It is my great honour to pen this message for Rotary Club of Kuching Unity City as its Charter President.

 

For some time already, I have been observing and thinking through about how Rotary and Rotarians can play a significant role in addressing some of the social economic issues affecting the local community as well as making a difference (quoting this year’s presidential theme by Rotary International President, Ian Riseley) to the community we serve.

 

As I have mentioned to some people around me, the main objective of chartering this new Rotary Club is to attract the young people, especially the Millennials as well as those who like new ideas and like to work with Millennials to make a significant and meaningful impact to the community.

 

Over the years, I have observed and noticed some of the long-standing issues and things don’t seem to be moving fast enough in the direction that we hope for. The world we live in now is experiencing an increasing pace of change and if we are not doing enough and doing it successfully, the world will pass us by.

 

I am advocating the ‘ground up’ approach to make positive contributions to address some of the critical social and economic issues in our local community. This is in line with the Rotary six areas of focus where Rotarians can put together their resources (effort, time and money) to make a significant impact.

 

I am also encouraging the club members to practise lateral thinking, developed by Professor Edward de Bono when thinking about how to address and to come up with more effective solutions to the issues at hand.

 

Lateral thinking is the ability to think creatively or "outside the box", as it is sometimes referred to, use our inspiration and imagination to solve problems by looking at them from unexpected perspectives. Lateral thinking involves discarding the obvious, leaving behind traditional modes of thought, and throwing away preconceptions.

 

This Rotary Club aims to harness the energy, enthusiasm and creative ideas of young people in Kuching City. It aims to serve as a network and platform for members of the club, making up of like-minded people united in the ideal of service, to come up with well thought through projects to address issues which are of the members’ concern.

 

As the Millennials think and act differently from the Baby Boomers and Generation X,this Rotary Club attempts to interact and engage differently with them so that they will find Rotary not only relevant but also attractive to them. It is the aim of this Rotary Club to attract and bring together a dedicated and active group of talented young leaders in the Kuching community, to network; to discuss creative ideas and to take action so as to initiate change in the local community. 

 

The primary reason why the name has been chosen is because we want to promote the unity of people of different cultures, ethnicities, and religions in Kuching. This is also inline with the declaration of Kuching City as the City of Unity.

 

Rotary International talks about and promotes peace and international understanding. That is at the international level. At the local community level, we talk about and promote the idea of unity among people from different creeds and cultures living harmoniously together.

 

I would like to congratulate all the Charter Members who have come together and give birth to this new Rotary Club. I have every confidence that this new club will be in good hands of this outstanding group of members. 

 

 

Yours in Rotary,

Lee Khee Chuan

Charter President

Rotary Club of Kuching Unity City