MEET & GREET SESSION WITH YABHG TUN DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD
& THE WINNERS OF THE PLF MERDEKA PHOTO CONTEST 2017
17TH OCTOBER 2017
After a month long wait, the day has come for the Meet & Greet Session with YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the winners of the PLF Merdeka Photo Contest 2017. The Meet & Greet Session was held here at the Perdana Leadership Foundation on the 17th October 2017, 3.00pm.
The winners, Mr Khairul Aqlan and Ms Khairunnisa, arrived with their mother and father respectively, early as they were very excited to meet the Foundation’s Honorary President. They were both greeted by the lead coordinator of the contest, Mr Faridzuan who also acted as the photographer for the Meet & Greet session.
The moment the clock struck 3 o’clock, the doors were open and there, Tun Dr Mahathir stood happily as he welcomed the winners along with their parents into his office. Joining the session was the Foundation’s General Manager, Puan Zarina Abu Bakar.
Puan Zarina introduced the winners to Tun Dr Mahathir, and from there Tun took over the conversation. Tun started by asking them about their background, and where they came from. Tun was also curious to know the stories behind their photos and so he asked. Each of them took turn explaining the story starting with Mr Khairul.
Before Mr Khairul was able to tell the story, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah made a surprise appearance as she entered the office and joined her beloved husband. She was very excited to hear the stories.
Before Mr Khairul was able to tell the story, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah made a surprise appearance as she entered the office and joined her beloved husband. She was very excited to hear the stories.
In Mr Khairul’s photo, the dark background and floor was depicted as the grip of invasions by several foreigners such as the Japanese and British. The act of jumping with the Malaysian flag is a depiction of every Malayan’s struggle to be free from the grip and into Independence.
In Khairunnisa’s photo, the black and white filter and background is a depiction of the past times. Ms Khairunnisa, who is in the photo, is also in black and white filter, depicting our ancestors from those times. She is holding the Malaysian flag while staring into the future, hoping better times will come.
Our 3rd place winner, Mr Arif Mohdana’s winning photo. He unfortunately couldn’t make it to the Meet & Greet session due to unavoidable circumstances.
All good things must come to an end, and so was the session. The session ended with a signing session, and a photo session. Photos of the session are available on our Facebook page.
Apart from the Meet & Greet Session with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the winners were also presented with cash prize, and some PLF merchandise. The merchandise from Perdana Leadership Foundation consists of a book entitled “Pembinaan Putrajaya: Perspektif Pemaju”, a book entitled “Jejak Seorang Pemimpin: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, “Jejak Seorang Pemimpin: Tun Dr Siti Hasmah”, our annual Perdana Magazine, a notebook, a pen, and a cardholder.
Below is the list of our Top 10 Winners:
1st place : Khairul Aqlan bin Kamis | Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa, Selangor
2nd place : Khairunnisa binti Izahar | Alexandria University, Egypt
3rd place : Mohammad Arif bin Mohdana | Kolej Komuniti Ledang, Johor
4th place : Mohammad Luqman Nur Hakim bin Md Zim | Federation University, Australia
5th place : Muhammad Danial Asyraf bin Abdullah | University of Wales, UK
6th place : Afzal Syazwan bin Zulkifli | Freelance Consultant
7th place : Calvin Cheong Yang Guang | Freelance Photographer
8th place : Muhammad Nor ‘Irfan bin Noradnan | Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa
9th place : Suresh a/l P.Velsami | International University of Malaya Wales
10th place : Nurul Atiqah binti Mohd Hanapi | Kolej Islam Antarabangsa Gombak, Selangor
The Perdana Leadership Foundation would like to once again congratulate the winners and say thanks to every participant who has submitted their wonderful photos. We would also like to thank everyone who was involved and helped to make the Merdeka Photo Contest a success.
