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KINGSPARK NEWS Club Number: 30119 2006-07 Rotary Year : Issue 19 : 1 April | ||
| This
is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong | ||
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| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan | ||
| Editorial
(Loose
Thoughts About Rotary) - By Francis Wann | ||
| District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship | ||
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Loose Thoughts About Rotary
To be honest, Rotary elections and nominations are nothing spectacular, and in most cases, there is only one candidate who stands unopposed. Rotarians are certainly no politicians but most are immensely diplomatic when it comes to nominations. Ever since I joined Rotary a few years ago, I've only seen one DG election with more than one nominee. And of course the nominating committee was not prepared for that scenario and something had to be done to clear the obstacle ahead, and had to be done swiftly. I remember there was an immediately flurry of email exchanges from district to club levels requesting individual members to vote via email, the result of which was later officially endorsed by the committee! Much ado about nothing? The annual election of Rotary officials might seem a run of the mill to most members, and indeed the existing procedures does not allow much room for manoeuvre. I suspect perhaps an overhaul in election rules and regulations should be in place to ensure more competition in the election process. Maybe our PDG Council should put their heads together and give it some thought on possible alternatives. Rotary leaders, be they district or regional or international, owe it to their members for whatever they say or do. But what is that special quality you would expect from a club president, district governor, or RI president? This must be an immediate issue for all Rotarians to ponder at a time when we see more members leaving our clubs. Every year we bring in a new theme. Empty slogans you might think, but to thousands of dedicated Rotarians, it might be their binding force, and gives recognition to what they believe. From Service Above Self to this year's Lead the Way to next year's Rotary Shares, our themes might change every year, but we're still the same simple and naive Rotarians who believe in a better tomorrow. Be an April fool today. | ||
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President's
Column The fellowship started off with 2 tables of friendly rounds of mahjong in the afternoon. There were not many winners at the end of the game. PP Peter may not entirely agree with me, but I heard that he was the least winner among the 8 players at the end of the game. The players were PP Raymond, PP Thomas, Rotaractors Joey and Jacqueline, Alice, Amy and I. Luck was not with me in the first round when playing with old hands at the men's table. Fortunately I managed to reduce my loss when I played against the other sex namely Amy, Alice and Jacqueline. I found I had more luck with women than men on the mahjong table that day! Dinner started on time at about 20 minutes past eight. Sitting around 4 large tables at the Golden Tripod Seafood Restaurant, there were 14 Rotarians and Rotariannes, 7 spouses, 14 children, and 16 Rotaractors and friends sharing a joyful evening of Chinese dining. Two bottles of whiskey were timidly consumed during the dinner. It was such a happy occasion that CP John had taken more than his usual share of whiskey, and he had to retire home early without the chance of saying good night to everyone. For those who were worried about his condition, I can testify that John was still able to find his keys and standing on his feet when he stepped inside his apartment. I would like to thank every one who showed up and ate, and I would also like to thank Pres. Rachel for leading the Rotaractors to join the fellowship. It was a great fellowship. On March 2, initiated by CP John, arranged by IPP Dominic, the three of us, paid an official visit to the RC of Sentul in Kuala Lumpur. We left early in the morning. There was a small incidence happened to me at the check-in counter. This time I brought along an expired passport without realizing it! Luckily, I was able to arrange to have the valid passport transported to me just in time before the gate closed 20 minutes before takeoff. I had kept both CP John and IPP Dominic on their nerves. It was a very close call. I could have sabotaged our official club visit. Under an International Foundation Matching Grant, we are the International Partner club donating USD3,000 to equip a computer centre in a local primary school. The Hosting club is RC of Sentul. Upon arrival at KL, we were driven straight to officiate the opening of the computer center at SJKT St. Joseph School. It is a catholic girl school providing primary education to the poor children in the City of Sentul. We were welcomed by District 3300 PDG David Ho, Club Pres. Anthoni, IPP Mahendran and other members of the RC Sentul. The School Headmistress Mdm. Kaveriammah, and Year 3 and 4 students greeted us with a series of songs and dances. At the invitation of RC of Sentul, we attended the District 3300 Sister Clubs Intercity Meeting Promoting Better World Understanding & Peace in the evening. Under the special invitation of DG Dato' Jimmy Lim of District 3300, Rotarians and guests were entertained with acrobatic performances by the students from the Acrobat School of Sichuan. The young Chinese acrobats came from Sichuan in the PRC. I was told that the students will be performing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics ceremony. The highlight of the evening was the Sister Club Signing Ceremony between 20 local clubs and their overseas sister clubs. I was invited to sit on stage with other Club Presidents, but fortunately was not asked to sign any pact with the 20 clubs. Fellowship with Rotarians from Sentul carried on even after the Intercity Meeting was over. The 3 Kingsparicans were treated with more whiskey and beer mixed with modern Hindu dances in the same hotel. It was about 2 a.m. before Dominic and I retired to bed. The next day, we were invited to witness the signing ceremony of Anti-Ragut between District 3300 and the Police DiRaja Malaysia (Royal Police Force). It was a crime prevention campaign. RC Sentul launched this fight petty theft community project in co-operation with the police force. I could tell that the police force was fully behind the project with the presence of the most senior police chief and his troop of senior police officers in the ceremony. One special feature of this program is that a new SMS channel is established to facilitate the report of petty theft by the community, in addition to a dedicated hotline. With the common use of mobile phone in KL, the campaign aims to encourage local citizens to report crime without appearing in person in the police station. Hong Kong does not run such a digital system. I think we could borrow this method to report petty crimes in the bustling city like Hong Kong when every minute counts. In the evening, we joined the Rotaractors of Kingspark and had a small circle fellowship. IPP Vivian and Kelvin, her sister Olivia and Simon, Rosenna and