Monday, February 27, 2006

Happy Birthday, Rtr. Soo Ling!



How could we forget the birthday of our "funny queen" Rtr. Soo Ling? But nevertheless we did.

Her birthday falls on the 17th day of February. On that day, unknowingly, Lloyd and me invited Soo Ling to have tea ("yum cha") together at Warung Asli, Bukit Tinggi. We totally forgot that it was her birthday. So our innocent Soo Ling came happily with the thought and expectation that we wanted to celebrate her birthday. But as the time passed without any hint of us celebrating her birthday, Soo Ling got impatient and asked whether we know that it was her birthday! I opened my mouth wide, speechless. (I did record it down in my diary, but some how I just missed it).

Feeling guilty and all that, Lloyd decided to arrange for another round of gatering, this time with the purpose of celebrating Soo Ling's belated birthday.

We went to the same place again on 23th February 2006 (Thursday). Rtr. Engtee, PN Timmy, PE Feldman, VP Hui Hui, Lloyd and myself were there too. It rained heavily that night but it failed to stop us.

Lloyd was very gracious and creative in organising games for everyone. They were basically ice breaking games to make everyone understand each other more.

After the games, we took out the refrigerated birthday day cake and cut it. Oops! We totally forgot about the birthday song!

Soo Ling's skill of cutting cakes leaves alot of rooms for improvement. The cake looked like a bowl of fried rice once she had finished cutting it. But we ate it happily nevertheless. Lloyd played with the cream (ooh... please grow up...)

He smashed a tissue full of cream on Soo Ling's face. But Soo Ling, as always, did not get mad but readily seeking every chance for revenge. Ha! (She was the only one whose face wet with cream that night).

We had a wondeful night despite all of us feeling tired after long working hours (Lloyd's tiredness was due to him waking up early that morning, that was at 10.00 am... what a lame excuse).

Look forward to having another round of party. Whose birthday next?

Friday, February 24, 2006

Friends From HKU Coming To Visit Us!











It's like the movie "the third encounter". We have been contacted by a Rotaract Club outside this district and outside Malaysia! They are the Rotaract Club of University of Hong Kong!

I was surprised and excited when I received the email sent by their international service director. They have planned to visit us, our "beautiful" country in January 2007. For the avoidance of miscommunication, kindly allow me to reproduce in full the email sent to me:-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Harinniann (it should be spelt as "Harnniann, nvm though),
I am Dennis Chan, the International Service Director of the Rotaract Club of the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (District 3450). Few weeks ago, Queenie Lam, another International Director of our club sent you an e-mail, expressing our eagerness to go travelling in your beautiful country. Thanks for your warm reply.
After having discussed with other Executive Committees of our club, we have planned to visit your country in Mid-January of the coming year (2007). We plan to spend 4 days in your country. The details of the coming delegation are as follows for your reference:
Date: 10th ¡V 13th January 2007
No. of participants: 16
Age group of our participants: 18-22
We sincerely hope your club can arrange reception for our guys from Hong Kong. It is really a valuable chance for us to go to your country and to spend our holiday there. I would also like to ask if your club can make any arrangement for our participants. We truly want to have close contact with the local families in your country, as it is the best way to know more about the lifestyle and culture of Malaysia. It is also the best way to establish friendship between us. Also, I would like to ask if we can engage in any service project, e.g. paying visit to some school, to those disabled or elderly. If you can make this for us, our trip will be of a very meaningful and unforgettable one. Looking forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Dennis Chan
International Service Director
Rotaract Club
The University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong (District 3450)

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I have informed our PE Feldman about the proposed visit and had briefly discussed with him. It will be a very challenging project and it involves a great deal of human and/or financial resources to make it a success. We as good host of Malaysia have to make sure that our guests receive the best hospitality from Malaysia. We don't want our friends to go home and say "this is the last time I visit Malaysia!", do we?

It will not be easy but once we undertake this assignment, I trust that it will be fruitful and will be a great learning experience for everyone of us especially in terms of organising accomodation, transportation, foor, schedule etc etc. A lot of support and sacrifises of the members of our club needed to make it happens.

So, the Rotaract Club of Port Klang Centennial, are you ready to make some friends with the Rotaractors of HKU? Please brush up your Cantonese first... : )




Thursday, February 23, 2006

My Wedding by P.E. Feldman



Dear all, Diana and I would like to thank everybody in support of my wedding. It was indeed a pleasure for us to have such a big group turning up. As for those who did not turn up due to work commitment, we would like to say thank you so much for your “ang pows” and did miss you guys. Nevertheless, we understood your reasons and would look forward to seeing you guys in meetings or club activities soon!

