PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Monday, the 14th of September was indeed a busy day for the Governor and the officers of our Club. The Governor arrived at the Sri Thai Restaurant to meet with the officers of the RCPJ, the Interactors, the Rotaractors and then proceeded for the 2nd Club Assembly at the residence of PP Goh Seng Chuan and Ann Nancy. The meeting with the President of the Club, the Secretary and the Vice-President was a useful one. AG Farouk Nurish was also present. The DG went through the Planning Guide and a checklist of items related to club matters. The membership increase for our Club was the highlight. The DG was informed that the current membership stands at 43 with 2 lady members. Five years ago, it was 58. On Tuesday, the 15th of September at our luncheon meeting, the DG will welcome back two Past Presidents: PP Battchoo Ratilal and PP Harjit Singh. The membership will then be 45. We are going to hit ’50 before 50’, as the DG remarked. Thanks to our vibrant membership committee, especially to Dr Tarcisius, Rtn KO and Rtn Rianne. The DG also discussed a variety of matters that included PolioPlus and our financial commitment, our Service Projects. The President briefed the DG on the new projects, especially the Water & Sanitation Project in Sungkai. This project is in line with RI President Johnny Kenny’s aspiration of clean water as a human right. The DG also wanted to know the RI and District dues. Our Secretary, Rtn Margaret Soo, briefed him on these matters. The meeting was indeed long, more than one hour. But it was a useful discussion.

The DG then met up with our Interactors from the six Interact Clubs with the Director of New Generations, IPP Dato’ Kevin Yong and Rtn Pua Boon Yee. He was impressed with the Presidents and the Board of Directors of the Interact Clubs. He asked them several questions about their clubs and every President was requested to present to the DG the progress of his or her club. The DG then presented awards to the Interact Clubs. Catholic High School and Assunta jointly won the best Interact Clubs. Sri Aman produced the best Quarterly Report. La Salle was the most improved club. The meeting with the Rotaractors followed. The DG was interested in the type of membership of the Rotaract Club of Petaling Jaya.

The 2nd Assembly was scheduled after the afternoon meetings at the residence of PP Goh Seng Chuan and Ann Nancy. The Directors of the Committees under the CLP presented their reports. Thank you, Directors. Our DG asked some questions after each individual presentation and the Directors responded appropriately. The attendance at the 2nd Assembly was encouraging. More than 20 Rotarians were present. They adorned the orange Club T-shirt. The DG, also wore the same t-shirt, was really impressed with our Club’s solidarity. Thank you, Rotarians and Anns for responding to my SMS request.

The Fellowship Dinner was the highlight of the evening. More than 40 Rotarians, Anns and guests turned up for the evening of great fellowship. The First Lady, Ziela and AG Farouk Nurish graced the function as well. The dinner was a generous spread of hawker food. I must thank PP Goh Seng Chuan and Ann Nancy for hosting and organizing the fellowship dinner at their lovely home. They have always opened their home to our Club’s major functions. The President and his Ann Irene presented gifts to the First Lady, Ziela and the DG and to PP Goh Seng Chuan and Ann Nancy towards the end of the evening. It was indeed a great fellowship!

The next day, the DG addressed the Club. I will not comment on his address but I will say that the final note is that every thing is more than fine. Our Editor, PDG Dato’ Dr Low Teong has given a clear picture and his comments in his Editorial in this week’s bulletin. And the DG’s official address is also accompanied. Allow me to thank very graciously our Secretary, VP, Directors, Rotarians and Anns for assisting and supporting our Club and bringing great honour on the occasion of the DG’s visit.

Ann Irene and I would like to wish all Muslim members and their families ‘SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI.’ And to all other Rotarians and their families ‘happy holiday.’

District Governor Leslie Salehuddin and Ziela visited our club on 14th and 15th September 2009 as part of his Official Visit to our club. He was accompanied by the Assistant Governor PP Farouk Nurish. This issue of the PeeJay Pos is increased to 10 pages to include the Governor’s address to the club on Tuesday 15 September 2009.

The original arrangement was for the Governor to visit our club only on Tuesday 15 September starting with the regular meeting and finishing with the club fellowship in the evening. I am glad the Board of Directors made a decision that the Official Visit should be over two days as has been the practice all these years. The sequence of events is as follow: meeting with President, President Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer followed by meeting with Interactors and Rotaractors, Club Assembly and Club Fellowship. He then address the club the next day during our regular meeting. If it had been a one day visit day he would have to pass judgement on the club before hearing about the club. Not quite appropriate I think!!!.

From his comments during the Club Assembly and his address at our regular meeting our club has passed the assessment with flying colours. Not an unexpected conclusion judging by our performance since 1 July 2009 under the leadership of President Dr Eric Wong. The complete text of his address at our regular meeting is reproduced on page 4 to 6 of this issue of the PeeJay Pos. But we need to pick up our weakness from in between the lines of his speech. The Governor was full of praise for our Interactors. But he did not say a word about our Rotaractors. We must pick up the silent message and work on it. We all know there are weakness in that department but no one wants to be the “bad boy” to highlight it. The Governor has done it for us.

