Three
TEETHING PROBLEMS
(cont'd - 3)
The Club met regularly at the Station Hotel for two years, but it was obviously not a satisfactory arrangement for most members whose place of work if not of residence was in PJ, quite apart from the indignity of meeting like a government in exile on 'foreign' soil. The return to PJ took place in June 1963, the new venue being the PJ Public Library. But the space was cramped, and catering a problem. So resort was had to Joe's Restaurant - one of PJ's latest up-market eateries - which was fine until one day just over one year later, in February 1965, Rotarians turned up as usual for their routine Tuesday lunch, together with a distinguished guest speaker, only to find that the joint had 'suddenly' closed down. They were rescued from this embarrassing situation through the good offices of the then District Governor, Brig Young, who placed his own house at the Club's disposal for the occasion.*
*Leslie George "Brig" Young, born in England in 1912, a pharmaceutical chemist who was the Managing Director of A.S. Watson & Co. (Chemicals) Sdn. Bhd., in Kuala Lumpur. He had the unusual distinction of being District Governor for two years in succession, the second year being occasioned by the sudden demise of his successor to the post. However, to most Malaysians of his generation, he was better known as broadcasting's leading sports commentator.
A string of other venues followed, none of them being satisfactory for one reason or another. There was the International Bar, the first replacement to Joe's, followed by Amo's Restaurant which served for a few months before it too closed down precipitately, leaving Rotarians in the lurch for a second time. Then it was back to the International for a season. The opening of the A & W Drive-In in early 1968 provided a more sophisticated alternative to the International Bar and became the new venue; but after two years it was also abandoned because it could no longer cope with the Club's expanded membership. The final change for the decade was to the Cellar, below the old Volvo Showroom in Jalan Barat (opposite the PJ Hilton) which, partly, no doubt because it was owned by a PJ Rotarian, became the permanent rendezvous for PJ's Rotarians until the town acquired its first five-star hotel.
It might be argued that these frequent changes made for variety and colour in the Rotary routine, and this was true. But it also had a marked effect on attendance, especially in the early years when the meetings were held in Kuala Lumpur. Once again the development of PJ itself and the ongoing improvement of its amenities eased and improved the running of the Club and its activities.
By the time that the Cellar became the flagship of the Club in 1970 there were only three Charter members left. In terms of age and length of service, first and foremost of these three survivors was Kulakanath Sekhara Menon, known to every Rotarian in KL and PJ as 'The Pope', who became virtually the embodiment of Rotary and a walking encyclopaedia on Rotary affairs. He remained a member of the PJ Rotary Club up till the year this book was written, dying, sadly enough, in harness on the eve of his ninetieth birthday. Next in seniority of age was Tan Phock Theong who over the years managed to follow a remarkable combination of careers, as rubber planter, wine-dealer and accountant-secretary. He remained with PJ Rotary till 1975, when at the age of seventy he retired to Penang. But he still remained faithful to the PJ Club, and although he now attends regularly at the Penang Rotary weekly meetings, he religiously sent his make-up cards to PJ. And so he continued as a member of the Club, with a little bending of the rules, till he died two years later. Menon and Tan were both members of that older generation of Malaysians, the best part of whose lives were lived during the colonial era, but had the satisfaction of being part of a newly-independent nation in their full maturity. The third survivor, Michael Teh Khoon Heng, auditor by profession, belongs to the younger generation of Malaysians who caught independence as they were entering on their prime. He is happily still with us, and remains a staunch Rotarian. Menon and Tan served as Secretaries - Menon, as we shall see, for an unprecedented period totalling eight years. Michael Teh was President in 1974/1975.
