LAUGHTER THE BEST MEDICINE - NORMAN THE SAILOR

Norman, an old retired sailor, puts on his old uniform and heads for the docks once more, for old times sake and some hot sex. 

 He engages a lovely prostitute and takes her up to a room.

He's soon going at it as well as he can for a guy his age, but needing some reassurance, he asks, 'How am I doing?'

The prostitute replies, 'Well Norman, ya old sailor, you're doing about three knots.'

'Three knots?' he asks. ' What's that supposed to mean?'

She says, 'You're knot hard, you're knot in, and you're knot getting your money back.'

RI President's message - October 2013

In Rotary, October is the month we set aside to remind ourselves of our second Avenue of Service: vocational service. While some Rotarians call this the "forgotten" area of service, I would disagree: In fact, vocational service is the avenue through which we serve so often, we don't always recognize it as service.

Vocational service has its roots in the second object of Rotary, which encourages all Rotarians to hold high ethical standards in our business affairs and our professions, to recognize all useful occupations as worthy of respect, and to dignify work as an opportunity to serve society.

In short, the idea of vocational service is that our jobs, in themselves, are a way of serving society. Whether we are serving customers, teaching students, or treating patients, whether we're involved in commerce, research, the media, or any one of countless other fields – we take pride in doing our work with competence and integrity. Every occupation fills a need, and by doing our work well, we are contributing to our communities and our society.

The role of vocational service in the club is important, even if it isn't always prominent. By maintaining high standards individually, we earn a reputation that we share collectively. By valuing all occupations equally and by maintaining a classification system in our clubs, we ensure that our clubs reflect our communities – and can serve them well. A Rotary club of all lawyers wouldn't be capable of nearly as much as one that also had teachers, engineers, business owners, and dentists; in Rotary, our diversity is our strength. That diversity is an advantage not only to our service but to our members: It gives us all a valuable way to find the connections and opportunities that help us in our own careers.

That aspect of membership is as old as Rotary. Paul Harris himself wrote often of the business advantages of Rotary membership, believing, as I do, that being a Rotarian means a person holds a certain set of values that will make him or her a good person to do business with. Today, with the world more connected than ever, Rotary membership is an honor that we should be proud to share.

Ron D Burton.

President, Rotary Internationa

INTERACT LEADERSHIP TRAINING SEMINAR - 28 SEPTEMBER 2013

Once again our club organised the ILTS for our future Interact leaders. The ILTS was attended by Interactors from Global Indian International School and SMK Desa Perdana. I total about 50 Interactors participated. The event was organised by Rtn Merlin Maria (Youth Service Chair) and the Committee Advisor was PP E Puspa Devi. The trainers were Pres. Pathepen, PP Dr Siva, PP Wong, PP Kan, IPP Gnana, Rtn Ole and Rtn Isabelle. The MC for the day was PE Sam. 

President E Pathepen, Headmistress Mamta Agarwal and Youth Service Chair Merlin Maria

MC PE Samantha did a great job

Interactors listening with great attention

The President Speaks

Pres Brandon (SMK Desa Perdana)  receives his certificate

A happy ending to a great day of learning for the Interactors. 

SNAPSHOTS OF THE FELLOWSHIP ORGANISED BY RC GREATER KL AT THE DISTRICT ASSEMBLY

Where's my husband?

Hold on buddy, why are you not at the SAFARI NIGHT?

The best fellowship night - courtesy of RC Greater KL, the organisers

Safari Night - meet the party animals!

Not so Limbo Rock. A new game!

Entertainment all the way from AFRICA!!!

The Lion King??? Sure ah?

The Food King!

Not the SPICE Girls, the SPICY Girls!!

What a fun filled evening it was

The DUM DUM Game

Everyone in character. Who's the guy with the red turban??? Lost in Africa?

Looks like a red turban invasion of Africa!!??

GREEN ACTIVITY: Sixty Rotarians, together with families and friends, planted mangrove saplings at the Tanjung Piai Johor National Park

JOHOR: IN the wake of natural disasters and an increased awareness of the  ecological and economic role of mangrove forests, there is now a greater commitment to preserve these wetlands.

So it was that the Rotary Club of Johor Baru organised its Preserve Planet Earth event recently, the first in its Mangrove Reforestation Project. In line with the Rotary International theme for 2012-2013, Peace Through Service, a group of  60 Rotarians, together with their families and friends, got together for a mangrove replanting exercise at the Tanjung Piai Johor National Park. The park consists of  926ha of  forest, of which 526ha are coastal mangroves made up of more than 20 true species of mangrove and nine associated  species of mangrove. It is also home to wetland wildlife  such as mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish,  molluscs and crustaceans. Declared  a Ramsar site in 2003, the park cannot be disturbed ecologically.