We met all the KPIs he has set for clubs in the districts. By the way to some the KPI stands for Kapala Pusing Index. We surpass the district KPI on membership, annual giving contributions or EREY to some and Polio Plus contributions. Thirteen members signed up for his District Conference scheduled for 8-10 January 2010 and four of our Rotarians have taken up a flight in the Fellowship Golf. I hope the new members of our club will attend the District Conference. You will enjoy attending it and the rest of us will be there to keep you company. So far KO and Ryan have signed up.

It is a pity that President Elect Leong Yeng Kit was not able to attend the meeting with the District Governor. A Rotarian asked me on Monday night what is the reason for the attendance of the PE at the meeting with the President, Secretary and Treasurer. By having the PE in attendance it will help him or her plan for the visit during his year.

When President Dr Eric sent out the SMS requesting members to attend the Club Assembly and Club Fellowship in the club T Shirt I was expecting some to disagree. I am so glad that I was wrong. EVERY RCPJ MEMBER who had the T Shirt wore it. Some had to borrow from those who have not collected their T Shirts yet. Some had the size mixed up. My apologies to Seng Fook. Every member of the club has now given me their size for the T Shirt. So every member should have a T Shirt by the next event.

In conclusion it was a very successful Official Visit of the Governor. My heartiest congratulations to President Dr Eric Wong and his Board for a job well done. 

On 15 September 2009, District Governor Leslie Salehuddin Officially Visited our club and inducted two former Rotarians to rejoin our Club.

PP Battchoo Ratilal and PP Harjit Singh was officially welcomed back to the club at today’s meeting. The Governor pinned a Rotary Theme Pin on each of them to signify their return to the club.

District Governor Leslie Salehuddin then addressed the club. The full text of his address is reproduced below:

President Dr Eric,
Past Governors David and Dato Dr Low Teong
AG Farouk, District Officers, Past Presidents and my Rotary friends

First of all let me acknowledge the presence of OC of the 75th District Confernce, PP Tze Hien, District Secretary, Vincent and Rtn Raymond. Who are here to promote the Conference.

Ziela and I are truly delighted with the warm reception yesterday evening, allowing AG and ourselves to break fast and and would like to thank Pres Eric, first lady Irene and IPP Dato’ Kevin in seeing to first lady getting to the fellowship dinner. PP Seng Chuan and Nancy opening their homes to us all, both for the club assembly and the dinner. The food was great and how vibrant are the men and women in Orange from RC PJ. Now you need a match club from the Netherlands having adopted their national colour.

RC PJ, chartered on 6 Jan 1961, the RI President was Edd McLaughlin a Texan banker and the governor was Hj Mustapha Albakri from the then RC KL. A very fruitful RY for extension the following clubs were chartered in Feb - RC Kuantan, March - RC Sitiawan, April - RC Tampin, June – RC Kuala Trengganu, your match club RC Bangkok South was chartered in Aug. We’ll be having five clubs in our District celebrating its Golden Jubilee in DGE Kok Beng’s year.

Edd’s theme was “You are Rotary! Live it! Express it! Expand it!” If I may quote from a few of his quotable quotes … “Unless we continue to raise our sights in Rotary, we may find ourselves like the Alice in Wonderland characters, running as fast as we can in order to stay where we are.”

I am impressed with the what seems to be the rejuvenation of RC PJ, you have adopted the Club Leadership Plan and at the District level PDG Low Teong is helping me to drive it PDG David is the advisor with PP Albert in the task force. I am appreciative of LT’s efforts in assuring me that my district goal of educating clubs in the district contemplating to adopt CLP and having all clubs in adopting the CLP in full or partially in line with the RI’s strategic plan is achieved. PP Tarcisius is the Deputy Chair of the District Strategic Planning Committee.

In terms of membership, we spoke of the steady decline from the high sixties a decade ago down to 42 beginning of this RY and with the dynamic leadership of Tarcisius and his committee and the activities, your guest night of at least forty over guests and competition within the club, I am more than confident that Pres Eric will surpass his target of fifty. In fact we thought of a tagline at the club assembly of “fifty before fifty”, i.e. fifty members before your club reaches 50 years. At the rate you are going you should be “sixty before fifty”. With the admission of your two and soon to be three women members, just like RC Penang, there are a number of qualified women members only waiting for you to invite them to membership. Assimilation and making them as your equal partners seemed a challenge esp. for a all-male club for almost fifty years but judging how Margaret and Rianne has adapted to the club like ducks taking to water.

RC Penang and RC PJ can now share their success stories of how bringing in women into the club will not be of detriment to the culture of the club. Well done to PP Tarcicius for breaking down the wall. I still have thirteen single gender clubs in the district that needs to work harder or have to be convinced further of the merits of bringing women into their clubs.

