Jarod Yong

Happy #MalaysiaDay 🇲🇾! Our annual tradition during the Malaysia Day weekend is to support a local film. This year, we caught #MForMalaysia. In Sarawak, only 2 cinema's ran the documentary. The one closest to us was, 30 minutes drive away from Kuching, in Samarahan at @MMCineplexes of @SummerShoppingMall. Sadly, we were the only ones in the theater. I walked in wondering why the heck I paid the online booking fee. 😅 In contrast, the theater next door, playing some pontianak movie, was packed. I guess political documentaries aren't the forte of regular Malaysians. Honestly, the movie left me wanting because it stopped right after #PakatanHarapan won the elections. It didn't contain anything a concerned & informed citizen wouldn't know. Sure, it provided plenty of behind the scenes footage of a day in the life of #TDM leading up to the polls & several exclusive interviews of key political figures. But, that's all in the past. As a Malaysian living

SMK Tabuan Jaya Represents!     Chaperoned 15 students from SMK Tabuan Jaya to the "Basic Mobile Video Production" Program by SukaSuka at Kuching Creative Heritage Hub in Bangunan Yayasan Sarawak. During this program, my students learned the basics of video production, worked as a team to produce a video, & competed with the other schools in Kuching at a showcase. Thank you, SukaSukaMY for running an excellent program. Although my students only got the consolation prize, they had a great time & were very engaged! Do invite us to future events! I really wanted to spend this Saturday morning with my new baby boy & wife. However, I realized that if I didn't volunteer, my students would miss out on this golden opportunity to learn from skilled content producers & access a creative hub for FREE.

The 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Ronald McDonald House at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz UKM , KL, officiated by YABhg. Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali.     **This post is sponsored by McDonald’s Malaysia ** I wouldn’t wish this of anybody, but, if you ever find yourself, a family member or a friend having to seek pediatric care away from home, know that if you seek treatment at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM) UKM in KL, you’ll be able to stay at the on-site Ronald McDonald House (RHM) for just RM5/night! FYI, there is also an RMH at Hospital USM in Kelantan. Thankfully, these houses are situated in the hospital compound itself & will go a long way to alleviating the burden of suffering families. Back when it was launched in 1999, the RMH at HCTM-UKM was the first of its kind in the ASEAN region and since then it has become a home away from home for almost 1,300 families seeking pediatric care. Facilities available at the Ronald McDonald House @ HCTM-UK

My YSEALIEduKL Team     Last month, I had the privilege of participating my first YSEALI Regional Workshop, entitled " Empowering Southeast Asian Educators ." Referred to as " YSEALIEduKL ", the workshop was attended by more than 100 educators from all 11 nations in South East Asia . It was such an honor to represent Malaysia & Sarawak. As a Malaysian alumni of a US Dept of State program , I was assigned the role of mentor to a team of 5 educators from 4 different ASEAN countries: Ary & Rizal from Indonesia, Billy from Laos, Elly from Vietnam, & Alfonz from the Philippines. During this workshop, we will design a Project-Based Learning unit applicable in all our contexts & pitch for funding at the end of the workshop. As a mentor, my role was to support them in achieving this goal. = What is YSEALI ? How Can I Join Too? = The YSEALI Regional Workshop I participated in     

Photo with the principal, teachers, & SPM Students of SMK Engkilili   Earlier this year, I published an offer to rural Sarawakian secondary schools ; If you have students who struggle in English, inexperienced teachers, & have not had an SPM speaker because of your geographical location, I WILL COME TO YOU. I'm pretty bogged down with all sorts of "amanah" at school so this would be my sole SPM Talk for the year. I thought that I'd be inundated with requests, but... *crickets*. The only school that responded to my offer... was none other than SMK Engkilili in Engkilili , Sarawak, 5 hours drive away from Kuching on the Pain Borneo Highway . I gladly accepted & arranged for the talk to happen during the SPM trials at my school so my teaching hours wouldn't be disrupted. I made the offer because, as a teacher who started his teaching career at a rural school, I was hungry for mentorship & guidance but had none to turn to because all of the En