On the 9th of January 2009, Honda Malaysia paid honour to the media through a night of gathering with great food and fun in Luna Bar at Pacific Regency Hotel.
Beyond Limits Media Gathering 2009 Photo Wall.
Review Panel of 2008.
Left - Right - Mr. Atsushi Fujimoto, and Ms. Andrea Veronica Fonseka.
Mr. Atsushi Fujimoto delivering his speech.
Andrea Rachel Stevenson, a 12 year old singing "One Moment In Time" for the Opening Act.
Andrea Rachel Stevenson, a 12 year old singing "One Moment In Time" for the Opening Act.
The Brand Ambassador's for Honda Media Gathering 2009.
Media playing the Early Bird Crossword Puzzle game with the Brand Ambassadors.
Left - Right: Terrence Loh, Brian Alexis and Mr Atsushi Fujimoto.
Mr. Atsushi Fujimoto with one of the media playing the Charade game.
Synchronized Swimming Performance.
Synchronized Swimming Performance.
During the gathering, media members were ushered to an inviting ambience beset Luna Bar, featured the substance of life - water. The theme of the gathering remained as Beyond Limits; a theme inspired and empowered by the Power of Dreams that drives Honda to go beyond expectations in serving the society. And this year, the theme was interpreted by water, which reflected its clarity and infinity.
This inspirational setting reflected finely on the underlying values of Honda Malaysia's embrace of Clarity & Transparency in its approach to the media, of which the mutual relationship is thrust upon.
When commenting on the thought behind the inspiring theme, Honda Malaysia's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Atsushi Fujimoto shared that: "Water is a substance of life; it creates and recreates itself in many forms. The cycle never ends. Similar to our dreams, they will live forever and become a true inspiration for the society and to finally believe in the Power of Dreams. It is the mantra of the Power of Dreams and Challenging Spirit that has made Honda to what it is today."
This year, emceed by Andrea Fonseka, the official programme kicked off at 8:30pm.
Toasting ceremony with Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd team.
Closing Ceremony with the Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd team.
Band performance from Jeannie and the Jazzy Chillerz.
Band performance from Jeannie and the Jazzy Chillerz.
En Azman presenting the prize to a lucky winner, Mr Sebastian Lim from The Sun.
Mr Atsushi Fujimoto presenting the Eee PC to Mr Brian Alexis from Catchacorp.
Mr Atsushi Fujimoto presenting the Eee PC to Mr Richard Augustin from New Man.
From Left - Right: Penne Tan, Mel Lee, V. Suresh, Daniel Fernandez, Monique Low, Kaylee Chang and YS Khong.
Mr. Atsushi Fujimoto, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer marked the start of the evening's official programme with a warm opening address. During his speech, Mr. Fujimoto also presented Honda Malaysia's next year sales target and a flash back of its past year performance, activities, awards and accolades garnered.
Following a simple official opening, a 12-year old Andrea Rachel Stevenson stunned the crowd with "One Moment In Time" by Whitney Houston. Started singing at a tender age of 2, the prodigy created an immense pulsating sensation among the crowd with her gifted vocal talent.
Andrea Fonseka, the emcee for the evening, enlivened the crowd with her wit and charm, which later sparked off endless fun and cheers in the Trivia Quiz, Charade and lucky draws.
Left - Right: Mr. Akkbar, Mr Fujimoto, MD & CEO of Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd, En Azman, President & COO of HMSB, and Monique, Head of PR.
Left - Right: Tim Chew and Lavinne Yap.
Mr Wong Kong Ngai and wife.
Left - Right: En Azman with Jason S.
Left - Right: Patrick McVeigh and Benjamin Cox.
Lucky winner or Eee PC, Saravanan from Motor Trader.
Left - Right: Sam Wong, Lee Pang Seng and SH Tay.
Left - Right: Ms Tang Lai Wah and Mr Alan Hang.
Faisal Shah from AutoCar ASEAN.
Left - Right: Justin Toh, Mark Wei and Kumaran.
En. Azman Idris, the Chief Operating Officer then took over the stage and proposed a toast to all the media members for a challenging but hopeful year. the little ceremony was joined by the team of Honda Malaysia.
Another notable highlight of the evening was a graceful synchronised swimming performance presented by Kuala Lumpur Synchronised Team, 6 junior synchronised swimmers, age 13 - 19. The nimble swimmers got the audience go "ooos" and "ahhs" in the 3 minutes performance, a true testimonial to the impressive act of grace and artistry.
The most eager moment for all could well be the lucky draws. This year's goodies were 10 units of EEPC and 12 Generation Rollerball Platinum Pen from Mont Blanc.
While all the fun and games were going on, the buffet line featured a fine spread of cuisines that made many happy stomachs go bottomless. The food and drinks were indeed one of the great companies throughout the feast until 12 midnight.
Left - Right: Shoki Itagaki and Misuzu Ishiwatari from Jiji Press mingling with Mr Atsushi Fujimoto.
Left - Right: Surin Raj, Ellfian, Melvin Tang and Ben Liew.
Left - Right: Li Ling and Michael Cheang.
Left - Right: Denis Wong, Ben and Kumeran.
Left - Right: Kaylee Chang, Denis Wong and T.Yogendra.
Left - Right: Mr Atsushi Fujimoto and Marcus Lee.
Left - Right: Patrick, Izwan and Shahrin.
Left - Right: Nazrul Izham and Elaine Wong.
Left - Right: Vinodhani Nair K and Catherine Yong.
The night was made even livelier when Jeannie of Jeannie & Jazzy Chillerz charmed the crowd with her melodious rendition during the live band performance. The graceful songstress was in a roll when she brought on more contemporary tunes throughout the night. The crowd was completely smitten and mesmerised.
As the gathering came to an end, teams from Honda Malaysia rang down the curtains with a note of thanks and a courteous bow to all attendees. With 282 media friends in attendance, the occasion had certainly made its impression.
These are some of the comments from the media:
Chris Wee.
Richard Augustin, Lavinne Yap and Stephanie Chan.
Chris Wee, Editor, Evo / FI Racing
"If there's one car company in Malaysia that knows how to throw a party, it's Honda Malaysia; historically we've always looked forward to gatherings with HMSB, both official and casual, and the Media Gathering 2009 was no exception; good food, great entertainment and of course excellent company, the gathering was a great way to kick-off the year."
Richard Augustin, Editor, New Man
"The Honda Media Gathering Night was awesome as it not only gave people from the media a chance to mingle with the good people at Honda but also a chance for us to catch up with our friends from the media industry as well."
Yvonne Chean and Lu Jing Shia.
Julie Chong.
Jing Shia, Editor, Faces
"It is quite a friendly environment and cosy affair. We were entertained throughout with good performances and able to catch up with some industry friends."
Julie Chong, Writer, The Edge
"It was pretty entertaining and the prizes were attractive. Else than that, the food wasn't bad as well."
Patrick Chan and Monique Low.
Left - Right: Ned, Mel Lee and Penne Tan.
Patrick Chan, Motorsportchannel.com
"It was a very informative and entertaining event with good food. A fantastic atmosphere. The venue is a good place to do events."
Wan Aznir bin Wan Abhar, Editor, Get A Car
"A great location. Good food. Got to see a lot of good performances. The singing was refreshing. However, I still think last year's opening was more "Wow". More interesting compared to this year's."
Rae Lee.
Left - Right: Winnie Yeoh and Shamon Leong.
Left - Right: Keisuke Iwata and Monique Low.
Left - Right: Bryan Aw and Alicia Mak.
Jason S.
Left - Right: Zuraimi, Mohd Razlan and Efindi Baharudin.