I must acknowledge PP Albert Yong with a ‘sponsor’ pin and PE Yeng Kit for proposing Ryan Ho and proposing your third lady member respectively and is awaiting the due process before formalizing the admission. I shall pin the sponsor pin onto Albert. I am also delighted to welcome back on your behalf PPs Battchoo and Harjit. I hope Sunder will also return to the fold after a short break. I shall be happy to pin more sponsorship pins to recognize your members at a latter opportunity.

Your retention of the senior members is very good with 22 PPs (50%). Your senior members who have served a good number of years such as Michael Teh (48), Nang Dick (47), Rupert (44), David Ho (41), OSS – (32) and those who have just or are on the verge of celebrating their 30th anniversary – Rosman, Shou Kong, Woon Hud and LT should be recognized. 

R I President John Kenny has asked Rotarians to be links between the past and the future and that the destiny of our great movement depends on everything that we do. He has urged us to continue in our commitment to serve and support Rotary through its many structured programmes and our Foundation. We will all have to play our part to ensure that we continue to grow in our membership, ensure our clubs are functioning well, carry on projects with emphases in literacy, health and hunger and water and sanitation and relentlessly pursue our mission and our continued global quest to end Polio. 

On Polio, our District is embarking on a Polio mission to India and Pakistan to participate in a SNID – Karachi, Lahore and Amritsar from 8 to 16 Dec. As a Rtn if you have not participated in a NID or SNID and actually administered polio vaccine onto children then I would say you have not participated in a the truly one of the wonders of Modern Medicine to see how 2.5 million vaccinators comprising Rtns, volunteers and health workers mobilizing 150,000 vehicles and other modes of transport with 2 million vaccine carrier bags with 6.3 million ice packs and 225 million doses of polio vaccine and bottom line 172 million children immunised in a single campaign.

In 2006 we had a delegation of more than seventy Rtns and families participating in the WCS/Polio mission to Agra-Jaipur and Delhi. This time everyone on our mission, the forty or so of us will get to immunize a child. Please also support the Polio Fund as your club’s contribution of at least USD1,000 will be able to provide 700 polio vaccine carriers in Pakistan or 2,000 caps and aprons to identify volunteers in India or 8,000 finger markers in Afghanistan or 32 megaphones in Nigeria.

Also join us in a Last Walk to End Polio where it will be flagged off in Kuala Kangsar on 22 Dec, although the journey starts from Alor Star and ends at the 75th District Conference venue in this very hotel, (soon renamed Grand Dorsett) on 8 Jan. We are also sending a Rtn to recce the situation in Colombo where we hope the clubs would be generous enough to assist the war victims in the Refugee Zone open to NGOs, working with Rotary clubs in Colombo and Colombo West.

As we did not have any time for a dialogue at the assembly, I wish to report that on the incorporation of the District, this was accomplished on 1 June this year and we are in the midst of now consolidating the assets of the district acquiring the accounts and will speed up the process of operating under D3300 Berhad. We realize that we slowed down after all the hard work in the incorporation and are now taking steps to remedy this.

I must also commend the three major donors of your club, PDG Dato Low Teong, PPs Tara and Woon Hud and the sixteen PHFs and multiple PHFs currently. I must recognize Pres Dr Eric, IPP Dato Kevin and Rtns Sashi and Kia Heong for upgrading to a PHF and Kevin for pledging to be a PHF + 1. For the rest of the RC PJ members if you could in any way consider a contribution to the Rotary Foundation, taking advantage of the slightly weakened US Dollar, it will be appreciated by all. 

On a parting note let me also request that RC PJ come up with a public amenity for the residents of PJ be it a floral clock at the PJ Lake or a playground in commemorating your fiftieth year as your bus stand along Jln Universiti is a great PR tool besides serving the bus commuters of PJ very strategically over the years. With your strong connections with MPPJ, I am sure a suitable amenity would be a fitting monument to celebrate your fifty years of sterling service to the PJ community. 

Finally, I wish all of you the very best in your health and the future of RC PJ is in your hands.

Rotary quote of the day presented by Rtn Raymond Tan:

“Rotary has given me an unlimited opportunity to join more then one million dedicated people in placing our collective arms around the shoulders of the youthful future of our human race”
Past Rotary International President James L Bomar (1979-1980)

ATTENDANCE: 21/34 = 61.76%

Financial update from the RI Secretary General Ed Futa

Whilst we wait for Rotary’s independent auditors to complete the audit of Rotary’s 2008-09 financial statements, preliminary results indicate that Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation have weathered the recent financial crisis with less damage than we had feared. RI’s investment losses dropped from over USD26 million in February to approximately USD 12 million for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2009.

The Rotary Foundation, which had suffered more severely in the investment markets also recouped some of its losses by year-end – going from over USD222 million in losses in February to USD164 million for the year.

These reversals, along with 2008-09 spending reductions, enable the Foundation Trustees to reinstate an additional USD2.3 million in Matching Grant funds for 2009-10, an action that will strengthen Rotarians’ humanitarian efforts this year.