Timothy, came all the way from Hong Kong to make this fellowship. We went fine dining at a local restaurant located in a small jungle at the outskirt of Sentul. The restaurant is famous for serving fusion Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian food in an exotic natural setting of tropical jungle. Too bad CP John was not able to join us in this relaxing atmosphere for he had other formal dinner engagement. Should anyone interested to experience the jungle luxury we had when they visit KL next time, the restaurant at "Tamarind Hill" is the right place. Immediate after the dinner, Dominic and I were escorted to another Rotary fellowship. Hosted by DG Dato' Jimmy of 3300, this time we had traditional Chinese hotpot in a very local Chinese "Yap Yin Restaurant" in the old Chinatown. The streets in the area were lined up on both sides with one-storey wooden houses and shops. More than 20 Rotarians from RC Sentul, Columbo and the Philippines sat around 2 large round tables all using chopsticks and enjoying the hotpot. Many rounds of whiskey, wine and beer were exchanged. A very Chinese-style party! The hoola finished at around 1:30 a.m. One should not leave KL without trying the Malaysian Bak Kut Teh (meat tea). We had Bak Kut Teh for breakfast the next morning before leaving for the airport. The Malaysian meat tea tastes different from the Singaporean meat tea. My humble explanation is that there is more herbs ingredient in the Malaysian tea. My column is getting long-winded as usual. Before I stop writing, I would like to thank the Rotarians from the RC of Sentul, and in particular PP Mahendran, for organizing the fellowship and the meaningful project, and for the unforgettable hospitality. I should also compliment our Rotaractors for making the unusual fellowship possible. I trust that they have accomplished establishing a friendly relationship with the Rotaractors from District 3300. Of course, I should not forget to thank Simon and Olivia for bringing us to enjoy a jungle luxury dinner. I believe that our first visit to RC Sentul was the beginning of a friendship and understanding building process. There are common values to be discovered. The similarities in language and culture have greatly shortened the distance between the two clubs. Rotary is friendship. | ||
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From
the Webmaster
The job of an editor or webmaster is to publish what he has been tasked to, regularly and on time, without fear or favour. The only English speaking daily of our city has recently changed its layout so as to better present the articles to the readers. It is as indication that media people are keen to progress and to improve, even though there is apparently no competition. Kingspark News appears to be the only internet based biweekly of our district, so much so that the District Webmaster has seen it fit to highlight its contents on a highly regularly basis. Every now and then, friends and Rotarians would make the odd remarks about Kingspark News, usually polite and complimentary, and at the same time, remind me to type and proof read more carefully. I find all these rather encouraging. Back to the present, today (1 April) also marks the beginning of what Christians and Catholics in particular call Holy Week, the week which begins with Palm Sunday and followed by rituals and religious practises throughout the week ending with Easter. The business and working communities would remember the week as one with the most holidays and hence disruption to work and business, while many workers would take advantage of the public holidays to go on extended trips and re-charge their energies. In short, everyone would line up something special for the week. The Church has selected special scripture readings for the week that are typically conducive for meditation and mind healing. Many passages are very beautiful and meaningful. A general theme running through these passages is forgiveness. We have all heard, "To ere is human; to forgive, divine" but many of us would find it difficult to put that into practise. Indeed, at a different level, people who have "forgive and forget" on their lips often have long memories and would put down what they have forgiven on permanent records, lest they forget. Forgiveness involves the unconditional remission and forfeiture of the indebtedness owed to the person who gives. It goes against the grain for most people to forgive someone who has knowingly and deliberately done something nasty to others, particularly ones that are near or dear to the one who is in a position to forgive. Let me illustrate. A convicted killer is put behind bars for life because of his crimes; and many communities would find it unbearable to have the killer pardoned (after long years in prisons) or as a neighbour. This is understandable. The principle of justice requires us to mete out rewards and punishments based on what other people have done; and it is unthinkable and one may even say morally unjustifiable to forgive someone who has killed or done something nasty to another fellow human being. This is where the saying "To forgive, divine" comes in; and it implies that our human nature alone would not and might not enable us to forgive until there is divine intervention. During the Passion of Jesus Christ, Jesus did not blame his disciplines for falling asleep while he was praying, he did not blame Peter for denying him thrice before the cock crew and he was kind to Judas for what he did to him. All Jesus did was to encourage his disciples to pray, to pray for divine intervention. Regardless of one's religious belief, it is thus useful for one to learn to pray so that one can learn to be more compassionate and be more ready to forgive. Those who have practised forgiveness will no doubt have experienced the joy and freedom derived from forgiveness. It takes a lot of mental energies not to forgive another person who has wronged us; and it takes even more if one plans for vengence against the wrongdoings. But once you have forgiven the person and let him know that you have forgiven him, you will be free from such bondages that had been created by no one but yourself; and you would experience true joy. Try to forgive someone over Easter. | ||
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Views in any article in Kingspark News reflect those of the authors. They are not necessarily the views of the Rotary Club of Kingspark or of District 3450. You are welcome to write to Chief Editor Francis Wann or Club Webmaster John Wan on any topic, particularly in response to articles published in Kingspark News. We would publish all contributions as long as the authors identify themselves, the contents are not offensive or abusive, and would not offend common decency or common sense. You need not be a Rotarian to write to us and you have a choice to withhold your name in the published version. Where the contents make reference to statements or policies of individuals or organizations, we would try to obtain a response from the latter for publication in the same issue if possible. | ||
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Chief
Editor : Francis Wann The Board of Directors President
: Patrick Wong | ||
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