Candidates: Loh Shih Chung

Loh Shih Chung

IW: April 2005

Expedition: Borneo 05G and Borneo 06A (Staff)

Currently: Marketing Researcher

Preferred role: President

Prior committee roles:

President 2007/08 & 2008/09

Logistics Officer 2005

Some may consider me a sojourner, a traveller.

I have spent 31-months of my life away from home. I did things I wouldn’t otherwise do, including going for two Raleigh expeditions and two working holidays.

Prior to this I lived like how most people expect to live. Graduate, earn money, buy first car, get married, have kids, etc. Nothing wrong with that, except that it isn’t very exciting.

What changed me?

I heard about Raleigh from a friend of a friend who was going on an expedition. It was interesting, but the opportunity only came when I had a career break. I attended IW, fundraised and went for the Borneo Expedition.

I went and came back a different person. Expedition changed my life.

Life became more about trying different things, travelling, making memories and having no regrets. I went on for another expedition, and the NZ working holiday.

When I returned in 2007, Raleigh KL was going through a rough patch. I decided to stay put in Malaysia to give back a bit of what I gained.

Times were so bad, we started with only four of us in the committee. Less than five people attended a monthly meet.

Then as a team we made crucial decisions and superhuman efforts. We focused on increasing membership, increasing skills and sending people for expedition. Our monthly activities spelled F.U.N! and attracted an average of 30 people each time. We filled up all 11 committee positions.

We observed trends and positioned ourselves to seize them.

We put ourselves on Facebook, long before it was popular in Malaysia. Today every person, company and lingerie is on FB.

We migrated email servers and shifted website platforms. As a result, now we spend less time figuring out technology and more time clicking the ‘Like’ button.

By 2009, we became the most active and the youngest Raleigh support group in Asia. Our average age in the committee was just 21 years old. My greatest contribution was to be the official mascot.

I left for Australia with my crocs in 2009 and returned just three months ago, without the crocs.

Today Raleigh KL faces some similar challenges as we did before. Monthly meet numbers are suspect, committee positions are left vacant. These are tell-tale signs of the future if left unchecked.

Yet the recent Raleigh Walk and IWs showed that there are many people who love Raleigh. There are many talented, passionate and available people who want to see Raleigh grow. And the current committee has worked doublly hard to keep Raleigh flying.

So unlike before, we are not at a point of crisis, but at a point of opportunity.

What we need is the leadership to unlock our potential, to take Raleigh KL on the right direction, that big step forward.

We are about youth development. We are about expedition. We are about having F.U.N!

I want to be part of this exciting change! This exciting team of leaders!

It is time to combine all our powers to take Raleigh KL to the next level.

Shih Chung

Official Mascot 2007/08-2008/09