Recently,
I had the pleasure to accept an invitation from the Rotary Club of Johor Bahru
to join their meeting (again!) as guest speaker.
I
had the privilege to cover many community and humanitarian events by the Rotary
Club of Johor Bahru over the years and published them in Streets Johor, the
Southern section of The New Straits Times.Members of the Rotary Club of Johor Bahru watching
the visuals that supported my presentation
Established
as the oldest Rotary Club in Johor, members of this distinguished club are
familiar with me also because I was invited as guest speaker at their club
meetings to introduce My Johor Stories, first in 2017 for My Johor
Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage and again in 2019 for My
Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People.
I
was delighted with this recent invitation to speak at their meeting again
because it was an opportunity to introduce the third and final instalment of My
Johor Stories. With Club President Steven Wu and
Dr Sivamoorthy at the start of the meeting
After
being delayed by the effects of the global pandemic, My Johor Stories 3:
Proudly Johor, Then and Now, was published by MPH Publishing Kuala Lumpur
and launched in December 2022.
However,
during the lockdown, MPH closed all their bookstores in Johor Bahru and this included
their bookstore in the Senai International Airport. These store closures meant
that readers here could only buy my books online via www.mphonline.
In
view of this, I have permission from MPH to keep a small stock of my books so
that readers – who prefer to see, touch and smell new books before they bought
any – may get My Johor Stories books from me.All eyes on the screen during my presentation
With
this special provision, readers could conveniently get their copies of My Johor
Stories from my pop-up store that was opened at the series of Drum Up JB! shows
since January 2023.
Aware
that the Rotary Club members may be keen to get their copies of this final
instalment of My Johor Stories, I brought a few books along to the meeting.The club members easily connected with My Johor Stories
I
was ushered into the meeting room on arrival and warmly welcomed in by club
members, most of whom were familiar with me and My Johor Stories.
As
I looked at the Rotarians around the room, I saw several new faces along with
many familiar faces like Dr Sivamoorthy, Dr Anga, Dr Shan, John Cheah, J S
Kwang, Freddie Lee, Ng Swee Poh and Teoh, among others.
Club
President, Steven Wu, welcomed me to the guest speaker’s seat, next to him, and
as more members trickled in, the meeting was called to order for its start.Club President Steven Wu presenting a
souvenir to guest, James Ho
When
the president welcomed the guests, I spotted several ladies including Dr Shan’s
wife and another gentleman, James Ho of Yayasan Kebajikan Suria Permas JB.
While
he shared the same name as the late James Ho, a Rotarian in this club who was
featured in my 2017 MPH Non-Fiction Bestseller, My Johor Stories: True
Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage, this gentleman is distinguished by his
commitment to helping others, first as an individual and later through a
charity organization, Yayasan Kebajikan Suria Permas JB, which he founded in
2012.
In
2015, the work of this foundation was recognized by two prestigious awards from
the Iskandar Malaysia Social Heroes Awards (IMSHA).
One
was an individual award presented to James Ho in the Disaster Relief category
while the other award was to the foundation in the Poverty & Relief
category.
It
was good that Ho was with us in this meeting because in my presentation to
introduce the final instalment of My Johor Stories, My Johor Stories 3:
Proudly Johor, Then and Now, the Iskandar Malaysia Social Heroes Awards was
among the proudly Johor brands featured in this book.
In
my commentary during the presentation, I clarified that I had the privilege to
document the stories on some brands, proudly established in Johor that have
since developed nationwide and some were even exported abroad.A Word of Thanks to guest speaker [me!]
by Rotarian Cheong N C
While
the IMSHA per se may not be exported abroad, the concept of this award to
recognize unsung heroes who are doing good work among the needy in a community
was so meaningful that there were in fact, attempts to borrow (Read: copy!) the
idea.
From
my speaking experience with the Rotary Club of Johor Bahru since I introduced
Book One and Book Two of My Johor Stories, I knew that many members were
familiar with the contents of my books and could easily relate to what I shared
with them.
While
I introduced the contents of Book Three, I observed how the members paid rapt
attention to my commentary and was pleased that they could connect with me.Club President Steven Wu presenting
me with a token of appreciation
I
always welcomed an interactive presentation so it was encouraging to receive
spontaneous responses from the members as they connected with what I shared.
In
closing, Rotarian Cheong N C, gave a formal Word of Thanks to guest speaker
(me!) and expressed his appreciation for how Johor culture and heritage has
been documented in My Johor Stories to benefit future generations.
In
fact, I was deeply honoured to be mentioned in the same sentence as Datin
Patricia Lim, a professional historian who documented valuable records on Johor
culture and heritage in her books.
After
the meeting, some members approached me to get Book Three, the final instalment
to complete their collection of the trilogy of My Johor Stories.
When
Rotarian Henry asked me to autograph his set of books and address them to his
dear wife, Rosalie, I was pleased to tell him and other members who now have
the complete set of My Johor Stories books that they are the proud owners of a
valuable collectors’ item.
It
was an evening well-spent with friends in the Rotary Club, meeting James Ho, a
gentleman with a Heart of Gold, and to know that the spirit of volunteerism is
very much alive in Johor Bahru.
The
Rotary Club of Johor Bahru meets regularly on Tuesday, 6pm at the Amari Johor
Bahru.
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