4th MRPMMAL Family Reunion_13.12.08

We attended the fourth family gathering of the Muthu Ramalingam Pillay and Marimuthu Ammal Lineage on Saturday 13th December 2008 at the Arulmigu Sri Subramaniar Temple Hall Gunong Cheroh, Ipoh. Chitra, my wife, is the fifth generation of the family. I helped produce the next 6th generation i.e. Ramaraj and Krishnapriya, our children. The first gathering which was also held in Ipoh in year 2000 gained entry into the Malaysian Book of Records as the largest family gathering. The second and third gatherings were held in Taiping in 2002 and in Kuala Lumpur in 2005 respectively.

For the record, Muthu-Ramalingam Pillay and his wife Marimuthu Ammal first arrived in Malaya from Karaikal (Pondicherry), India in the late 19th century. Marimuthu Ammal, who settled in Taiping, went on to establish herself as an enterprising rail and road contractor who amassed a fortune.
Marimuthu Ammal

The 4th family gathering started with registration and breakfast from 7.30 a.m. to 9.00 a.m.
Arriving at Temple Hall

Everyone went over to the temple for prayers at 9.00 a.m.
Organising Chairman Mr. K.Krishnamoorthy and wife being blessed.

Chitra, Rama and Nithia Ruby praying

Walking back from the temple

Rama and his cousins at the Hall

The function commenced in the Hall with a group of girls singing the bhajans songs. Our distinguished family members YBhg. Dato’ S. Veerasingam and Datin Usha were the guests of honour officiating the opening ceremony.
Singing of Bhajan songs

YBhg Datin Usha lighting the oil lamp

After the usual speeches by the distinguished speakers, the presentation of souvenirs to donors for the function was carried out. The presentation was followed by a forum for discussion of family gathering related issues. It was also decided that the next family gathering would be held in Penang in year 2010. There was also a separate games sessions for the children. A delicious vegetarian lunch, catered by Vav Catering Sdn. Bhd. was served.

Opening speech by YBhg. Dato' S. Veerasingam

Raj & Chitra receiving souvenir from YBhg Datuk Seri N. S. Selvamany

The gathering cultimated with a Family Banquet and Entertainment at the Royal Ipoh Club, Ipoh started at 7.30 p.m. The food was delicious Malysianised 8-course dinner which included four seasons dish, mutton and bread, satay, sambal fish, vegetables, chicken curry and spicy rice etc. catered by Vav Catering Sdn. Bhd. who had served all the meals for the day. Entertainment included Karnatic songs, dances and impersonation of M.G.R.
Rama & Priya with cousins

Raj & brothers-in-law

Chitra & Family

Karnatic Singers

Peacock Dancers

”M.G.R.” & YBhg Datuk Seri N. S. Selvamany, our oldest family member

Family Photo

”Bandham” Logo and theme for 4th Gathering

The party ended at midnight. Everyone went back happy meeting up with the relatives and with renewed interest to keep in touch until the next gathering in Penang in 2010.

For more information and photos, refer to family website:

http://bandham.weebly.com/index.html

Tokai World Youth Scrabble Championship 2008_09.12.08

Ramaraj along with another eleven youths represented Malaysia in the Tokai 3rd World Youth Scrabble Championship which was held in City Bayview Hotel, Penang from 9th to 11th December 2008. There were 58 participants from eleven countries taking part in this tournament.

WYSC Participants

Raj & Rama

Nine games each were scheduled to be played in the first two days while another four games in the third day totaling to twenty two games. In the third day, a final playoff between the top two finishers would decide the WYSC Champion.

Rama and Andrew wearing SJCYFL sponsored T- shirt

Mrs. Karen Richards, Organising Chairman and Prof Wilma Vialle, Tournament Director.

2008 WYSC Participants

Rama Vs Phillip Hamilton

Rama Vs Kum Zi Peng

Parents waiting patiently

Rama Vs Scott Chung

While Rama was busy playing scrabble, Chitra and Priya were part of the team of annotators recording the games played by the top players to be uploaded in the website. I was busy taking the photos as the official photographer for the tournament.

Priya & Chitra annotating games between Khoo Beng Way and Samitha Amarasinghe

After the first day of tournament we were invited to the Official Reception Dinner at the same hotel, sponsored by the Island College of Technology, Penang. We were treated with a sumptuous eight course dinner.

Andrew, Rama, Raj & Priya.

Priya, Grandmom, Anita & Chitra

Chung & Khoo Family

WYSC Malaysian Players

When the dust settled after three hectic days of intense scrabble competition, Charnrit Khongthanarat from Thailand emerged WYSC Champion defeating Khoo Beng Way from Malaysia by 3 games to 1 in the final playoff.

