THE 92ND INSTALLATION BANQUET OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG
SPEECH BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW FOR THE 92ND INSTALLATION BANQUET OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG
3 June 2022 @ E&O Hotel
President Dr. Amreet Gill & First Lady Mrs Khaswinder Kaur
Past District Governor Dr Baskaran Gobala Krishnan, representing the District Governor
Mr. Eric Ong
Immediate Past President
Mr Thannimalai Letchumanan
Incoming Assistant Governor
All Rotarians, Distinguished guests, Media friends
Ladies & gentlemen,
Good evening to all of you.
I offer my heartiest congratulations to the Rotary Club of Penang for the occasion of your 92nd installation banquet for the year 2022. The Rotary Club of Penang is one of the oldest existing Rotary Clubs in Malaysia.
The Rotary Movement dates back to the vision of one man – Paul Jarris, a Chicago attorney who formed the Rotary Club of Chicago in 1905, 117 years ago. He dreamed big and set bold goals to be achieved. These traits of his, I believe, rubbed off on the successive generations of Rotarians and have become the corner stone of what Rotary is all about.
And today, ladies & gentlemen, Rotary has been able to reach out across the world in 6 continents in working to better the lives of the needy in our communities while resolving the world’s most challenging problems. This evening’s banquet bears witness to the success story of the Rotary Club of Penang that dared to dream and turn those dreams into reality.
To the organizing chairman, Dr. Ranjit Singh and your organizing committee, kudos for a job well done – the culmination of your concerted efforts is the installation this evening of incoming president, Dr. Amreet Singh Gill. Congratulations to both of you!
Allow me to quote Rotary theme for 2022/2023 – Imagine Rotary. Rotary International President-elect, Jennifer Jones mentioned the power of Rotary in turning dreams into reality if we dare to dream. And to dream big requires imagination wild beyond the constraints we impose upon ourselves.
Ladies & gentlemen,
Just like the members of the Rotary Club, the people of Penang, in general, must also dare to dream big! Penang would not be a success story today if we lacked the motivation and the will or even the imagination to succeed. The question and challenge we face today is, are we prepared to take the next leap by daring to dream bigger things?
The Penang2030 vision is our next step and I believe we have what it takes for Penang to be a “Family-Focused Green and Smart State that Inspires the Nation.” Penang can scale greater heights and be a beneficiary of Industrial Revolution 4.0 (4IR) if each of us set our hearts and minds towards this future goal we now have in sight.
To all Rotarians,
Continue to dream big and achieve even bigger results through the many charitable projects that your club is undertaking. Your engagements with the local communities for the past 9 decades have borne fruit when you see the difference you have brought into the lives of those who are less fortunate!
I commend your ongoing projects like the Gift of Life, the Gift of Sight, the Home Nursing Programme, the Dialysis Centre and so forth.
As you close the final chapter on your tenure as president of the club, I would like to congratulate Rotarian Eric Ong for a selfless year of service to the local communities through projects like the Blessing Bags and the “Because We Care” programmes in collaboration with MPKK Lebuh Chulia.
The baton is now in the hands of your successor, Dr. Amreet Singh. And I’m confident they are a safe pair of hands which are ever ready to do good for the less fortunate among us. May you have a joyous and fulfilling year ahead! Never stop to Imagine and Dream of serving our local communities.
Thank you.