KOTA KINABALU: Melissa Wong has returned for a second term as a Toastmasters president, this time leading her home club, Toihaan Toastmasters Club.
Melissa, who has served the club for nine years, said it felt surreal to see friends she had not seen in two years gathered in one room.
Although we had been less active recently, but the ties remained, she said.
“Grow together, shine together,” she said in her incoming address at a hotel here.
She credited District 87 programme quality director Joanna Tang for persuading her to lead again.
“Toihaan would not be where it is today without her,” Melissa said.
She also thanked immediate past president Abdul Qaiyum for staying on to support the club and its executive committee.
Melissa said Toastmasters is not just about speeches and titles, but about watching members grow and seeing more Toastmasters emerge.
She thanked her husband for his support, saying she had to seek his permission to take the presidency knowing it would mean more time away from home.
Three weeks away from Brunei was enough for her grandmother to worry, she said.
Leadership takes sacrifice and needs family behind it, she said.
In his outgoing address, Abdul Qaiyum said the club’s success does not rest on one person but on the commitment of all members.
“This club is like a family,” he said. “Every effort mattered.”
He said achievements were earned through shared responsibility, not individual leadership, and expressed hope that friendships forged in Toastmasters would endure.
The 2026-2027 office bearers are: Melissa Wong (president), Yusra Afiqah (vice president- education and treasurer), Stella Matuya (vice president-membership), Abdul Qaiyum (public relations), Joanna Tang (secretary) and Frankie Chung (sergeant-at-arms). – Wu Vuide
Melissa (second, left), and the club’s incoming officers.
