M’sian finalist Gu clinches third place in reality TV series

Giving his all: Gu delivering his speech during the grand final of ‘I am Speaker’ in China.

BEIJING: Malaysian Victor Gu has clinched the third place in I am Speaker, a reality TV series in China.

The 37-year-old ex-newscaster beat some 50 other contestants to reach the grand final of the show, which was aired last night on Beijing TV, after close to three months of intense battle.

During his presentation in the final pitting against two other Chinese finalists, Gu, clad in a white shirt and a black tie, elaborated on the power of words and how he wished the messages he had conveyed on the stage of I am Speaker would touch the hearts of the audience.

He cited some examples of bad habits that people could change such as the messing up of urinals in toilets and other long-standing problems on food safety.

He said it was impossible to fully change the audience’s thinking through a five-minute speech but it would be a success if he could influence a handful of people.

“If there is a change from a handful of people, we will have no regrets about the efforts that we have put in these two months at this platform where we demonstrate the power of words,” he said.

His speech moved one of the four judges and his coach on the show, Chen Luyu, to tears.

While Chen, Hong Kong actor Dicky Cheung and actress Carina Lau approved Gu’s performance, TV host Le Jia commented that the structure of his presentation was rather loose.

The other two finalists were Tsinghua University student Liang Zhi and Chen Qiushi.

Liang was crowned the champion in the final while Qiushi came second.

Gu said he was not disappointed with the results.

“Honestly, winning the show is not my main goal,” he said when contacted.

He said that introducing the Malaysian Chinese community to the audience in China was his main motive of participating in the programme.

I am Speaker puts the participants’ oratory skills to the test, requiring them to win over the judges with their presentation on the topics chosen.

In his past appearances, Gu spoke passionately about Chinese education in Malaysia, justice and the death penalty.

Gu, a former marketing director with Star Media Group’s 988 radio station, is now the deputy general manager of Zhuhai International Circuit in Guangdong province.