Four
ROTARIANS ALL:
SOME
MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS
By definition, a Rotarian is bound to be one of the 'better element', as Paul Harris put it, and the system of recruitment by invitation and of confining membership to one leader from each respective field in business and the professions - hence the classification system - has ensured that this is the case. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that the list of the 240 or so members of the PJ Rotary Club over the past thirty years reads rather like a Malaysian 'Who's Who'.
It has already been noted that a profession conspicuously absent from the list of Charter members was that of medicine. However, the omission was made well and truly good, so that by 1992 four out of the Club's thirty-one past presidents had been drawn from that category.* This was a larger proportion than that of any other single classification, apart from the business sector, which provided eight P.P.s but representing diverse areas. One category for which no provision is made under the classification system is that of 'politician', and indeed it was a rare Rotarian who changed his trade or profession for the hurly-burly of politics. The most notable exception to this was Dato' Kok Wee Kiat, who in the end became totally consumed by the political life and ceased to be a Rotarian, although he retained a link by being subsequently chosen to be one of the Club's honorary Rotarians. There are a couple of other Rotarians who have engaged in politics either more quietly or less successfully, but for most Rotarians the demands of political life are too demanding to be able to mix with their business or profession.
*Admittedly, this figure is reached by taking medical practice to cover all facets of the profession including dentistry.
In the nature of things most PJ Rotarians have established names well-known in their respective spheres, so well established in fact that some people, before being invited to join and discovering, in the words of P.P. Teoh Kim Theam, it was a way in which 'I could... serve the community', tended to regard the Rotary Club as lying beyond their social level or their pocket. But what Rotary looks for is people who are not only successful leaders in their respective fields but who are also fired by the desire to play a constructive role in the service of the community in which they live.
Such people are not easy to find, but as a result of the hand-picking approach adopted by Rotary in acquiring its members, those selected naturally tend to stand out as social leaders. In time PJ Rotary became crowded with such individuals. There is Dato' James Peter Chin, for example, who during the course of his career, apart from being a very keen Rotarian, has been associated with such disparate public bodies as the PJ Town Board/Municipal Council, the National Cancer Society, the Assunta Foundation Hospital Board, the Selangor Vocational Guidance Council and the Tourist Development Corporation (TDC) - the list is endless - apart from sitting at one stage or another on over forty committees.** Then there was Dato' Lim Kok Wing, also very active in advertising and in public affairs, but better known to the public at large as a cartoonist ('Guli-Guli'). Tara Singh Gill, the electrical engineer, played a major role in the development of the consumer movement in this country - he was president of FOMCA for eight years - alongside being a staunch member of Rotary, both in Seremban and PJ. Anyone who has been interested in or concerned with the art of management will know of Sam Abishegam (who was a Charter but rather short-lived member of Rotary) and President Tarcisius Chin, whose names are bywords in the field. In the same way no one involved in the field of social welfare, particularly in the Federal Territory and Selangor, will not be familiar with the name of Dr. Nallathamby Ganesan, just as everybody connected with the protection of the environment will know of S.T. Sundram - two other pillars of PJ Rotary. There are many others.
**One factor contributing to James Peter Chin's high profile is the fact that he is an advertising man. Indeed, he was proclaimed 'Advertising Man of the Year' in 1976.