The club members were joined by members from the Rotary clubs of Tebrau, Pontian and Kulai, and that of Bukit Timah and e-Club in Singapore. There were also several members from the Johor Baru Senior Citizens Association among the guests. Upon arrival, the group was welcomed by Park manager Khalid Zahrom, who gave an overview of the park by showing a video and briefing them on the replanting process. "This is the biggest gathering of Rotarians in Pontian," said  Rotary  district governor elect Lee Kong Hwee as he welcomed everyone to his hometown of Pontian. He fondly recalled his childhood days when he first saw bakau or mangrove timber  ferried around town. "Now we understand how valuable these mangroves are to our environment and  how they should be harvested sustainably," said Lee.

Mangrove forests are ecosystems along sheltered coasts, and Malaysia's mangroves are more diverse than those in tropical Australia, Africa and the Americas. Mangroves protect the coastline by acting as wave breaks and serve as natural barriers against torrential storms and tsunamis. Their tough root systems not only trap debris, sediments,  nutrients and toxic elements, but also provide breeding grounds for fish, crabs, prawns and other marine life essential for the fishing industry. "Let us not take the wetlands for granted, for our very existence depends on  them," said organising chairman Freddie Long, who emphasised that we need to help Nature by replanting  depleting forests. He also said we need to educate the younger generation and promote public awareness on the importance of mangrove ecosystems. "I hope the corporate sector and other non-governmental organisations will include  Tanjung Piai and mangrove conservation as part of their corporate social responsibility," he added.

One of the activities that is encouraged when replanting is the retrieval and proper disposal of debris from the mangrove forests. On behalf of the club, Long thanked park staff for helping the Rotarians in the replanting activities and thanked the Forestry Department for  providing the 500 saplings. "This is the pilot event in our Mangrove Reforestation Project. "It will be followed by more environment preservation programmes," said Rotary Club of Johor Baru president Ng Swee Poh, who described the replanting activities as an eye-opener for many. The sentiment was echoed by in-coming president Francis Gopal. "In the next phase, we hope to work with the Malaysia Nature Society in educational programmes with youths," said Gopal.

Shod in rubber boots, the group made their way down the boardwalk to the mangrove forest  for their hands-on experience of replanting the saplings.They followed the lead of park staff who demonstrated how the saplings should be planted in the soil that  was made soft and muddy with the endless ebb and flow of the tides. After the saplings were planted in the ground, the staff secured each sapling by tying  it to a supporting stick.

A visit to the park is not complete without a trek to the southern-most tip of mainland Asia. So after the replanting activities, the group made their way along a  boardwalk built through the forest to this spot. Along the way, they stopped to read plaques with interesting information on  wetland wildlife and then extraordinary range of flora and fauna  such as the piai plant, a wild fern from which the park derived its name. At the close of the event, participants were rewarded with a certificate of achievement as a special memento of a day well-spent at the park.

Tanjung Piai Johor National Park is  in Serkat in the Pontian district of Johor. It is about 92km from Johor Baru. For group events and enquiries, call the Johor National Park Corporation at 07-223 7471, or 07-224 2525.

You can also fax 07-223 7472, or visit www.johorparks.com

Tanjung Piai Johor National Parks staff securing the saplings after they were planted by tying them to sticks.

NEW STRAITS TIMES REPORT ON ROTARY

KUALA LUMPUR: Rotary Malaysia celebrated Earth Day recently by planting 250 trees at the Bukit Hari Forest Plantation plot (Field 47) located within the grounds of the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) in Kepong, here.

This was a project by the organisation that was aimed at helping protect the endangered ecosystem and offset the area's carbon footprints.

Rotary Malaysia engaged more than 500 people to actively participate in its I Planted A Tree project to provide a hands-on demonstration of how carbon offset projects can be designed and implanted effectively.

"The project is the first in a series planned at the location that will not only achieve great sustainability outcomes, but also create a growth environment," said District Governor of Rotary Malaysia, Mansoor Saat.

"The main difference with this project is our commitment to maintain the trees planted as part of ground and landscape maintenance for 30 years."

The I Planted A Tree project is sponsored by UPS, in line with Rotary Malaysia's goal of adopting a greener lifestyle.

Rotary Malaysia plans to plant 500 more trees in Field 47 by this year.

"A single tree can absorb one tonne of carbon dioxide in its lifetime," said UPS Malaysia managing director, Naeem Butt.

"The UPS Foundation was set up to meet the changing needs of communities.

"We have been actively involved in empowering different groups of people, by giving them the tools to conserve the environment, such as through this project."

Mansoor added that the planting would enable FRIM to generate carbon-offset credits for the organisation to use in reducing its carbon footprints.

"On a larger scale, this project aims to deliver a field site for researchers seeking to understand how to better restore biodiversity, or the way carbon dioxide is sequestered in a landscape."

The I Planted A Tree project was officiated by FRIM director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Latif Mohmod, with Butt, Mansoor and organising chairman S. Kulasegaran.

The Rotarians celebrate Earth Day by planting trees within the grounds of the Forest Research Institute Malaysia.

OUR DISTRICT IS INCORPORATED AND THIS YEAR THESE ARE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS