PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

The passing away of our senior Rotarian PP Alfred Tsang came as a sudden shock to many. With a span of about 30 years in Rotary, Alfred had done much to uphold the RCPJ and the District. I still remember the time when he organized an awesome charity show that brought a great artiste to our country. I’ll always remember best his knowledge about food. Irene and I had gone out with him for some dinners in Ipoh and K.L. He really knew the authentic Chinese dishes. Because of this, he was always appointed to look after the menu for our installation. Above all, he was a warm and generous friend who would always lend a helping hand. Very meticulous in his ways, he would personally call to ensure that matters were in order. I particularly like his style in speaking English – very formal expressions with accurate grammatical finesse that could put our students to shame. We’re going to miss you, Alfred.

Attendance Make-up events/activities 

The Board at its recent meeting has declared effective immediately the following event/activities of the Club as attendance make-up events & activities namely:

1. Golden Child Project on 8 May 08 at Sunway Lagoon
2. Super Camp (Interactors) from 24-27 May 08 at Trolak

Resulting from the above declaration attendance at any of the above events and activities qualifies as a make-up for absence from a weekly meeting, if it is within two weeks before or after the said weekly meeting. It is nevertheless the duty of an attendee who wishes to claim a make-up to notify the attendance chairman accordingly.

NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS 4 April 2008

ATTENDANCE – NOTICE OF MAKE-UP

For clarification to all members and for ease of reference, the attention of all members is drawn to the provisions of the Club Constitution relating to make-up for non-attendance at weekly meetings of the Club:

"Article VII Section 2 : Notice of Make-up. In the cases set out in sub-section (a)(ii) & (a)(iii) or section (b) of section 1 of this Article, the member shall only be counted as being in attendance if notice of the fact is given by the member personally to the club. In cases set out in sub-paragraphs (a)(i) and (iv), such notice may be given by the member personally or by the secretary of the club visited."

(Section 1 of Article VII sets out the various opportunities for make-up)

INTERPRETATION

1. It is the duty of the absent member to notify the Club (viz. Attendance Chairman or the Secretary). It is NOT the duty of the Attendance Chairman or the Secretary to chase an absent member for make-ups. Notice of make-up should be within the same month of the missed meeting but not later than 15th of the following month. No notice received by the Club means no make-up.

2. To constitute a valid make-up, the notice must contain the (i) name of the event claimed to be a make-up, (ii) date of that event and (iii) the date of the missed weekly meeting. These particulars are to determine whether there is a valid make-up. If either (i) or (ii) is not given, there is no valid makeup. If (iii) is not given, but (i) & (ii) are given, it will be assigned to the missed meeting nearest to the make-up date. The prior practice of the absent member just writing “make-up” in the attendance book will no longer be acceptable. Notice (in writing or verbally) given by an absent member stating MERELY that he has made-up for any missed meeting or for any period of time is not valid notice and hence not a valid make-up.

3. To avoid disputes, the notice must be in writing, which can be by letter or memo (typed or hand written), sent through the post, fax or by eMail or given personally to the Attendance Chairman or Secretary.

4. The 2 week rule applies for make-ups, meaning it is a valid make-up if it is within 2 weeks before or after the missed meeting. If the absent member is out of the country for more than 2 weeks, this rule is waived as long as the make-up is done out of the country and during the absence out of the country.

(Note: An absent member is one who has not physically attended one or more of the club’s weekly meetings.)

By Order of the Board
Liew Shou Kong
Hon. Secretary RCPJ

A Canadian businessman once asked British family consultant Rod Parsons how he should hug his son.

"I told the poor chap to practise hugging himself first in front of the mirror every morning," recalled the author of the best-selling books, The Sixty Minutes Father (1995) and The Sixty Minute Mother (2000).

He stressed repeatedly : Nothing will bind your children to you more than to tell them, "Whatever you do, I love you anyway.'" He drove home the point that ameliorating growing pains and domestic hiss was acceptance borne of unconditional love.

He added that time-strapped parents today too often gave their children the impression that they would love them only if they did well in school. As he put it: "Not content with competing on status and salaries, we begin comparing our children's grades and jobs with other parents, and become more screwed up about our kids' exams than our kids are. If we are not careful, our children will become part of life's material package of cars, condos, cards and what-have-you."

In an interview with The Straits Times, the author added that working parents face three illusions about parenthood, namely that:

1. A slow day will come;
2. They must give their children the best of everything; and
3. The door to childhood will stay open indefinitely.

To the first, he said: "Life is busy and will only get busier." 

To the second, he learnt from years of trying to prove himself that "we are often so busy giving them what we didn't have, that we end up not giving them what we did have."

To the third, he added: "When my son was younger, he used to come by when I was shaving and I 'd shoo him away. One day, he didn't come anymore. I wish he'd send me a postcard saying he wouldn't ever be coming again. But that's just what happens -- once a door of childhood closes, it will not open again."