Kang Fong Luan
Candidate for Club Growth Director District 102
Toastmasters member since: 1996
Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) from Universiti Utara Malaysia, 1995
Diploma of Investment Analysis from Research Institute of Investment Malaysia (RIIAM) in collaboration with Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), 1998
Master of Education (Educational Psychology) from Universiti Putra Malaysia, 2015
Master of Education Guidance and Counseling, 2021 and ongoing
Toastmasters offices held and terms of service:
• President, My Puchong Toastmasters Club, 2017-2018
• Area E1 Director, 2018-2019
• Club Sponsor Meranti Permai English Toastmasters Club, 2018
• Division E Director, 2019-2020
• Club Mentor S&P Industries Toastmasters Club, 2019
• Club Sponsor Nielsen and Friends Toastmasters Club, 2019
• Workshop Assistant Chair TLI D102, 2020-2021
• Club Sponsor, Wah Seong Community Toastmasters Club, 2020
• Club Retention Chair (English), Club Growth Team D102, 2021-2022
• Club Coach, Damansara Toastmasters Club, 2021
Toastmasters honors and recognition:
• President’s Distinguished Club, 2017-2018 (My Puchong Toastmasters Club)
• President’s Distinguished Area, 2018-2019 (Area E1 Director)
• District 102 Area Director Of The Year, 2018-2019
• President’s Distinguished Division, 2019-2020 (Division E Director)
• Distinguished Toastmaster, DTM, 2020
• President’s Distinguished Club, 2020-2021 (Damansara Toastmasters Club)
Relevant work experience and how it relates to Toastmasters and your role as a District leader:
My work experience as a banker and business development manager had taught me to be aggressive and yet conservative. I saw them as a balanced guide in helping me to move forward. Additionally, working away from a corporate office, and taking on additional role as a homemaker, I was trained to juggle different responsibilities and seeing things from different perspectives. I learn to be empathetic.
What experience do you have in strategic planning?
Whatever name you called it, strategic planning was embedded in most of the things we do in our life. Having a clear goal and direction, allocating limited resources appropriately, making hard decisions, seeing things executed accordingly, handling unexpected disruptions, etc. are a constant thing to deal with in life. Change is constant and I am still learning!
What experience do you have in the area of finance?
As a former banker, I was trained to assess risks and to take calculated risks. Overall, I could be rather conservative in my approach and I believe this is good when come to money and budgeting.
What experience do you have in developing procedures?
I had worked in an established bank with proper documentation and procedures. Likewise, Toastmasters International had also its own rules and guidelines. Having access to all these let me have a better understanding of procedures and its importance. I don’t necessarily develop procedures though, I look more at adapting the procedures to the local culture and context, if need to.
What lessons did you learn from previous leadership positions?
Despite some similarity and generalization, each and every context is unique. I remind myself to be open-minded and humble as there are many more I could learn from others.
In your opinion, what are the District mission’s major objectives and how would you work to achieve them?
Giving the opportunity to people to learn and grow at an affordable cost is an amazing aspiration of Toastmasters. And everyone can work on it as long as one is willing to put in the time and effort. We could also tap on the resources of others and work collectively in achieving our goals. No one could do everything but everyone could do something. Teamwork!