“Perhaps I can give it a try?” - the Journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

 “Perhaps I can give it a try?”

That was the first step triggered my entire experience volunteering as an MC. 

The year is 2012. Mufti Ismail Menk comes to Malaysia for the first time, in the event titled Mufti Menk Live in KL, MMKL2012.

A few days before the event. Logistics for the speaker, venue, ticketing, registrations, promotions. Ready. All good to go.

Only one problem. 

“Hey ermm… who's the Emcee?”

Silence. Followed by panic. We didn't have anyone. 

I considered: Perhaps I could give it a try?

Then, reality check: Whoa, why me? I’ve never done public speaking or debates back in school. I’m clearly not fit for the job.

But wait. We have time to prepare. Just come up with a script, memorize, read it well, and keep rehearsing. Leave a good impression for the organizers, that’s enough. Step up! 

I spoke up.

“Err.. perhaps I can try?”

A huge sound of relief can be heard in the meeting room, to fill up this much avoided task. 

Now, the task was simple enough: just introduce the speaker, introduce the event, welcome the audience, give a background of the organizers. 5 minutes, max. 

But for an introvert who isn’t a natural speaker, who wasn’t “born with the talent”, that was not easy! The prep time for those few minutes.. i spent more than 5 hours to prepare. Scripting, practicing, rehearsing, repeat. 

Fast forward, the next year in 2013: Mufti Menk comes back to KL. “Bro Faisal, can you become the MC again?”

One more time? For real? Hmm.. okay then. Perhaps, we can try to do even better. Improve a little bit more.

2014, repeat.

2015: The event gets upgraded to a full-blown convention: The Straight Path (TSP). Adding speakers such as Dr. Muhammad Salah, Sheih Saeed Rageah, Abdul Rahim Green. Wow, big event. 

“Bro Faisal - can you be our emcee?”

Gulp. No way. One talk, sure. But a convention? That’s totally different level!

Okay. Another opportunity to challenge ourselves. Let’s give it a try. 

Alhamdulillah, I get invited to the next TSP. And the next. And since then, I’ve become the emcee every year. Every event, an opportunity to improve, and opening more doors, as stepping stones to something greater in meeting new people, experiencing new events. 

Now, 12 years later, in 2024, I was invited to become emcee for the very first Perlis International Sunnah Convention (PISC), masha Allah.

The reason I’m writing this isn’t to tell you how “great” I am. Quite the opposite. I really just a normal guy who doesn’t have any “talent” in public speaking. Over the years, I slowly learn, slowly develop. But it all starts with the courage to take that first step.

The reason I’m writing this is a rally call for my friends out there to step up. Be the change you want to see. Seize the opportunities as they come, because they may never come again. Step out of your comfort zone, to try new things and tackle new challenges. Dare to fail, keep improving. 

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.