PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

The joint evening meeting with RC Shah Alam on 22nd January would set the momentum in encouraging Rotary clubs in the District to have occasional joint meetings instead of keeping to themselves all the time. It was an opportunity to fellowship with the Rotarians from RC Shah Alam. It was also an observation on how other clubs conduct their meetings. The talk by PP Dr Chin from RC Shah Alam was indeed interesting. He shared with us his ‘Longest Train Journey.’ He and his Anne travelled across Europe, China and Asia by train – a venture not many could dare to challenge. Of course, taking into account the questions asked, a few Rotarians are thinking of doing what the speaker had done.

The District Karaoke Finals was held on Saturday, 23rd January at Holiday Villa, Jln. Ampang. Rtn Margaret and I were present. Our Group 11 finalist Rtn Susan Yap from RC Pantai Valley came in third. This was the first time a karaoke competition was held at the District level and I must say that the tremendous talent in singing is not the least lacking. The evening also saw more than RM10,000 raised for the displaced people of Sri Lanka. Thank you Kevin, KO and Ricky for taking part in the initial round of the karaoke competition.

The Mid-term Review was held on Sunday, 24th January also at Holiday Villa. Our Club is among the outstanding clubs in the District. We qualified for the Presidential Citation. We achieved targets in membership increase, more than 1 net increase for the Rotary year. We contributed USD2,000 for polio eradication. The minimum is USD1,000. We achieved public image in our projects. We are the first to submit the Four Avenues of Service Citation for Individual Rotarians. The other clubs have not done so. We need some recognition for our Interactors who are so efficient and active. There is still time to submit the Interact Presidential Citation by contributing to the polio eradication cause of USD50 or USD100.

The RCPJ’s International Nite will be held on Tuesday, 23rd February at the Grand Dorsett. It will be a Dutch night and the theme will be about business between Malaysia and the Netherlands. Rotarians and Anns, please make this a success by inviting your business associates to this evening’s function that also coincides with International Understanding and World Peace. We’ve plans to invite 3 other Rotary clubs to join us. The cost per table is RM1,050 and Heineken will be sponsored by the Dutch Embassy. Thank you PP Goh Seng Chuan and Rtn H.S. Dharan for laying the ground work for this International Nite.

A spring cleaning is organized for Beautiful Gate on Saturday, 6th February after lunch. The Interact Clubs of Sri Aman and La Salle will assist in this charity project. Rotarians and Anns are invited.

The Chinese New Year is round the corner and our Club has not forgotten the less fortunate. A Chinese New Year Pot Luck will be held on Saturday, 20th February at about noon time. Rotarians and Anns will enjoy a lunch with the residents of the Beautiful Gate. But please bring along a dish. Please liaise with Rtn Rianne.

We humans think of ourselves as a superior species. Our creativity, innovation and daring have contributed to propel us to unimaginable heights of accomplishments. What has been achieved in the last century far exceeds the accomplishments of all that went before. Yet, for all the progress that we have achieved, why is our contemporary view of modernisation and progress so stunted and impoverished? Why must progress be achieved at the sacrifice of our very humanity?

In the face of abundance, there is hunger and famine. GDP has advanced enormously, yet morals and society are sinking into decadence. We create material things for a consumer society, but have plundered Mother Earth into perilous ecological disaster. Despite our intellect we have failed to progress as humanity. We have grown richer in material wealth, but much weaker in governance and environmental consciousness and poorer in our concern for the fate of humankind.

Such contradictions are all around us. Malaysia could be ahead of South Korea and Taiwan, countries which were behind us economically only 30 years ago. We certainly have more natural resources. Why we lost out is because we have not optimised our competence. Like barbarians and mercenaries we have hijacked resources for personal gain and have suffered from the lack of accountability and strategic direction. We focused on infrastructure which can be copied anywhere. Look at how, in the 90’s, we boasted to have the tallest tower? This euphoria did not last long. What is critically missing is software, the talent of our human capital. It takes at least a generation to develop human competence. Other countries are benefiting from our emigrated expertise while we attract unskilled migrants. It will indeed be an uphill climb to get out of the middle income trap.

The greatest obstacle is the lack of moral sensibility. We all want to progress onwards and upwards. But we are held back by narrow minds, intolerance and bigotry. Modernisation has inflated our egos, petty self-interest and superficial status, but it has also subverted our sense of what is right and wrong. What is happening in the country is also reflected in our institutions and organisations. I am disturbed by what is happening in Rotary District 3300. The nomination of a candidate for Governor should be a straightforward exercise, but what is happening reflects on our dire lack of moral sensibility. Unfortunately, what is happening in the District is also a microcosm of Malaysian society. Have we lost our way in our march towards progress and development?
Occasionally, we also experience flare-ups in the Rotary Club of Petaling Jaya. We can be so strident in our positions and so unforgiving. Much energy is dispensed to resolve conflict when there is so much more we can do for those in need of our services. We join RCPJ for good fellowship, community contribution and the kindred spirit of our shared community. Have we lost the spirit of service above self?

Where is the moral compass to guide us in our relationships? Have we gained qualifications and lost our education? Have we gained wealth at the expense of justice? Are we self-serving Malaysians seeking deed, title and gratification irrespective of consequence? Are we wiser than our forefathers who had much less material things, but enjoyed much more happiness and human welfare? Quo vadis the future generations? It is entirely up to us as individuals and as Rotarians to do the right thing. We can begin with resetting our sense of good and bad, right and wrong, what is and what ought to be, by returning to basic and universal human values and embrace if not recapture our moral sensibility. Indeed, the wise words of Rene Descartes, cogito, ergo sum, (I think, therefore I am) still ring true now as when it was first uttered in the 17th century. 

The trip took him from Spain through Europe, Russia, China and Vietnam. It had to end in Vietnam because there was no train connection between Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh. Part of his journey was on the 9220 km Trans Siberian Railway from St Petersburg to Vladivostok. 

The Club was represented by a delegation of 16 led by President Dr Eric Wong. It was the biggest delegation to a District Conference for many, many years. The Conference was attended by 485 Rotarians and 50 spouses. In one of his reports RI President Rep PDG Mark Wong said that District 3300 had two times the average number of lady members worldwide. The RI Logo for 2010-2011 is reproduced here.