PETRONAS VICTORIA CLUB: PETROVIC Annual Dinner 2008

Congratulations to the dinner committee, led by Azmir Ariffin, for managing to turn our annual event into one that was truly worthy of the Petrovic name.

The theme was simple enough: celebrating the raya spirit.

Members arrived decked out in traditional attire, and walked down the stairs leading into the halls of Arrows on Swanston, one by one, where there were registered and given their lucky draw tickets. In keeping with the theme, the tables were very simply set with green candles, and each guest received a little package filled with sweets, a throwback to the nostalgia of youth and the sweets that were synonymous with it.

The event formally started with the ushering of our VIPs in, including Dr Ali Abdul Rahman, the Malaysian Education Attaché, and his lovely wife, the Petronas food providers, and Associate Professor Andrew Ooi from Melbourne University as well as representatives from Monash University.

We all laughed at the slide shows and picture presentations that were displayed. We applauded the very entertaining band from Monash, comprised of Zafril, Azmir, Aliyas, Safwan and Mazlan, with their rendition of the classical raya songs – it really set the mood, and who knew Zaf could sing like that?! We laughed at the final years performances chronicling their journey past and journey to come, as expected, with people like Eby and Chap on the team. We sat on the edges of our seats waiting for the lucky draw of the night – although I think the highlight definitely was the ‘duit raya’ that we received, complete with a five ringgit note!

As per tradition, the seniors walked the stage and were presented for tokens of appreciation for their contributions throughout their stay – little glass metcards with their names printed on them, truly Melbourne indeed! It’s always a bit of an emotional moment when we realize that many of us will be ending this chapter of their lives and starting a new one.

Congratulations to the dinner committee for organizing a fantastic event, and the best of luck to our graduating members for their lives to come!

Dr Ali (the MSD Attache Officer) as the VIP of the event delivering his speech