Seven
THE WONDERFUL WORLD
OF ROTARY
(cont'd - 2)
The other way in which International Service comes alive with annual regularity is through the annual District conferences and assemblies. In general, the agenda for these occasions are much of a muchness. One listens to a series of inspiring speeches from the RI establishment, including (probably) the special representative of the President of Rotary International, the incumbent District Governor and Past District Governors; elections take place and a structured discussion follows. The discussions are structured in the sense that the programme is always built around the four avenues of service, and the perennial problems that are associated with these are raised and thrashed out year after year - the membership problem, the attendance problem, the spreading of the Rotary message problem, the obtaining of adequate information about Rotary problem - this being a two-way affair involving club complaints about RI or the District not sending required kits or information until too late, and of the District and RI complaining on not receiving club returns on time, the fund-raising problem, and so forth. One hoary issue is the quality of the Rotarian Magazine, which, it would appear, is rarely read. Interspersed with these are also addresses on various topics concerning social and other current, related problems, delivered by speakers who are usually experts in their field and well informed.
All this could prove very boring if not for the fact that there
is a constant turnover of representatives from the top to the bottom every year, so that the discussion always appears
to be evergreen, even if the conclusions tend to be the same. They provide
occasions for Rotarians to let off some steam and at the same time to make
Rotarians become aware of the complexities and activities of the world of
Rotary International. Furthermore, mercifully enough, time management is a
Rotary strong point, so that it is insisted that speakers keep their speeches
brief and to the point.
All Rotary clubs are supposed to send their representatives to these gatherings,
but not all Rotary clubs succeed in making themselves heard. The PJ Club,
however, was not to be counted amongst the silent majority, and right from
the outset PJ Rotarians were to be heard raising points at issue. Mention
of PJ contributions regarding Youth Service and membership for the ladies
has already been made. On these occasions the Club's representatives came
near to dominating the proceedings. PJ Rotarians were vocal on other issues
as well, the vexed problem of responses between Rotary clubs involved in International
Service being one of them. At the 1963 District conference held in Singapore
the Club raised the issue of other clubs involved in an international service
programme failing to respond, and two years later P.P. Derek Booth was complaining
about the opportunities for clubs to participate in international service
as being 'too few and far between'. On a later occasion, James Peter Chin
raised the problems of matched clubs which did not cooperate, and John Chow,
another early P.P., related to the conference three incidents in his own experience
of international service, including his enthusiastic reception at a small
club in the USA, the members of which appeared to have no idea of where Malaysia
was.
While the Rotary establishment itself always stressed that time was of the essence and encouraged brevity by speakers, in the view of quite a number of Rotarians it also kept the time for speeches from the floor too brief as well. James Peter Chin raised the issue at Penang in 1973, pleading for more time to be given for individual speakers from the floor. At the Ipoh conference the following year, the PJ contingent grumbled about it being 'all talk and no action' (Vohra) and argued for 'more dialogue than monologue' (Kashyap), arguing the case for more time for speakers from the floor another way round. Geoffrey Sarjeant, the RI President's special representative at the same conference (at Ipoh in 1974) summed up the gist of the complaints made about Rotary International as turning around six points: RI lacked power; it was led by an ageing band of ineffectuals; it was not large enough; it was over-complicated in its rules and procedures; it was too expensive; and it failed to adapt to change. There is no smoke without fire, but most Rotarians would probably agree that a closer examination would reduce most of these points to rubble, including that regarding expense. To be a member of some clubs is indeed expensive; this is a reflection of the ethos of that particular club and probably of its location. The Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur, for instance, or of Singapore East, representative of very affluent communities, will naturally have leaders of affluence, with whom it might be hard for ordinary mortals to compete. But the PJ Club, on the other hand, has always been proud on its moderation. It also represents an affluent community, but the emphasis has always been on the service of deeds performed rather than of service paid for. As for the charge that Rotary International has failed to adapt to change, this too is demonstrably inaccurate. Over the years membership restrictions have been eased through modifications of the classification system; the all-American dominance over the organization has been diluted; and the nature of Rotary activity has also been adapted to meet the needs of the times, with issues of worldwide poverty, hunger and health and the question of the environment being given increasingly more attention.
One reason why Rotary International might at times appear to be ineffectual is that it has seemed to be unable to take a firm stand on certain recurring issues such as poor attendance and deadwood members, and even in the cases of certain clubs which have deviated from the standard path. In fact, there is no choice. Since Rotary is a purely voluntary organization, it cannot dictate, but merely exhort, encourage and advise, and in the last resort use the sanction of dismissal. That is why for any given issue, the RI response is invariably bland and soothing, and not confrontational.
However, District assemblies and conferences have not only been taken up with what might be considered negative criticisms, but have also promoted a considerable amount of constructive debate and discussion. Over the years, there has been intelligent and informed debate on basic issues such as consumerism and business ethics, discipline amongst youth, the cities and the environment, issues of global health and hunger, and problems of pollution. The ideas generated by these discussions have helped in the formulation of many Rotary club programmes.
Once again, in these talks and discussions, PJ Rotary has had a high profile. 'The Pope' addressed the Kuala Lumpur Conference of 1970 on 'City Service', James Peter Chin spoke four years later at Ipoh on the problems confronted by youth in the modern world, and on the same occasion the incumbent president, Abu Mansor, chaired the discussions on cities and the environment, to mention some prominent examples of PJ Rotarian participation. The proof of the PJ Club's standing has been evidenced by the election of two of its own members as District Governors, Dato' James Peter Chin for 1979/80 and Dr. N. Ganesan for 1989/90.
