Samelan Review

1. With Waheguru's grace, the 2011 Annual Gurmat Parchar Samelan was held at Sekolah Menengah Teknik Klang from Dec 18-24, 2011.

2.  Some 900 participants and 400 sewadars participated in this Samelan. A group of 20 Naujawans, mostly Samelan veterans, were entrusted to review the earlier Samelan programmes. They were asked to make changes where deemed necessary to make the camp more enjoyable and enhance the effectiveness of the learning process. 

3. Some seemingly bold new ideas were tried out. Based on written feedback received and the Samelan team's own review, on the whole, the feedback was positive. However, some new programs were not well received or did not meet the objectives expected. These will be discontinued. For some other new programs, the execution fell short and need to be improved. [To view some feedback, check out Samelan 2011 Facebook].

4. While the Samelan participants feedback was mostly positive, some parents have voiced their discomfort at certain changes. They have urged that these be discontinued. They also wanted more emphasis on Inspiration Session (IPS) sessions which have become a regular feature of Samelans and which are enjoyed by most who attend. These are kirtan and talk sessions.

5. All the feedback received, positive as well as negative, will be tabled at a Samelan Review session to be held at Sabha House this Saturday, Jan 28, 2012 at 2.30 pm. Efforts have been made to inform all of this impending review. We have made announcement via our popular Facebook page and also through emails. Do come and participate in this review. Feel free to express your views honestly. As usual, we must ensure we do it politely and respectfully, maintaining decorum at all times. 

6. The Sabha Jathedar or the Samelan committee heads used to chair past reviews. This time, to enhance the process and further ensure the review is handled professionally, our former Jathedar Harwindar Singh has kindly consented to moderate the session. 

Come one, come all. Let’s make this review a successful one. I am confident the outcome can form the base to draw up future Samelan programs so that the learning process can be further enhanced.   

Sikh youth, Sikhi parchaar

It has been an eventful year for the Sikhs in Malaysia. Our fellow Sikhs have been blessed with some major promotions and appointments, and the Sabha has chartered some new grounds.

Appointments, promotions

Dato Himmat Singh has been promoted to Secretary General of the Ministry of Works, a very senior position in the civil service. We have Dato Amar Singh made the Deputy Police Chief of Kuala Lumpur. On the political front, Dato Jaspal Singh was made a Senator (see page 1).

This year, Datuk Suret Singh retired as the director of the Road Safety Department. He has been passionate about road safety, pushing forward various changes to make the roads safer for us all. Of course, Suret is a long-time sewadar of the Sabha. He was instrumental in raising funds for the purchase of Sabha’s previous headquarters at Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Recently, he was involved in Global Sikhs activities (see page 9). We were also invited to a luncheon in honour of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Malaysia.

Samelan 2011

Fellow sewadars and dear members of the Sanggat, let me now share a little on the Sabha front. All successful organisations review their programs and reinvent themselves from time to time to stay relevant and help them stand out in their respective fields.

The Annual Gurmat Parchar Samelan is Sabha's signature activity. We had tasked the job of reviewing our Samelan programme to Exco member Sardar Mohan Singh. He has in turn roped in a group of 20 or so dedicated Naujawans to assist him in this challenging task.

These Naujawans have worked hard, brainstorming for some months. They made a presentation to the Sabha Exco and senior sewadars. We were impressed.

We are heartened to see our younger generation rising up to the challenge. We should all rejoice. They are our children, now all grown up. Many of them are products of the Samelan.

Of course, they are not working in a vacuum. They are improving on what their predecessors had done. They owe it to their seniors who have brought the Samelan to the level it is today.

Sikh youth, Sikhi parchaar

Samelan aside, we have seen the introduction other programmes targeted for the Sikh youth, with Sikhi parchaar in mind. One of them is the Chardikala Run, organised together with Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya in conjunction with Guru Nanak's birthday. That's the anchor photo of the latest issue of The Sikh. In a nutshell, that is what we are. We are here for the Sikh youth and Sikhi parchaar. It goes without saying that we need your continuous support, involvement and encouragement. God bless.

[This message appeared in the Jan 2012 issue of THE SIKH  released at the Annual Gurmat Parchar Samelan 2011 which ended in Klang, Selangor, on Dec 24, 2011. Sabha members should be getting their copy soon]

Thanks for your unflinching support

WITH Waheguru's blessings & the Sangat's unflinching support in the past year, the Sabha has success- fully carried out its signature activities -- namely the Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan, fellowship camps and a series of mini samelans in various parts of the country (Penang, Batu Pahat, Kuantan, and Jelapang), education camps, the inaugural Dhol competition, the annual Panjabi Bhasha Mela, Environment Day activities, Mother’s Day & the Annual Vaisakhi Kirtan Darbaar in Cheras.

This year, we also hosted a grand function -- the Vaisakhi Open House at Dataran Merdeka. Some 20,000 people of diverse ethnic groups, faiths and walks of life attended the function, graced by our Honourable Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor. It was indeed a memorable occasion.

Emphasis has also been given to other activities seen as important to the long term interests of the Sikh community. One such area is Naujawan Satsangs. In the past, it was the platform where many a youth had gained confidence through basic leadership skills, exposure to teamwork, organising events and public speaking. With Waheguru's grace, the efforts of Gursikhs and the support of the local Gurdwara authorities, a youth satsang is taking shape in Puchong, Selangor. Groundwork is currently being done in two other areas. We hope to see youth activities take shape in these areas as well. This is a long term project with exciting prospects, but it requires hard work and perseverance for actualization. May Waheguru give his sewa- dars the strength to see this project to fruition.

Another area being attended to is the reactivation of Global Sikhs. A new team has taken on the task. They have drawn up a list of plans and activities aimed at having trained volunteers ready to respond to situations at short notice (see their report inside). As things get organised, we hope to see more of this team's readiness in the coming months.

Next, we have the proposed International Sikh Centre (ISC) project in Kuala Kubu Bharu. Earthworks have commenced. The proposed temporary buildings are expected to be ready by year-end. Work on the building plans has commenced. Subject to the various approvals, building works could be undertaken next year. Progress is taking place slowly but surely, in accordance with the guidance from the Sangat.

As for the Sabha Branch networks, we will soon see a new Sabha branch for Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Other branches will be set up based on the needs of the Sangat from time to time.

Now onto the proposed ‘youth wing’ of the Sabha, the Malaysian Sikh Youth Association (MSYA). It has been successfully registered. As mandated by the AGM, the current Sabha Meet Jathedar Pavandeep Singh is the current Jathedar of MSYA. And the Sabha Exco members below 40 years-old have been co-opted into the MSYA committee.

Our signature event, the Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan, is scheduled to be held in Klang from 18-24 December, 2011. Planning of programs is now in full swing although we're still awaiting confirmation of the venue and the date from the school authorities.

The Sangat's unflinching support and the sewadars' firm commitment have always been crucial to the Sabha's success. May Waheguru continue to shower his blessings on HIS Sangat & HIS sewadars so that these efforts continue to bear fruit and the Panth continues to march forward in Chardi Kala.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

AMARJIT SINGH

Jathedar, SNSM

[This message appeared in the OCt 2011 issue of THE SIKH, a publication of the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia]