PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Another fantastic achievement of our Club! Showers of praise! An entertaining evening! These were the responses and remarks from our guests. The event was none other than the Dama Musical Show – I have a date with Spring. The auditorium was almost full and this indicated that the tickets were almost sold out. The nearly 3-hour show was indeed an experience for many of us. It was the first time, I believe, a cabaret show was performed live, bringing back the days of Shanghai when women impacted the entertainment world with songs and witty conversation and intrigues. Amidst these, it was so difficult to hold on to lasting love. The evening also gave a lesson of spoken Cantonese for those who are new to the language. Now our Rotarians are talking about the next series of Dama shows such as Emperor Wu and I have a date in Autumn.

On behalf of our Club, I must thank our friends for coming together again to strongly support our charity events. Without your generosity and assistance, the dream of a better life for our less advantaged in our community would not have come about. Behind the scenes, there is a group of people who has worked tirelessly for months to see to the details of the evening. I must reach out and sincerely thank PP Teo Woon Hud, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for job very well executed. My gratitude also goes out to Ann Karen for her directions in guiding our committee. Her experience in stage performances is an asset to the whole planning. And of course, to you Rotarians and Anns, your attendance that evening clearly shows your love and commitment for our Club. Thank you so much.

About two weeks from now, our Rotarians and Anns have planned a trip to the Cameron Highlands. Please join in the fellowship and golf in this first family outing. PP Albert Yong has outlined an elaborate program that will cater to the interests of our Rotarians and Anns.

At the first summit for Rotary club presidents and presidents-elect, held during the RI Convention in Birmingham, England, 2009-10 RI President John Kenny and 2008-09 President Dong Kurn Lee stressed the vital role of club presidents. “I firmly believe that the club president is the most important person in Rotary,” Kenny said. “When Rotary clubs are seen as active, membership is strong.” And Lee added, “If the president is organized and enthusiastic, then the club will succeed.” I have been very fortunate that my directors and board advisers are solidly behind me in implementing the projects and activities of the Club for almost four months. And I also appreciate the members who quietly and silently perform their duties. I’ll continue to drive the Club with your strong support. On our road to doing good things for our Club, we have Rotarians with different degrees of passion. When Rotarians are passionate, this is an indication that they are committed to the projects. I don’t think they should be stifled. In fact, they should be encouraged. But in the course of their passionate behaviour, they could have ruffled the feathers of Rotarians. For this, let me be the first Rotarian to apologize. I hope you could be more magnanimous. I would like to say that Rotary is larger than any other individual. So we need to keep in mind the difference between the trees and the forests. I would also like to appeal to every Rotarian that we need to be sensitive of our demeanour in terms of tone and choices of expressions to other Rotarians, particularly at committee meetings. We work together in goodwill and harmony, respecting each other’s feelings. In this way, we can enjoy Rotary. Thank you, Rotarians. The future of our RCPJ is in your hands!

Let me go back to why the Fund Raising project had to be carried out. The Club Account Budget presented at the first Club Assembly on 26 May 2009 showed a deficit of RM29,570.00, and therefore a need to raise RM30,000.00 to cover the deficit. Remember the deficit is in the Club Account. We have no problem in the Charity Foundation Account as we raised about RM130,000.00 during the 48th Anniversary Dinner. So what is the difference between the two accounts?

The Club Account is for money raised from us the members and is used to run our club activities. The Charity Account is for money raised from the public (including ourselves) and must be used for projects and activities that benefit the community. Tax exemption receipts can be issued for such contributions. In the past under the old club structure expenses for community service, vocational service and new generation were all charged to the Charity Account. There was generally not much expenditure under International Service and there was a levy collected. However under the CLP structure we have four committees incurring expenditures under the Club Account, namely Club Administration, Club Public Relations, Membership Committee and The Rotary Foundation Committee. Over and above the Rotary Foundation Committee had a budget of RM25,000.00.

We may have over budgeted for The Rotary Foundation Committee. We have also not looked into other options to fund the TRF committee expenditure during the planning stage. Hence there is every likelihood that the club may not spend as much and the final deficit may be much less. Nevertheless the fund raising is now completed. But we have to put the money raised to the best possible use for this year and the subsequent years. 

We must now be careful in allocating the income from the Dama Charity Musical Show. The funds from donation will have to be credited to the Charity Account. The funds from the sale of tickets can be placed in the Club Account. Payment for the Musical Show can be made from the Charity Account. We will need to pay tax on the income to the club account. But that should be alright. The money can then be kept in the club account to fund any deficit this year and subsequent years.

With the conclusion of the two fund raising projects at fairly closed interval, January and October, we all hope there will be no more fund raising by the club for some time to come. The high cost of membership in the Rotary Club of Petaling Jaya is now becoming a common talking point at committee meetings and other social occasions. We need to address this issue very seriously if we hope to attract more younger members into the club. I personally believe there is even an opportunity for the club to reduce its annual subscription if there is a desire to do so. Perhaps President Dr Eric Wong and President Elect Yeng Kit can initiate a committee to study the matter. I will be delighted to serve on this committee to share my ideas.

The Speaker of the day was PP Sunny Leong of RC Bangsar who gave an enjoyable presentation of Vocational Service and not The Four Way Test as previously announced. A write up on the Four Way Test will be published in the next issue.

PP Sunny went through the classification principles, the Four Way Test and the Declaration of Rotarians in Business and Professions and the programs of Rotary International involving Vocational Service.

He then presented various ideas that Rotary Clubs could adopt in developing vocational service projects, like tours of members business, mentoring young adults, volunteering your vocation, promoting ethical behaviour in business and vocational awards.

He ended his presentation with a series of questions with prizes for the correct answers. It showed how little we all, including the two PDGs, know about Vocational Service.

Rotary quote of the day presented by Rtn HS Dharan:

“I am a Rotarian because I discovered soon, that, as an individual, I could not do everything for everyone everywhere, but that, as a Rotarian I can always do something for someone somewhere”
Past RI Director Pablo Campos Lynch, 1981-83, Mexico

ATTENDANCE: 22/39 = 56.41%

Hi Rotarians

When we put our heads together and discuss matters with conviction, the result always leads to success. Such is the case of the Dama Musical Show when the committee sat down together and decided that the RCPJ take on this charity event. That was about 3 months ago. I think there were only about 5 meetings. But the people in the committee were committed to this cause. I must sincerely thank PP Teo Woon Hud for doing most of the work and his firm belief right from the beginning 'that we can make money.' You're right, Woon Hud. I always have faith in the way you do things. And of course, by the side of Woon Hud has always been Ann Karen who has given us the support and her experience in stage performances. My appreciation and gratitude also go to the committee members who have come forward to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

The evening was a replica how our RCPJ works in co-ordination - Anns selling souvenir programs, Rotarians greeting guests and making them comfortable. And of course, the fun in taking so many pictures. When I said goodbye and thanked our guests, spontaneous praises were heard.

For those who missed it, the show will still be on until early Nov. It's sad tale of tragedy and love for 4 cabaret ladies who desperately tried to find love in a world of entertainment. One found love and happiness but the others were not so fortunate. But the deep sense of solace they found in each other tells us a lot about friendship. The songs were unbelievable. They were so well sung, especially the ones rendered by Tan Soo Suan and Nancy Fang. Their diction was so clear. Irene and I really enjoyed the performance. I hope you do too.

Thank you Rotarians and Anns
Long live RCPJ!
Eric

Student Exchange Team With RC Ichihara, Japan

The team for 2009 will consist of the following:
1. Yong Mei Kei - niece of IPP Dato’ Kevin Yong
2. Yong Lee Kwong – nephew of IPP Dato’ Kevin Yong
3. Navashern Krishna – son of Rtn Krishna Moorthy
4. Sharvin Kaur Sandhu – daughter of PP Harjit Singh
5. Karthiik Renggasamy a/l Doraisingam – member of the Interact Club of Catholic High School

Policy Statements and Financial Commitments of RCPJ

At the Club Administration Committee Meeting on Wednesday 7th October 2009, it was unanimously decided that all external communication in terms of Policy Statements and Financial Commitments involving the Rotary Club of Petaling Jaya, must first have the sanction of and be chanelled through the President and/or the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Petaling Jaya.