PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

The Club Leadership Plan or CLP is the recommended administrative structure for Rotary clubs. It has been developed with long-range goals that address the elements of an effective club. Our RCPJ will adopt the CLP in the next Rotary Year 09/10 under the Presidency of Dr Eric Wong. This week’s luncheon meeting was an AGM to seek consensus for the adoption of this new structure and to approve the Club’s Bye-laws. Our Club is unanimous in the adoption of the CLP. We’ll look forward to a year of structural changes that could enhance the image of Rotary. I would like to thank the task force committee for attending to the issues associated with the CLP. Thank you PDG David Ho, PDG Dato’ Dr Low Teong, PP Michael Toh, VP Leong Yeng Kit and PE Dr Eric Wong.

December is Family Month in the Rotary calendar. It is indeed appropriate as this month signals and tells us what we have done for the whole of this year. If you’ve not been much attentive to the needs of your family, there are some holidays for you to make up. Think of doing something for your family on the 8th, 11th, 25th and 29th of December. On a wider scale, Rotary recommends that we do something for families in our community this month. Encourage Rotarians to read to children at family shelters or homes or do some ‘gotong royong’ in the homes.

Rotarians, let me remind you that we have exactly one more month to push our ticket sales for our fund-raising dinner show. We have not sold all the tickets yet. However, they are moving fast. Four RM5,000 tables have been sold. Dato’ Donald Lim has pledged a donation of RM10,000 and also offered to buy a table. The RM3,000 tables are very encouraging. At the last fund-raising meeting, it was reported that 55 tables have been sold or pledged. The ads. are a little slow. I need you Rotarians to ask our well-wishers and friends to advertise. The deadline for ads. is pretty close and we need your help.

Please make this charity dinner show a grand success. I thank you.

I had an interesting chat with a friend the other day. He said that the more successful people today are not those who had scored As in their Cambridge O level and the HSC but those who had engaged in ‘naughty’ things in their lives such as being very leftist in their beliefs in the university. Or had over indulged in high spirits. I tend to agree with him. Mind you, these people are not really stupid. They are an intelligent lot but they had other interests apart from their studies. They had gone through the vicissitudes of life and had come out of it all the better to face the challenges of the world.

On a different note, I strongly believe that games and sports mould the lives of young people. They provide them with the vigour, challenges and the strong will to beat their opponents. They win with glory. They also learn the humility of defeat that is part of life.

At the AGM, it was announced that the following Directors have been appointed for the 6 Standing Committees under the structure of the CLP for Rotary Year 2009/10:

President: Rtn Dr Eric Wong
President-elect: Rtn Leong Yeng Kit
Vice-President: Rtn Jack Lim
Club Administration: PP Balram Menon
Club Service Relations: PP Michael Chua
Club Membership: PP Dr Tarcisius Chin
Club Service Projects: Rtn Koh Kia Heong
New Generations: IPP Kevin Yong (will stand in until someone is appointed)
The Rotary Foundation: PP Yap Swee Fatt
Club Secretary: Rtn Margaret Soo
Club Treasurer: Rtn Tony Ong

As there were no other nominations from the floor, the Directors that had been announced will be the Directors of the Standing Committees in the Rotary Year 09/10. The Board will appoint the Sergeant-at-arms.