Well, for those who would like to get a feel of what happened throughout the whole day, let me give you a jist of what happened. My “heng tais” (brothers) and I embarked on a journey to kidnap my Princess Diana at around 9am Thursday morning, 16th February 2006.


We arrived at Holiday Villa Subang Jaya @ 9:15am and we were greeted by a bunch of hostile “chi muis” (sisters). Somehow or rather, things got ugly and shit happened…

The “chi muis” transformed my “hengtais” to one of them! I shall not elaborate what happened and let all of you guys who missed it to CONTINUE MISSING IT! Haha! It was a memorable event though… After few rounds of tests (eating, drinking, singing, etc), I finally got to my bride and started the tea ceremony for Diana’s relatives


Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Congratulation! Ban Fong!



I received a very exciting sms yesterday evening. It was from our incoming Community Service Director, Rtr. Ban Fong (aka Bom).

He was thrilled as he informed me that he has cleared all his ACCA papers. Yes, ALL papers. He, as predicted by me long time ago, has passed his final exams for ACCA.

This morning while I opened my mail box, I saw emails from our members extending their heartfelt congratulation to our beloved Bom. I really share his joy and happiness now as finally he could put a stop to "study life".

In the circumstances, our club shall have a chartered accountant as our member very soon.

Bom, we hope your success continues from here on and that you will be a great accountant in near future.

Having said all that, Bom, can we ambitious enough to expect a dinner thrown in by you? Haha! Well done!

Monday, February 20, 2006

Medical Camp: Pre-Registration


Our club is very honoured to be given the chance to participate in the "Medical Camp" project co organised by our sponsoring club, Rotary Club of Port Klang and many other organizations.

The Medical Camp will take place on 5th March 2006 at Stella Marri Hall in Jalan Kastam, Port Klang, Malaysia from 8.00 am onwards. The object of the Medical Camp project is to provide free clinic and outpatient treatment to the residents staying at the Low Cost Flat in Port Klang. The Organisers will arrange for qualified doctors, dentist and optician to provide free consultation and checking to the residents there.

In order to ascertain the estimated number of people who will show up on that day and also to briefly record down their medical history, we had on 19th February 2006 conducted a pre-registration at the Low Cost Flat.

A total of 12 Rotaractors and Guest turned up to help on that day. Once we were there, we were split into small Teams of 3. Then each team was assigned to one particular floor of one particular Block to do house to house pre-registration.

Each team was given loads of registration forms which we will help the residents to fill up. It was a very exciting and interesting event as we need to knock on every door to disseminate information about the medical camp and also ask for their particulars for registration.

It was not an easy task. It was similar to a sales man knocking on doors to sell products. Some residents were very friendly and welcome us with smiles but the same cannot be said to the rest. Some refused to open their doors. It was normal as people tend to be defensive when being approached by strangers.

Anyway, we enjoy the tasks very much. So after we have finished the original assignment given to us, we rushed to the control centre and asked for further assignments so that we could run into the flats and continue with the pre-registration works.

Overall, the whole exercise was very fruitful, satisfying and educational. We learnt lots of things from it. It gave us a unique experience which we would not normally have had we chosen to spend the time at home watching TV instead.

Looking forward to the "real thing", the Medical Camp on 5th March 2006. Hope to see the guests/volunteers who helped for this pre-registration again.

See ya there!

Thursday, February 16, 2006

...and they live happily ever after.


Tonight is the wedding of our very handsome and capable President-Elect, Rtr Feldman and our very beautiful and talented Secretary, Rtr. Diana.

As the wedding clashes with our regular club meeting, we decided to make the wedding our club meeting instead.

I met Feldman and Diana about more than a year ago during an "interest meet" called by the Rotary Club of Port Klang at Feldman's father's office. I did not know then that shortly after the "interest meet" our club was chartered and Feldman and Diana had been an active members and strong supporters of our club ever since.

Both of them are match made in heaven. As you all can notice from the photos, Feldman is a very tall and handsome man. Though he looks "big & strong" in size, he speaks very gently. A very laid back man who will snick every opportunity to relax if he could afford to.

