PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

This week’s luncheon marked a historic event. It was the induction of Ms Margaret Soo – the first lady member into our RCPJ. After 48 years of being regarded as a bastion of male membership, our Club has finally relented and admitted the first lady member.

Ms Margaret took the Rotary pledge and honour and proudly announced that she ‘is going to serve selflessly and with full commitment to the ideals of Rotary.’ Not at all a stranger to Rotary, Margaret ‘has been in close touch with Rotary and being a Rotary Peace Scholar, this has prepared her well towards the direction of service with dedication,’ stated PP Tarcisius Chin in his short address on behalf of our members.

I am sure Margaret will be an asset to our Club. She will be assigned to the Club Service, an ideal avenue for her to learn the overall framework of our Club. Perhaps a female touch in decision making is something that we could anticipate.

In this era, we cannot ignore women in society. With equal opportunities in education, women are now into all sectors of the economy. It is envisaged that women will soon overtake the men in the education sector. With these developments, women’s presence is also seen in NGOs and in politics. This is indeed a healthy development as men and women need to work together for a common good.

Welcome to our Club, Rotarian Margaret Soo. I am sure you will find joy and fun in serving our community.

I was in Penang last week, not for a holiday but with a purpose. But I had some time for a fair share of the indulgence. I must say Penang has changed and quite tremendously too. Traffic in chock-a-block was not uncommon, especially along Green Lane. People tend to drive faster now. The number of flats sprouting here and there is unbelievable. The Penang people like to live on the island but there’s hardly any space left. Now new properties are moving towards Bandar Baru Bayan Lepas, Tanjung Bungah and Batu Ferringhi.

The hawker food is generally edible. But you need to be selective, if you’re a true Penangnite. For ‘char keow teow’, it’s Lorong Selamat, off McAlister Road. But you won’t believe it! It’s RM6 per plate with 3 big prawns. Try it! Then for ‘mee rebus’ or ‘mee goreng’, it’s Bangkok Lane in Pulau Tikus. For curry mee, it’s Pulau Tikus again, opposite the Berjaya Hotel. For ‘mee yoke’, it’s a coffee shop near the Penang Club. The ‘keow teow tng’ is just as good. Penang people don’t think of restaurant food unless the occasion has to do with a wedding reception.

Young people are trendier now. They hang out in a special area opposite Bayview Hotel. The whole road will be closed on Friday and Saturday. The pubs line the road.

People and places change. And Penang is no different.

Some history. Hashing was introduced by the British in the 1930s in Malaysia. The Royal Selangor Club established the Hash Harriers in 1938. Today, there’re 130 countries that have hashing with 250,000 members.

The principle of hashing is that the hare starts 15 minutes earlier and the hounds will chase the poor hare. The FRB is called the front running bastards and they’re the ones who run ahead.

Never wear a pair of new shoes. If you’re found out, you’d have to drink beer from your shoes. Doesn’t taste nice, does it? Probably it’s the excuse to down as much beer as possible. The Brits called this de-stressing.

There are no rules to running. If you’re a beginner, it’s advisable to stick to a veteran hasher. Stay on trail. If you’re lost, don’t move away from the trail because the sweepers will look for you on the trail.

Have fun running. Thank you, Bob for sharing with us hashing.

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. 

Therefore, he took out a business card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door. 

When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, "Genesis 3:10." 

Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. 

Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." 

Genesis 3:10 reads, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked."