CWS Malaysia fulfills four wishes and brings more cheer to 30 kids in Malacca General Hospital

MALACCA….Pre-Christmas visitors to the Malacca General Hospital brought a lot of smiles and laughter to more than 30 children warded at the children’s ward recently.

Four children in particular were granted their wishes by the Children’s Wish Society of Malaysia who made the trip to Malacca to present them their wish while giving out presents to the other children warded in the hospital.

Jaslyn Khoo, 5 who is diagnosed with Aplastic Anaemia was presented a laptop to enable her to play games and watch her favourite movies at home or when she is at the hospital for treatment.

Five year old Muhd Raimi Bin Ab Rahman, eight year old Nur Maisarah Bte Abd Rahim and seven year old Joseph Pslam were each given an MP3 player to enable them to listen to music and also the radio.

Muhd Raimi is suffering from global development delay while Nur Maisarah is seeking treatment for brainstem tumour and hydrocephalus. Joseph is suffering from global developmental delay epilepsy ( semizoencephalus Type II).

CWS Malaysia board members Alan Yip and Lim Ai Mee who made the visited later distributed gifts to more than 30 children in the ward.

“We received the wishes from the four children a week earlier and we decided since we were making the trip to Malacca, why not spread the cheer with other children?”

“CWS is the first-ever organization which looks at fulfilling wishes of children who are stricken with life-threatening or terminal illnesses in the country,” Alan Yip said, adding that more wish granting will continue to be carried out in 2010 throughout the country.

Yip said the organization worked with doctors in hospitals to help identify potential recipients below the age of 18 who are seeking treatment for their condition.

For more information on CWS, log on to www.cwsmalaysia.com.

Alicia Loh signing the mock-up of her book. Looking on are CWS president Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam (left), MPH Group of Companies Malaysia director Datuk Dr Abdullah b. Abdul Rahman,Alicia’s parents Lim Siew Siew and Joseph Loh.

Thirteen-year-old Alicia Loh realizes her dream to be a published writer thanks to MPH Group of Companies and Children’s Wish Society of Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, DEC 15 2009…..Wishes do come true! For 13-year-old Alicia Loh, her wish was fulfilled today with the debut of her book “The Last Chapter”.
Alicia currently undergoes regular treatment for spinal muscular atrophy type 2, a nerve and muscular disease that is progressive and incurable.
Her wish which was conveyed to the Children’s Wish Society of Malaysia, was transformed into reality with the help of MPH Group of Companies who extended a helping hand to publish her book.
Her debut novella is The Last Chapter, a story about blossoming and broken relationships.
CWS Malaysia president Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam who launched the book together with Dato’ Ng Tieh Chuan, CEO OF MPH Group of Companies Malaysia and Alicia said the society was happy to be able to fulfill yet another wish of a child and bring cheer to her life.
“CWS is a very young organization but we continue to pursue our objectives of bringing a smile back to children around us who are stricken with life-threatening and terminal illnesses across the country.”
“Today, together with our partner MPH, we have made another wish come true,” he said.
Navaratnam said the society hoped more corporations and individuals will come forward to share the smiles around by helping CWS fulfill more wishes.
The society has fulfilled the wishes of children from as far north as Kedah, Kuala Lumpur to Melaka and Johor and also in Sabah and Sarawak.
For more information, log on to www.cwsmalaysia.com or email
cwsmalaysia@cwsmalaysia.com

CWS welcomes our newest Board Member - Dato’ Anthony Bujang.

Dato’ Anthony, 50, is presently the New Straits Times chief executive officer.
He is a man who brings with him a wealth of experience in the media industry having spent his career in NTV7 (CEO); TV3 (director of operations; GM brand management group); Shell Gabon and Sarawak Shell.

Reproduced with permission from MPH Quill Oct-Dec 2009 edition
Thirteen-year-old ALICIA LOH has a wish: to become a published writer and be as successful as her favourite author, Jodi Picoult. She has already completed a couple of novellas and a collection of poetry. Her debut novella is The Last Chapter, a story about blossoming and broken relationships.
One of your wishes in life is to become a published author. What do you hope to achieve with your book?
I just hope to explore different styles of writing and be the best writer I can be.
How long did it take for you to complete your manuscript?
Honestly, I don’t know, because, for example, the plot of my first story came to me at least a year before I actually started writing it. But it took me roughly a year to finish that one. For others, I’m not too sure.
What motivates you to write?
Reading a good book is one of the things that motivate me. Also, just the idea of one day becoming a successful author like Jodi Picoult.
Is Jodi Picoult your favourite author? What else do you like to read?
My favourite book is My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I know that I do not like sci-fi, except for one author: Chris Wooding. I don’t have a specific favourite genre, but I don’t really like stuff written in the 80’s.
You’ve been travelling around a lot for medical treatments. What are the best and worst parts of this?
The best part is that I absolutely love the US and got to go there for my treatment. I enjoy saying, “I stayed in the US for a while.” Travelling locally is not as much fun. The worst is definitely being separated from my family, especially my dad. Oh, and missing the food here in Malaysia, which I love.
What is the difference between what you were doing this year and last year?
Last year, I didn’t have a story to write at that time, unlike now. I was basically obsessing over David Archuleta 24/7. This year, I’m still obsessing over David, but I’m writing various things as well.
Explain the process of how you pen down your thoughts.
I don’t really write my thoughts down, except occasionally in poems. But recently, I installed an application on my computer called Journler that I absolutely love. So I usually write my thoughts there nowadays. Or, if I think a thought is random enough, I blog.
What do you write on your blog?
I can’t really answer this question because I blog about the most random things. Such as how I think the word randomest should be a word in the dictionary. And, of course, David Archuleta. Or I could blog about how the word “watch” sounds like a sasquatch if you say it 10 times really, really quickly….I blog about food sometimes, too.
If you weren’t doing what you are doing now, what else could you imagine doing?
I have no idea what I’d be doing, at all.

MPH Group of Companies is collaborating with The Children’s Wish Society of Malaysia to grant wishes to children who face life-threatening illnesses. Alicia Loh currently undergoes regular treatment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2, a nerve and muscular disease that is progressive and incurable.
Editor’s Note: Alicia’s book is scheduled to be available for sale in the middle of December. Look out for more updates on www.cwsmalaysia.com. If you wish to be one of the first to grab a copy, email CWS Malaysia at aimee@cwsmalaysia.com.