Well, like a key to a lock, Diana is made perfectly for guys like Feldman. Not laid back at all, has her own very strong principles and will give you hard time if you do not follows agreed instructions. She is a state swimmer but have never seen her in action in the pool. Maybe after their wedding we can have a session in Shah Alam swimming pool.

They are the very first couple of our club. The first "family" of our club. Could not even find a word in Rotaract to describe that.

Feldman and Diana, marriage is a promise of love.

On behalf of our club, I wish both of you forever happiness and joy.


Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Travel Story (2): Laos, The Local Bus by Lloyd Cheam


Upon arrival, I ask for the local bus going to Vang Vieng, a small town north of Vientian, capital of Laos. After purchasing the bus ticket, I went around looking for lunch. I have not only had lunch but also have ‘take-away’ Lao authentic chicken fried rice with me, as I remember it will be an 8 hours trip to Vang Vieng. If I have taken a VIP Bus or an Express Bus (mean of existent is the Farang, the richer one), having a lunch break won’t be tough at all. However, I am taking the rough one, the ‘Local Bus’. It is quite unpredictable.
The local bus in Laos, theoretically is nothing scarier than what we have in Malaysia. Well, minus the Air Con, the standard big seat, plus lots of dust and plenty of goods. Yeah, plenty of goods. I thought bus are only for passenger but soon found out that I am incorrect about it. The Bus Company usually sells out all its passenger seats and would carry goods twice the weight of the bus (with passengers) until it seems it is impossible to move at all.
The way they stack up goods in and on the bus is also purely unique. The corridor in between passenger seats will always been reserved for heavy goods like rice, rubber, steels and etc. Without a doubt, they would take as much as it could. Stacking up all the way to our waistline when we are sitting down. So, getting around in the bus is quite a task. The rooftop is for sure that it is at its maximum potential as well. Piling anything you could imagine and you could bring. It is ordinary that things are piled up as high as the height of the bus itself. From a distance, it certainly looks like a Double Decker Bus.
I am glad I am not the only Farang in the bus. A middle-aged couple from London, whom I have run into earlier in the town, is also sharing the same ride. A group of 6 Italians and Spanish are also among the minority. They will be great companies, as most locals do not speak much English at all.
As passengers are all seated and goods are all been piled, the bus leave. It does not take me too long to realize that the most painful part in travelling is getting from a place to another. 8 hours, sitting at a straight up and non reclining seat most of the time, no entertainment (or you prefer Lao music) and suffering the “zero gravity chamber”. (Quoted from the book “Are you experienced?”) Which means half of the time your ass is hanging in the air and the other half is when your ass is cruelly banging at the seat. And it carries on over and over again on the golf-holes-filled state highway. Yeah, for 8 hours.

By all means, this trip is not meant for any sort of training. It is purposefully for my own luxury and enjoyment. It is just so much to see and experience when I choose to do it on my own, instead of spending more money for a comfortable travel package. I did a whole day kayaking in Vang Vieng, in the river that buried deep among the green mountains. Also, in places like Si Phan Don, a remote region full of small islands (they call it 4,000 islands in Southern Laos) where I do nothing for a whole day but laying on hammock reading and sleeping. Like Toh say, the moral of the story is, do it yourself (DIY) and you will receive more than what you expected (well, the good and bad). Arrange your own flight, find your own accommodation, picking up a guidebook and read it, walk in a strange town by your own, spend as much time as you want to in a place, this is what I call travel.

Happy Valentines Day!

It's the 14th day of February again!
All the lovers (especially the guys ; P) will no doubt be very busy cracking their heads to find romantic and creative ways to celebrate Valentine's Day with their love ones. Many will opt for send beautiful flowers, gifts, chocolate and candys; while some may just choose to dine in posh and romantic restaurant.
I have heard of this day since I was in primary school. But what I do not know was the history of Valentines Day. So, instead of teaching you ways to celebrate Valentine's Day, I would like to share with all of you, the History of Valentines Day.

February 14 is Valentine's Day. Although it is celebrated as a lovers' holiday today, with the giving of candy, flowers, or other gifts between couples in love, it originated in 5th Century Rome as a tribute to St. Valentine, a Catholic bishop.

For eight hundred years prior to the establishment of Valentine's Day, the Romans had practiced a pagan celebration in mid-February commemorating young men's rite of passage to the god Lupercus. The celebration featured a lottery in which young men would draw the names of teenage girls from a box. The girl assigned to each young man in that manner would be his sexual companion during the remaining year.

In an effort to do away with the pagan festival, Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change in the lottery. Instead of the names of young women, the box would contain the names of saints. Both men and women were allowed to draw from the box, and the game was to emulate the ways of the saint they drew during the rest of the year. Needless to say, many of the young Roman men were not too pleased with the rule changes.

Instead of the pagan god Lupercus, the Church looked for a suitable patron saint of love to take his place. They found an appropriate choice in Valentine, who, in AD 270 had been beheaded by Emperor Claudius.

Claudius had determined that married men made poor soldiers. So he banned marriage from his empire. But Valentine would secretly marry young men that came to him. When Claudius found out about Valentine, he first tried to convert him to paganism. But Valentine reversed the strategy, trying instead to convert Claudius. When he failed, he was stoned and beheaded.

During the days that Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. His love for her, and his great faith, managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness before his death. Before he was taken to his death, he signed a farewell message to her, "From your Valentine." The phrase has been used on his day ever since.

ACupidlthough the lottery for women had been banned by the church, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of St. Valentine was still used by Roman men to seek the affection of women. It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection, containing Valentine's name.

The first Valentine card grew out of this practice. The first true Valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time.

Cupid, another symbol of the holiday, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards.

Monday, February 13, 2006

Travel Story (1): Luang Prabang, Laos, Tuk-Tuk by Lloyd Cheam


As soon as I finished packing my backpack, paid my landlord for my three night stays in his guesthouse, I quickly head out to the street. Again, I look at my watch, “Great, 3 hours, I still have plenty of time.” As I appear on the street with my backpack on my back, instantly I could hear “Farang! Farang!” from three to four tuk-tuk drivers, whom approach me instinctively and tout me for a ride. (Farang means Foreigner, like “Gui Lou’ in Cantonese. A word widely used in Thailand & Laos). Calmly, I look at one of them and ask, “To Southern Bus Station, how much?”
The tuk-tuk driver reply quickly, “16,000 kips” with his two hands showing six fingers. (1 usd dollar = 4000 kips approx.)
Shaking my head, “Na… I can only do it for 8000 kips”
“8000 kips?!” with his face showing in astonishment, “no, no…” and shaking his hands and head at the same rhythm, trying to let me know it is too little with his just adequate English to communicate with me.
And as soon as I am turning my head looking around for another driver, he says, “ok, ok, 12,000 kips, ok?” At all the same time, raising his left hand pointing towards his tuk-tuk that parks right beside us and his right hand in front of me, afraid that I would just walk away.
Insisting, “no, I am sorry, I can only do it for 8,000 kips.” with a smile, reminding myself that I have a strict budget to follow.
“Ok, ok, 10,000 kips?”
Deep in my heart, I know that life is tough here. I bite my lower lip and turning my head around, begging god to give me another driver that would take me for just 8,000 kips. I turn to him and still smiling, “I am sorry”, and take my first half step out and turning away… He says, “ OK! 8,000!” in shouting high tune that grasp my attention instantaneously.
I nod back to him, in return for the satisfying price we both have agreed on. I throw my backpack on his tuk-tuk and hoop in at the back. Without much hesitating, he drives straight to the Southern Bus Station. It definitely seems that he knows the way even with blinding his eyes.
Bargaining, has been a huge part in my travel; Or, maybe for every budget travelers, a.k.a. backpackers. Different people do it differently. Consciously, I have to remind myself how damn poor my budget is. Every extra penny I have got is squeezed out from a dry towel. Of course, the price I pay is still 50% or 100% more than what a local needs to pay. Most of the restaurant serves 2 menus; One for the Farang and another one (which is invisible as they could speaks it in Lao) is for the locals. All these really mean good business for them. It does not really upset me as long as I could stick with my strategy, “As cheap as you can” (to sustain my travel as long as it possibly could). Simple huh?
Furthermore, I am sure that the job for being rip-off will be well taken care by the everything-thing-is-in-a-package-and-will-be-well-taken-care-of-as long-as-you-shop-stay-and-eat-at-places-we-recommend tourist groups.

PS: Don’t get me wrong about the people of Laos. As these were people I have encountered working in the regions of tourist. Typically, they are genuinely nice people and there are always nice and horrible ones.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

The Slow But Steady Change of Our Club


I wrote this against the back ground of the recent First Joint District Rotary-Rotaract Conference:-

The first night dinner ended with a group of people dancing on the dance floor. This group of people was later joined by more enthusiastic dancers as the music continued and gradually the number of people on the dance floor grew larger and larger.

My body was charmed by the rhythm. Suddenly I lost control of my legs and before I even realized it, I was slowly walking towards the dance floor joining the ever growing pool of people. I have abandoned the rest of my club members who were quietly observing the dancing crowd. My action surprised me but without giving it much thought, my whole body was moving at the command of the music.

Just a few minutes later to my utter surprise I saw the rest of my club members, all of them joining the crowd and started to dance.

Even to the untrained eyes, it was easy to tell that by judging the way we danced, we were not those “dancing queens or kings” who had a lot of training at the clubs or pubs. We were the rookies but the fun was no lesser.

While I was moving my hands and shaking my legs around trying to look like dancing, this idea popped into my mind: I have never seen our club members dance before!

Since when our club when being asked to dance on the floor we do not decline but happily accept the invitation?

We have changed.

Since when our club when being surrounded by strangers we do not shy away but to smile at them and make new friends?

We have changed.

From the above observation, I know that our club is heading towards the right direction. We have developed the right attitude to open ourselves to the district. By participating in more and more district activities, we shall have more friends outside our club at the district level, and due to that we shall have no fear anymore in taking part in or organize district activities.

We have set things right.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Taiwan, Here We Go!


A group of 10 Rotaractors led by President Harley of Rotaract Club of Subang will embark on a goodwill visit to Taiwan from 24th March 2006 to 30th March 2006.

It is very fortunate and exciting indeed that our club have 2 Rotaractors namely Harnniann and Engtee joining this trip.

This is the first time I go oversea with a group of youngsters purely for the purpose of international understanding and making new bonds and friendship. It will be very different from going oversea for study or family trip. I have always wanted to visit Taiwan because many of my friends had studied there. Well, I guess this is dream comes true (and at very low cost too! : ))

President Harley, our group leader, had worked very hard to ensure that this trip is a success. The draft programme schedule had been released and I wish to reproduce them below:-

24 March: Estimated to arrive Taipei at 1945, reception wil be around 1945-2030. 2100 – Welcome dinner (at TaoYuan)
2230: back for home staying

25 March
0900-1100: Yingge Ceramics Museum
1200:Da Xi for lunch (Meeting up with DRR Dist 3500)
1530: Tour to Da Xi Old Town
1700: Tour to Shi Lin Night Market
2000: Back for home staying

26 March
0830-0900: Gathering
0900: to Taichung (Central Taiwan) – JiJi Little village. - Lunch at Shui Li
Visit Sun-Moon Lake (featuring WenWu Temple, GuangHua Island & etc..)
Dinner – Stay a night at SunMoon Youth hostel

27 March
0830-0900: Gathering
1000-1430: visit to nine generations culture village
Proceed with Lunch nearby.
Followed by a visit to Puli Brewery Factory http://www.plwinery.com.tw/
2100: Back for home staying

28 March
0900: Gathering at Taipei Train Station
- Tour by using JieYun Rail route to fresh water vintage garden area (featuring Hongmau Castle ,Little white castle, Fisherman wharf follow by lunch)
- 1800 : RAC Zhung San Univ. Charter Installation dinner
- 2130: Back for home staying

29 March
830-0900: Gathering
- Taipei city tour (Featuring loyal intense Building, National Palace Museum,YangMingShan National Park,etc…) Small Oil Pit amusement and rest area
- 1930: Farewell Dinner
- 2230: Packing & back for homestaying

30 March – 0730: Gathering at airport and expected to depart at 915 local time


I will post more regarding this Taiwan Goodwill Visit once we come back from Taiwan! Hopefully I will be able to share unforgetable moments with you!

Our club has idea of visiting Hong Kong during the next rotaract year. I sincerely hope that the next board of director can realise this dream. It would very fun to fly together as a club to oversea. Keeping fingers crossed!

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

The Next Dream Team

On the 19th of January 2006, we had our very first Annual General Meeting the agenda of which, among other things, was to hold our election of the Board of Directors for Rotaract year 2006/2007.

From the start of nomination till the Election Day, everything went smoothly according to plan. I can’t say that the election was without turmoil and turbulence though as we encountered some difficulty when we attempted to elect the next president. But after some discussion and negotiation, finally we had our incoming president, Rtr. Feldman Kuah.

