The Olympics has its gold, silver and bronze medals, the Oscars the golden statues, and MTV the golden popcorn. But a durian-shaped pewter award? That’s Malaysia’s Asian Youth Ambassadors’ Dream Malaysia Awards, writes DAVID YEOW

THE Dream Malaysia Awards is an annual project by the Asian Youth Ambassadors (AYA), a youth development non-governmental organisation that seeks to honour ordinary Malaysian youths who possess an extraordinary spirit by rewarding them with the title of "Most Outstanding Youth of the Year".

The fourth year into its running, the awards is the brainchild of AYA director Kenneth Chin, the son of late show business impresario Mike Bernie Chin.

"In a way, durians are a lot like our young unsung heroes," mused Chin over the rationale behind the durian-shaped award. Life gives them a thorny outer shell to struggle with. It may be hard to break it open but when they do, the fragrance is impossible to ignore.

"We need to reward people who the world doesn't see. It's easy to recognise the celebrities, but who honours youths who overcome great odds and achieve great feats through sheer determination and extraordinary character?"
However, just because it focuses on the spirit of young unsung heroes, the AYA Dream Malaysia Awards is in no way a consolation prize as previous recipients will tell you.

Last year's winner, Dr Kenny Lee, was awarded for his work as a medical doctor with the indigenous people of Long Lama, Sarawak. This he did by turning down opportunities to become a high-flying medical practitioner

The winner for 2006, Sia Ling Ling, is stricken with muscular dystrophy, an incurable disease that causes her legs to collapse if she stands for more than 10 minutes. The 28-year-old, whose fingers are also bent to a perpetual claw, was honoured for her will to keep fighting and her dedication towards helping other disabled people despite her condition.

And in 2005, Yvonne Foong was recognised for her fight against a rare genetic disorder called Neurofibromatosis Type 2, which caused tumours to grow randomly in her body -- including a brain tumour that affected her hearing and several along her spine that weakened her limbs.

Despite the trials and tribulations, the former ballet dancer, figure skater and soprano singer fought on and has to date written an autobiography, designed her own T-shirt to raise funds for her operations and become one of Malaysia's more prominent young bloggers.

The youths aren't the only ones the award seeks to honour.

The AYA Dream Malaysia Awards has a second category called "Youth-Friendly Company", which acknowledges corporate entities that have invested in the development of youths,"

Previous winners include Groove Syndicate which emphasises a "clean clubbing concept" at its club "Glow" in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, and IDP Education, which provides free study counselling and applications for tertiary programmes in Australia.

Last year's winner in this category was YouthMalaysia.com, an NGO striving to inspire and empower young people.

One of YouthMalaysia.com's contributions is the "Empowering Youth Entrepreneurs" project, which aims to help 100 potential young entrepreneurs turn their business ideas into reality.

The Dream Malaysia Awards started off as Chin's dream to tell the Malaysian story. Realising that there was something special about the Malaysian spirit, he set out in search of stories of ordinary young Malaysians who overcame great odds.

"I believe some of the most inspirational stories and lives can be found in Malaysia. The awards are merely a means to highlight these lives and tell the true Malaysian story.

"I merely want to inspire and transform the future of Malaysia through the stories of these young people.

"And I pray that theses stories will one day touch the people of other nations."

Nominations for the awards open today until Aug 31.