Ramaraj achieved 4th position which was an tremendous improvement from his twenty- sixth finish in last year’s tournament. He won a trophy and prize money of RM 1,000. Rama also managed to win a trophy for the Highest Game award with a score of 655.

Scorecard for Ramaraj Sundraraj (Malaysia)
In round1 beat Kum Zi Peng 413:398. Position 24th with 1 +15
In round 2 beat Phillip Hamilton 478:352. Position 12th with 2 +141
In round 3 beat Albert Martono 655:189. Position 2nd with 3 +607
In round 4 beat Lahiru Elvitigala 420:298. Position 1st with 4 +729
In round 5 lost to Akaradech 372:444. Position 4th with 4 +657
In round 6 lost to Scott Chung 362:376. Position 9th with 4 +643
In round 7 beat Louie De Guzman 543:437. Position 5th with 5 +749
In round 8 lost to Ong Suanne 362:404. Position 11th with 5 +707
In round 9 lost to Alvin Lau 376:560. Position 17th with 5 +523
In round 10 beat Samitha 448:351. Position 11th with 6 +620
In round 11 beat Sean Chung 518:309. Position 8th with 7 +829
In round 12 lost to Alastair Richards 377:409. Position 14th with 7 +797
In round 13 beat Wong Zhi Yuan 517:252. Position 9th with 8 +1062
In round 14 lost to Samitha 346:494. Position 15th with 8 +914
In round 15 beat Mohsin Ahmed 420:327. Position 13th with 9 +1007
In round 16 lost to Alastair Richards 363:380. Position 16th with 9 +990
In round 17 lost to Akaradech 421:441. Position 20th with 9 +970
In round 18 beat Sunai Nitungkorn 417:385. Position 16th with 10 +1002
In round 19 beat Chang Ching Wei 546:277. Position 11th with 11 +1271
In round 20 beat William Kang 325:285. Position 7th with 12 +1311
In round 21 beat Ong Suanne 413:311. Position 4th with 13 +1413
In round 22 beat Scott Chung 460:436. Position 4th with 14 +1437

We are proud that four Malaysian players finished in the top five positions for this world scrabble tournament.

Rama receiving award from Major Cheah

Rama's Awards

Top 3 Winners

Team Malaysia

The list of results for the top 10 winners as follows:

Final Playoff

- Khoo Beng Way (Mal) 19 1882
- Charnrit Khongthanarat (Thai) 17 501
(Champion Charnrit winning by 3 games to 1)


Rank Player Wins Margin
3. Scott Chung (Mal) 15 683
4. Ramaraj Sundraraj (Mal) 14 1437
5. Ong Suanne (Mal) 14 1178
6. Mohsin Ahmed (Ind) 14 665
7. Wanchana Jirapitikul (Thai) 14 177
8. Samitha Amarasinghe (SriLanka) 13 786
9. Alastair Richards (Aus) 13 660
10. Akaradech Suppapittatorn (Thai) 13 602
High Game: Ramaraj 655
High Word: Wong Zhi Yuan 257 "ZANJEROS"

The organisation of the Tournament led by Mrs. Karen Richards, Prof Wilma (Tournament Director), Barry Harridge and Karl Chin Hon Yew (IT) together with a band of volunteers, was spot on and everyone involved especially the players and parents had a memorable experience.

For more info, results, games and photos etc, please refer to Tokai 2008 WYSC website : http://www.youthscrabble.org/wysc2008/

Malacca Open Scrabble Challenge 2008_22.11.08

Last weekend it was scrabble rubble at Malacca. We all went to take part in the Malacca Open Scrabble Challenge 2008 held at Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall. It was a two days event on 22nd and 23rd November 2008 organised by two dynamic youngsters Martin Teo and Gan Yi En.

We put up in my brother's place on Friday in Seremban and travelled to Malacca on both days. My younger brother Dr. Mohan and family also came to stay in Seremban due to his son's Haren participation in the tournament. We also managed to persuade my brother to take part in the Beginner's category. Therefore we had Ramaraj in the Masters, Haren and myself in the Intermediates, and Krishnapriya and Dr. Mohan in the Beginners taking part.

Players scrabbling away

There were 16 participants for the Masters Category. After 15 rounds, Khoo Beng Way and Ramaraj managed to finish in the top two positions respectively. It was a good warm up session for the youth players before the World Youth Scrabble Competition to be held in Penang in two weeks time. Five youth players managed to reach the top ten positions.

Rama Vs Khoo Beng Way
Masters Division Champion
Masters First Runners-Up, Ramaraj
Masters Second Runners-Up, Jocelyn Lor

In the Intermediate Division, there were only eight of us participating, playing 15 rounds. We had to play against each other a number of times. Haren and me managed to achieve sixth and seventh position respectively. I achieved my modest goal of ending up second last and having a lot of fun playing scrabble and making new friends who were half my age. It was an achievement as I ended up last in my previous tournament that I took part!