I am not surprised with the result of the election. All deserving rotaractors of our club were given a fair chance to hold office; finally the best of the best were elected. They are:-

President : Feldman
President Elect : Timmy
Hon. Secretary : Diana
Hon. Treasurer : Sooling
Community Service Director : Ban Fong
Club Service Director : Shawn
International Service Director : Alice
Professional Development Director : Engtee
Immediate Past President : Harnniann

After the election I was overwhelmed with emotions that I felt compelled to write a personal letter to Rtr Feldman and Rtr Diana which I did.

I was glad and relieved that the incoming Board of Directors had been finalized which means our club’s succession of leadership shall not have any difficulty.

Incoming President, Rtr Feldman will have a strong team of capable leaders supporting his presidency and the plans he wish to execute.

Brother Feldman, you will not have too much luxury to rest and relax as not far from now, you will need to gather your people to plan for the next year which shall commence in 4 months time.

All the best to the next “Dream Team” of our club!

District Rotaract Conference 2005 by VP Hui Hui


This is my first time participating in a joint Rotary-Rotaract conference. I was lucky I managed to squeeze my time despite my busy year end work schedule.

The main purpose is to get to know new friends from other Rotary Club and Rotaract clubs around Klang Valley.

Day 1 (Evening banquet dinner)

Earlier, I managed to come in during my two hours lunch break to register for the keys for check in. The counters were open. I was surprised to see Rotaractor Joanne from Subang RAC. She came as the DRR’s representative to our club installation dinner.

I arrived for the evening dinner late but just in time for dinner to be served. The seats allocated was occupied by three rotaractors, which later I found out that they are from Hong Kong. In the end, I ended sitting up with Protem members from Melawati Club and RAC Kelana Jaya.

All are young ladies still studying in colleges. But with ladies, it is easy to ‘bond’ by engaging ‘girlie’ talk like fashion, makeup and men.

The dinner ended with a concert performance.

And I had make new friends that night.

Later, towards midnight, I get to know of fellow Rotaractors from Hong Kong Island East. All of us, RAC of Port Klang Centennial members assisted by searching a hotel for them. Most hotels were fully booked. We were walking and showing them Bukit Bintang and Jalan Sultan Ismail.

Day 2 (Plenary forum, games and activities)

Early morning, there was a forum titled Rotary-Rotaract under Microscope. It was hosted by Rotary District Governor Special Representative from Hong Kong, DG Alex, also the
Dr Ken’s honourable guest.

He handled the forum discussion successfully and on time. In addition, he had a session with the Rotaractors on how to be effective leaders. I was glad the effort to bridge the communication gap between Rotary and Rotaract clubs was addressed properly.

The team building games started in the afternoon. That is where the fun begins.
The first game was the constructing a building game from deck of cards. This requires team members to be mute and use sign language. That was tough but thrilling.

The second game was a business strategy game which requires members to cooperate and construct an ‘Egg Catcher’ made out of given materials and with limited access of funds.

Before the games session, ‘Guardian Angel’ game was announced. Purpose is to secretly ‘treat’ the special person with gifts and with extreme hospitality. It was similar to a ‘blind’ matchmaking game.

And, of course, the Ming Vase treasure hunt clues were given for members to decipher the hidden code locate the hidden treasure.

After a tiring session, members adjourned for the Governors banquet dinner. The theme was ‘Black’ and ‘Gold’.

The dinner ended with a countdown dance party to the wee hours of the morning.

Day 3

After the New Year countdown, I woke up late but managed to attend the District Governors closing ceremony.

Then, the conference ended with hosting of children from various orphanages from Klang Valley.

Philea home orphanage children was there with Rotarian Chew Song Kong at the main hall to receive schoolbags and toys.


Summary

What I like about the District RT-RAC Conference

1) Good venue and cozy hotel accommodation and parking
2) The conference was well organized.

Suggestions for improvement
For the Ming Vase game, more time should be allotted, as this requires time to solve and decipher the clues.
Prepared by VP Hui Hui
RAC Port Klang Centennial

Monday, February 06, 2006

Back To Work!


After the overlong holiday, finally I am back to the office sitting on my favourite chair doing the routine works.

It is a blessing that I was given such a long holiday for I had rejuvenated and feel so fresh now! I can hardly wait to bury my head into the thick piles of papers and sweat profusely.

The first thing I did this morning, the very first task after the Lunar New Year, was to bring the court bailiff to seal a tenant’s premises as the tenant had defaulted rentals for 18 months! I did not complain about waking up early in the morning, nor did I complain about having to burn under the hot sun while waiting the locksmith to break open the doors to gain entry. I actually enjoyed every moment of it. Because I was rejuvenated!

That brings me to the core of my post this time. I find that we cannot and should not bury ourselves too long in a working or studying environment which seriously lacks excitement or stimulation. By doing so, we risk losing the passion or enthusiasms which we once had.

Allow me to share one exciting event which occurred in my office shortly before Chinese New Year. Our office was visited by a surprise guest/client! And he was Victor Wong Pin Guan! You do not know him? Well he was formerly part of the duo called “Kuang Liang Pin Guan” which had now dissolved. He used to be very famously in Malaysia (well, now he is considered reasonably famous).

Well, you never know who is going to visit you next. So keep your finger crossed as surprise and excitement might be waiting for you!

District Rotaract Conference 2005 by Rtr Timmy Ong


With less than a year of experience being a Rotaractor, I was lucky to given the chance to participate in the 1st Joint Rotary-Rotaract Conference. The experience was great and it makes me see Rotaract from a different positive angle.

My objectives of joining the joint conference were to meet more Rotaractors and Rotarians and to understand Rotaract deeper. The conference has proven that it has succeeded in meeting the objectives. In fact, the conference has given me more (in terms of experience and enjoyment) from what I have expected initially.


DAY 1

The first great experience during the conference was to meet four Rotaractors from Hong Kong Island East. They were arranged to dine with us since there were empty seats on our table and the visitors from Hong Kong were without any pre-arranged seats. Instead of meeting Rotaractors from the District 3300, interactions started instantly between Districts 3300 and 3450 on our table. We have made ourselves some great new friends.

We soon found out that the visitors were without any accommodations for the next day in KL. We have volunteered ourselves in helping them to find accommodations in a hotel nearby. We started our “hunt” after the dinner and it proved to be a hard task as it was New Year’s Eve the next day. Nevertheless, we managed to find them a room at a hotel nearby after visiting not less than 7 hotels. Obviously our new friends were very grateful for our help but I believe they will do the same, offering us help if we were in Hong Kong.


DAY 2

The “Rotary-Rotaract under a Microscope” discussion was filled with interesting notions and suggestions. Without any doubts, Rotaract clubs could contribute more to the community and improve with the guidance and support of Rotary clubs. I can see there are a lot of improvements can be done on this, the big question remained is how do we seek the balance point of being dependant and independent. I will look forward to more interactions between Rotaract and Rotary in the future as the panel discussion was way too short.

Thumbs up to the organizers for the games organized during the DRC. The games were not only fun, they required logical thinking and teamwork. More of such games should be encouraged in any future Rotaract activities as they teach Rotaractors the importance of tolerance, courage, leadership and consideration while working as a team. Rotaract is all about teamwork.

The Governor’s Banquet gave us chances to meet Rotarians. It was a good idea to let Rotaractors and Rotarians to dine on a same table. We have met Rotarians who have requested to visit our Rotaract club. In other words, it has opened up a channel to promote Rotary-Rotaract interactions.

It was New Year’s Eve and we had a great time celebrating. We had a walk with the Hong Kong Rotaractors in KL, introducing them the culture and food of Malaysians. It was a tiring night but it is also a night we will remember with a smile.


DAY 3

The main program for the day was the Conference Project. Our club community service project’s orphanage has managed to send around 40 children to the project. We stick with them during the shows and leave the conference after seeing them went off in a bus.


What I like about this DRC

· The $: At RM200 I got 5-star accommodation, nice food, good programs, meet new friends, understand Rotary-Rotaract and so much more. There is nothing I can complain about this package. The organizers did a very good job is letting the members to participate with such a low fee.

· Good teambuilding games.

Improvements

· Punctuality: Participants still have a lot to learn about in this area.

· Seating arrangements during Governor’s Banquet: Several of our club members were without a seat (due to a full table) even if their names were in the seating list.

· The Missing Ming: I understand that the organizers might want to use this game as a way to encourage group discussions and interactions among the participants. But it proved that this game is more like a “burden” than it is like a game since there was hardly time for the participants to have group discussions. I can see participants trying to solve the puzzle during the Governor’s Banquet. But it was a good game just that it did not fit in the time slot.



Prepared by:
Tim Ong
RAC Port Klang Centennial
10/01/2006