Skål International Kuala Lumpur is no stranger to deep involvement in charitable activities and related pursuits of giving to those in dire need.  

And so to once again, the Club lives up to its motto of “giving is better than receiving”,  participating Skål Kuala Lumpur hoteliers of designated hotels joined forces in the charity drive, organised by Skål Kuala Lumpur’s Executive Committee and members, to offer donations of the respective Property’s bed linen, pillows, cushions, towels, bedding mattresses, laundry baskets, carpets, and other miscellaneous hotel commodities and amenities to the Malaysian Red Crescent Society, the equivalent charity and rescue organisation as with the Red Cross, to be sent to local victims of floods and other natural disasters, and also to be distributed amongst the refugees population within and without of Malaysia.

Skål International Kuala Lumpur member volunteers proceeded with a logistics team of eight workers to collect the hefty amount of king-sized mattresses, carpets, boxes and boxes of packed linens, pillow cases, amenities, and as many donations of hotel ware enough to fill a 25-tonne truck and van, to be delivered to the Malaysian Red Crescent Society’s expansive warehouses. 

Skålleague and Executive Committee member Bernard Sebastian, a professional hotelier renowned as the General Manager of the Park Royal Serviced Suites, and other fellow hoteliers from the Face Suites and the Royal Signature Hotel Bukit Bintang jumped in without any ado whatsoever, to willingly contribute the hotel’s surplus commodities towards the charity drive.  

Generally, as hotels refurbish and replenish their in-house stocks of bedding, linen, and other supplies, these items are replaced every few years.  The residual supplies, having been laundered and professionally maintained by the hotel’s housekeeping department and therefore in very good condition throughout their lifespan with the hotel, are then discarded in very good condition.  The list of various items available is exhaustive.  Accordingly, it is a win-win situation for all parties concerned: Skål International Kuala Lumpur collects the discarded items from hotels, thereby sparing them the cost of disposal through private individuals or recycling companies.  And ultimately, victims of natural disasters, catastrophes and war-ravaged refugees are provided with and are on the receiving end of generous relief and some comfort. Everyone’s happy.

Ironically, where ordinary people need to pay hotel rates to avail themselves of the enjoyment of 5-star bedding, linens, and hotel amenities, these hapless recipients of Skål Kuala Lumpur’s charity drive can receive the same luxury, ease and well-deserved comfort items, for free!  

A small but worthy advantage, indeed, to aid and benefit the distressed, hampered and encumbered under dire circumstances. 

Galloping into the Lunar Year of the Fire Horse !!     

Skål International Kuala Lumpur aptly kicked off the start of the Lunar New Year with an Skål Event featuring the renowned Feng Shui Master, Sifu Ooi Wai Loon, who presented his exclusive Feng Shui Lecture to the overbooked audience of Skål Members and guests, at the Dorsett Hartamas Hotel on the 27th of January, 2026, well in advance of the actual start date of the Lunar New year on February 17th, so as to get everyone well prepared to do the needful, before the Fire Horse bolts through the doors, with all its magnificence and might!

The Dinner Event was preceded by the Club’s AGM, where the Officer Bearers for 2026 were elected and appointed.  With the requisite quorum reached and observers present, re-elected President Mahendran Daniel reported to the Attendees of all the year’s forthcoming events and activities, amongst other formalities.   The official administrative duties done and dusted, this heralded the arrival of the multitude of members and guests to this well-sought-after Dinner Event featuring Master Ooi.

In the Skål spirit of sharing with the global Skål Fraternity, Skål Kuala Lumpur is happy to share a few pointers gleaned from Master Ooi’s Lecture.  

Master Ooi commenced his lecture to the attentive crowd with these opening words, “The World Is Changing very fast.  Big Will Not Beat Small Anymore.  It Will Be the Fast Beating the Slow!”  Indeed, food for thought - as the normal business mindset is that the Big crushes the Small.  But for the Fire Horse Year, Master Ooi counselled, it will be the quick who will prevail and overtake the slow, irrespective of size anyway.

The dreaded and disastrous Five Yellow Killing sector for 2026 is in the South West, affecting homes and offices.  We are well advised to stay clear of this location, not direction, as anything active or activated in this location will bring catastrophe to the home or the business owners and their families.  People whose bedrooms are in this location are well advised to move to another bedroom for the entire year.

The West location is also said to bring disputes, legal battles, divorce, and general disharmony; as such, Master Ooi counselled against any activity in this Location of the home or the office.

The fortuitous locations for this fiery Horse Year are the East for generating money and the Southeast for rapid business development.

Master Ooi, himself a Skål Member of the Kuala Lumpur Club, has been one of the most renowned Feng Shui Afficionados this side of the Pacific and has been accredited for his uncanny abilities and 99% accuracy in counselling over 5000 corporations with a turnover of over USD 30 billion, and individuals who seek his counsel on a global basis.  He is one of the few Feng Shui consultants certified in Classical Feng Shui and is well-versed in this ancient science. 

As such, it is extremely difficult to catch Master Ooi to conduct a Lecture in his home country, let alone overseas.  Having said that, Master Ooi has presented his Feng Shui lectures to Skål Kuala Lumpur every year since he joined the Club and has also been invited to, and offered his expertise to Skål Hong Kong, Skål Vienna, and in the Czech Republic.   

The Dinner Event kicked off with the ubiquitous “Yee Sang” dish, traditionally served on dinner tables across Singapore and Malaysia to mark the onset of the Lunar New Year.  The dish, consisting of ingredients of an array of finely slivered raw vegetables, sauces, nuts and a flourish of salmon belly, serves as the foundation of ingredients to be hurled high in the air with the table participants using their chopsticks to toss the ingredients whilst uttering auspicious words of prosperity, good health and long life – not unlike our homegrown Skål toast.

An eight-course dinner of superior Chinese traditional fare followed, complemented by copious amounts of wines and liquor, which were brought in by the Members themselves, who were allowed to do so sans corkage, by the good grace and generosity of the host hotel, the Dorsett Hartamas Hotel, in the spirit of the forthcoming Lunar New Year celebration.

Amidst the camaraderie and vibrant atmosphere of the Event, the final attraction was an Auction of fine jade jewellery donated by Sk. Rowena Hawkins, the proceeds of which are designated for the Florimond Volckaert Fund, cojoined with the Funds raised during the previous Christmas Dinner Auction in December 2025.  This, together with the Club Fees for 2026, will be remitted to Skål International on or before February 28th; if not, already remitted by the Club’s Treasurer.

The evening ended with much conviviality, joviality and sentiments of enlightenment from Master Ooi’s Lecture, with several satisfied bidders who won the exquisite jewellery auctioned at prices well below their market retail value!

“Kong Hee Fatt Choy!” to all Skålleagues everywhere!  Ride fast in the New Year and pip the slow to the winning post!