about winning but also learning as well.
“This is my second time participating in the competition and I feel that this time the words asked were more towards science related terms,’’ said Raja Syarafina Raja Shuib, the team captain of ‘Beewildered’.
The other team member from ‘Beewildered’, Victor Seow said that, he felt really good to be back in the spelling bee competition after a long gap and was all smiles after winning the competition.
“I would like to encourage everyone out there to come forward and give it (competition) a try, it will definitely be a valuable experience for them ,” he added.
The first three rounds had a total of nine teams with three spellers each trying to outperform one another despite being ‘under pressure’.
At the end of the third round, five teams were shortlisted for the semifinals and the marks were carried forward for the two subsequent rounds.
The team from North-East District And Land Office – ‘Star Catchers’ bagged second place.
It was a double joy for CMO as ‘Three Musketeers’ which comprised of Ong Kok Hoay, Edmund Lee and Eric Shaun secured third place.
The top three teams received winners’ certificates and were assured cash prizes of RM300, RM240 and RM180 respectively.
R.Saraavanan from Penang Hill Corporation, who took part in the competition for the first time, received the ‘Best Speller’ award.
“I am really excited to be conferred this award as this is my first time taking part in a spelling bee competition.
“I feel that the words were not so difficult to spell and I enjoyed playing it,’’ Saraavanan said when he was approached by the Buletin Mutiara team.
When asked how he prepared himself for the competition, Saraavanan revealed that he does a lot of reading, such as reading novels and world news.
“There is nothing to be scared off. Come and participate in the competition. It will be a good experience,’’ he said.
Dr Lim Bee Lee, who was the pronouncer for the competition, said that this woud serve as a platform for all the staff to get exposed to new words and help to broaden their knowledge (vocabulary).
“By participating in this kind of competition, the spirit of teamwork can be instilled among the participants.
“For those who want to participate in the competition, the most important thing is reading.
“They must have a good reading habit, just read whatever materials that they can access. It can be magazines, newspapers and any other materials as long as they keep reading,’’ Dr Lim advised.
The corporate trainer from Corporate Communication and Innovation Unit of the Penang State Secretariat Yeap Meng Chee said the ‘Spelling Bee’ competition was initiated with the intention of encouraging more people to take part in English language-related activities.
“Prior to the spelling competition, we organised the public speaking competition aiming at providing the platform for civil servants to showcase their talents in English as well as enhancing it.
“I found out that not many people were keen on taking part in it but they were interested in activities in English.
“So, I came up with this competition, which will encourage teamwork and the drive to improve oneself in the English language.”
“We received overwhelming response and participants told me that it (competition) has given them the opportunity to learn new words which helped them brush up their English,’’ said Yeap.
She said the enthusiasm and the support shown by the participants have served as a great encouragement for them to continue organising the spelling bee.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Tan Zhi En