Haren Vs Choudry Sundram
Raj Vs Choudry

There were fourteen players in the Beginners Division playing six rounds on Saturday. The showdown between Priya and Mohan resulted in Priya winning the third spot while my brother settled for fourth spot.

Priya Vs Mohanraj
Beginners Third place winner, Krishnapriya

Beginners fourth place winner, Mohanraj

Full results as below:

Results after game 15

NOVEMBER 22, 2008 -- MASTERS

Rank Player Wins Mar

---------------------------------

1 Khoo Beng Way 13 654

2 Ramaraj Sundraraj 10 334

3 Jocelyn Lor 9 355

4 Kong Chock Heng 9 224

5 Chang Ching Wei 9 -104

6 Yeo Kien Hung 8 453

7 William Kang 8 43

8 Sreepathy Iyer 8 -169

9 Alvin Lau 7 229

10 Alex Tan 7 36

11 Seshi Ramanathan 7 -2

12 Tan Jin Chor 6 486

13 Martin Teo 6 118

14 Cedric Stewart Lewis 5 -758

15 Paulette Yeoh 4 -720

16 Yeap Gim Sai 4 -1179

HIGH GAME: Alvin Lau 601

Results after game15

NOVEMBER 22, 2008 -- INTERMEDIATE

Rank Player Wins Mar

---------------------------------

1 Leroy Ong 10 1022

2 Teo Wee Seong 10 721

3 Kang Eng Lee 10 680

4 Donovan Tay Kim Kwi 7 62

5 Lee Kin Mun 7 -185

6 Harendraraj Mohanraj 7 -638

7 K Sundraraj 6 -548

8 Choudry Sundram 3 -1114

HIGH GAME: Leroy Ong 535

Results after game 6

NOVEMBER 22, 2008 -- BEGINNERS

SATURDAY

Rank Player Wins Mar

---------------------------------

1 Andrew Lau 6 560

2 Gan Cheng Neng 5 294

3 Krishnapriya Sundraraj 4 283

4 Mohanraj Krishnasamy 3 188

5 Liw Xin Pin 3 158

6 Goh Han Liang 3 -6

7 Tan Wee Kem 3 -55

8 Evanna Mohamad Ramly 3 -69

9 Wan Madihah Abdul 3 -73

10 Lee Ming Yuen 3 -211

11 Leon Goh Lee Onn 2 -231

12 Wilson Kang 2 -255

13 Sarojini 2 -283

14 Zz Bye 0 -300

HIGH GAME: Andrew Lau 463

For more information refer to Martin's website at http://mosc2008.blogspot.com/

Subang Scrabble Challenge 2008_09.11.08

The day finally arrived when our very own inaugral Subang Scrabble Challenge was held last Sunday at Subang Parade. A total of 60 players took part in the three divisions i.e Masters, Intermediates and Beginners. We also had a Scrabble Fun Corner where Priya was busy teaching and playing with under 12 children club members.

Registration commenced at 8.30 a.m. by Chitra and Ida. After a slight glitch of the late switching on of the lights, the games started at 9.30 a.m.

Chitra & Ida at registration desk

Subang Scrabble Challenge 2008
Raj & Martin Teo, Tournament Director

20 players took part in the Masters Division, playing 8 rounds of games. There were a mixture of veterans and youngsters taking part. After 6 rounds, Jocelyn Lor, Pui Cheng Wui and Scott Chung were the front runners leading with 5 points and finished in their respective top three positions after 8 rounds.
Masters Division players

Rama Vs Khoo Beng Way

Tengku Asri Vs Sreepathy Iyer
Rama Vs Scott Chung

We had 24 players in the Intermediate division playing 8 rounds. After 8 rounds, Yew Weng Kean and Cheah Kim Tarh finished with 7 points each with Yew finishing with a better spread points.
Intermediates Division players
Zurina Rose Vs Eroll Netto
Vijayaraj Vs Krishna Iyer

Almost half of the 16 players who took part in the Beginners Division are members of our Subang Jaya Community Sports Club. New Scrabble talents, Lim Poh Seng and Manohar, who finished in the top two position after 7 rounds, were discovered. The youngest player who took part in this division was Wilson Kang, aged 9 years old.

Beginners Division players
Farouk Vs Yong Karl Wei
Krishnaveni Vs Nithia Ruby

At the Fun Scrabble Corner, some of the club members such as William, aged 11 years, and Ann, aged 8 years, came to play with Priya.

Fun Scrabble Corner

The matches were completed at 6 p.m. and the prize giving ceremony commenced. The top five winners in the Masters division were given cash prizes with the Champion receiving RM 400. Trophies were given for the top three winners for all the Divisions.

