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Rotary JB installs new president

The installation of Freddie A C Lee as the 64th President of the Rotary Club of Johor Baru (RCJB) on June 7 was a memorable event for Lee, aged 64, as it was witnessed by Guest of Honour, Tun Musa Hitam and guests who occupied 64 banquet tables, the largest gathering by far at any installation dinner.  

President Kwang Jia Shing [Left] passing the baton on to
incoming President Freddie Lee
In a simple ceremony, outgoing club President, Kwang Jia Shing, passed the baton to Lee who is the incoming President for the Rotary year 2015 – 2016.

In his inaugural Presidential message, Lee said that he aims to live up to this year’s Presidential Theme: Be a Gift to the World.  He also announced that the club’s Presidential Project this year is to build another Rotary Dialysis Centre on a piece of land measuring 17,263 sq ft, pledged to RCJB by the generosity of Ng Quee Gam and family, the developers of Bandar Seri Alam.

In 1991, RCJB started the Rotary Club of Johor Baru Haemodialysis Centre in JB and it continues to serve the needs of some 75 patients in and around JB.  This was the first NGO-operated Haemodialysis Centre in the region and as it is meeting an essential need for kidney patients, other clubs and associations followed their lead to set up similar dialysis centers in their communities.  In March 2004, then Sultan of Johor, Sultan Iskandar, officially declared the Rotary Haemodialysis & Hospice Center open and it now operates as a centre licensed by the Ministry of Health.

President Freddie Lee [Right] with
outgoing President, J S Kwang
Lee, a property developer who joined RCJB in 2002, is proud to belong to an illustrious club with a track record of many worthwhile social and humanitarian projects.  Chartered in 1952, the RCJB is one of the oldest clubs and with 64 members, it is also the second largest club in the District.  Service to the community is one of Rotary’s core values and the motto of Rotary Clubs worldwide is “Service Above Self.”

Lee recalled the words of Sultan Iskandar who encouraged RCJB to do “something big” rather than small projects.  This was the inspiration for Lee to continue to care for kidney patients in the Masai and Pasir Gudang areas by establishing a new haemodialysis centre.

This proposed dialysis center in Masai will be another signature project for RCJB that will join their existing humanitarian services like the JB Rotary Haemodialysis Centre, the Palliative Care Association of Johor Baru and the Ang Tiong Loy-RCJB Children’s Home in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah.

Lee said that the RCJB is keen to work with the community as well as Rotarians from the clubs in Rotary District 3310 to raise funds to build and equip this new haemodialysis centre.

“I wish to assure donors, supporters and well-wishers that the resources will be graciously received and judiciously expended to carry out the club’s many social and humanitarian projects throughout the year,” said Lee.

Also present at the event were Member of Parliament for Johor Baru, Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad, Singapore Consul-General in JB, Ian Mak, Rotary District Governor Haji Andre Suharto and Incoming District Governor Philip Chong Mau Kiong.

A version of this was published in The Malaysian Insider on 13 June 2015

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