SOFT LAUNCH OF ENGAGE - MESSAGE FROM THOMAS FANN, (CHAIRMAN) Dear friends and fellow Malaysians, It gives me great pleasure and pride to announce to you the birth of a new Non- Governmental Organization (NGO) that is committed to nation-building through positive, proactive and purposeful engagement. We have chosen to soft-launch ENGAGE on Malaysia Day because it was on this day 50 years ago that Malaysia was birthed when Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore came together to form a new nation. Since then, as a nation we have come a long way in terms of economic development. But in many other areas, we are still a young nation. Democracy, human rights, social justice, education, personal security, governance, healthcare and environment are some of the areas that still need much attention. Our vision is to nurture a community of informed, engaged citizens and make their shared concerns and interests part of the national agenda. We aim to achieve our vision through... 1. CITIZEN EDUCATION - Information Dispersal/Issues Advocacy - forums, talks, information distribution, Citizenship Empowerment Course, etc. 2. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION - Election participation/ Training - Pacabas, Pemantaus, delimitation exercise, protests, candle light vigil, signature campaigns, daily activism, etc. 3. CITIZEN DIALOGUE - Sessions between citizens, citizens and politicians, citizens and experts, Social media, etc. 4. CITIZEN SUPPORT – Citizens helping citizens - Facilitating socio-economic support for the needy by channelling resources from the more able citizens, private sector and government. We seek to work with individuals and organizations who believe that together, we can make a difference for our city, our state and our nation. We have several programmes and projects planned over the next few months and we invite you to participate in them. Click "Like" on this Facebook page and you will be kept informed. Also, please share this page with your friends. Some upcoming events in Johor Bahru are... 28th Sept - Forum on TPPA 25th Oct (To be confirmed) - Official launch of ENGAGE and fundraising dinner 7th-8th Dec - Freedom Festival We have also setup these task forces, many of which are joint-efforts with different NGOs. 1. Bury Lynas Signature campaign. 2. Delimitation Exercise. 3. Citizenship Empowerment Course. 4. IPCMC (Independent Police Complaints & Misconduct Commission). 5. TPPA (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement). 5. Marginalized Groups. 6. Young Voters. 7. Crime Prevention. Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” We believe that there are enough good men (and women) in Malaysia who would want to do something for our nation. If you want to be involved in our conversations on our Facebook closed group - Engage Digital Sentral, please send us a message and we will add you. May we live in unity and prosperity, building bridges of unity instead of erecting walls of division, sharing our prosperity with those in need instead of hoarding wealth for ourselves, and letting the voices of every citizens be heard instead of silencing those whose views we disagree. Happy 50th Malaysia Day! Thomas Fann
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 16:04:34 +0000