There were 7 prizes given for the top finishes in the Intermediates while 6 prizes were given for the Beginners. Special prizes for the youngest player and the best SJCSC member finishing outside the top six position, were given. Consolation prizes for highest game/words were also given for all the Divisions.
Tournament prizes

All the participants also received a special cerificate of attendance thanks to Farouk's effort and artwork.

Certificate of attendance

Our Subang Jaya Community Sports Club (SJCSC) Chairman, Dr. Amin, gave away the prizes. He also presented T-shirts to the 12 players representing Malaysia in the World Youth Scrabble Competition (WYSC) which would be held in Penang this December. We are proud to have six out of the twelve players, representing the country, from Subang Jaya.

Dr. Amin with the youngest participant, Wilson Kang

MASTER DIVISION

Masters Division Champion Joselyn Lor

Runners Up Pui Cheng Wei
2nd Runners Up Scott Chung

INTERMEDIATES DIVISION

Intermediates Division Champion Yew Weng Kean
1st Runners Up Cheah Kim Tarh
2nd Runners Up Kang Eng Lee

BEGINNERS DIVISION

Beginners Division Champion Lim Poh Seng
1st Runners Up Manohar
2nd Runners Up Vishnuraj

A big thank you for the support from all the participants for our inaugral tournament. Thank you also to our Tournament Director, Martin Teo and Coordinator, Leon.

The Tournament was a success thanks to the efforts and hard work of the committee comprising of Farouk, Chitra, Ida, Mark and Priya.

Also a special thank you for Hektar Premier Sdn Bhd for sponsoring the ideal space at Subang Parade and our Subang Jaya ADUN YB Hannah Yeoh for her generous contribution for the tournament.

The final results as below:

MASTERS
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Jocelyn Lor 7 689
2 Pui Cheng Wui 7 663
3 Scott Chung 7 462
4 Gan Yi En 5 119
5 Khoo Beng Way 5 -170
6 Chang Ching Wei 4 213
7 Sreepathy Iyer 4 149
8 Tan Jin Chor 4 76
9 Chim Wai Main 4 64
10 Mohd Ali Ismail 4 -1
11 Ramaraj Sundraraj 4 -76
12 Tengku Asri 4 -325
13 Sean Chung 3 62
14 Seshi Ramanathan 3 -142
15 Alex Tan 3 -237
16 Lee Pao Hsien 3 -239
17 Wendy Lee Suk Ling 3 -422
18 William Kang 2 -44
19 Chung Chee Hoi 2 -244
20 Suleiman Otieno 2 -597
HIGH GAME: Sreepathy Iyer 548
HIGH WORD: Pui Cheng Wui 125
"SEQUENCY"

INTERMEDIATE
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Yew Weng Kean 7 787
2 Cheah Kim Tarh 7 475
3 Kang Eng Lee 6 -107
4 Eroll Netto 5.5 226
5 Aviel Lee Iuen Bing 5 303
6 Vijayaraj Mahendrarj 5 255
7 Krishna Iyer 5 51
8 Edwin Kan Sing Jern 4.5 33
9 Bryan Lai Tong Yin 4 388
10 Laura Lau Szu Ann 4 294
11 Looi Yih Feng 4 245
12 Kelly Chung 4 108
13 Robert Chung 4 9
14 Vinnith Ramamurti 4 -80
15 Marissa Law Jun Yi 4 -179
16 Zurina Rose 3 356
17 Chang Ching Yet 3 -100
18 Dain Razali 3 -186
19 Chan Wei Chien 3 -260
20 Charis Koo Yen Ee 3 -656
21 Reynold Lim Dao Wen 2.5 -250
22 Loi Joon Keit 2.5 -458
23 Arvinran Rajendran 2 -544
24 Shawn Hoong Bor Jou 1 -710
HIGH GAME: Zurina Rose 556
HIGH WORD: Zurina Rose 111
"QUIETER"

BEGINNERS
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Lim Poh Seng 6 413
2 Manohar 6 267
3 Vishnuraj Jayaraj 5 201
4 Sundara Lakshimi 4.5 234
5 Wilson Kang WeiChern 4 87
6 Farouk Hashim 4 -73
7 Yong Karl Wei 4 -129
8 Rajendran Sinappan 4 -137
9 Melati Abdul Hai 3.5 44
10 Looi Yih Foo 3 147
11 Krishnaveni Jayaraj 3 -110
12 Nithia Ruby 3 -172
13 Naik Hsian Zhen 2 -7
14 Sujata Poobalasingam 2 -40
15 Divya Ramesh 2 -361
16 Mohd Ashraff Nuramin 0 -364
HIGH GAME: Vishnuraj Jayaraj 435

Thank you all for the memories.

For more photos, refer to website:

http://rajscrabble.fotopic.net/

For more information refer to following websites:

MSA website http://www.penster.com.my/

SJCSC website http://sjcyfl.wetpaint.com/