Thank you very much for your support and confidence in me to continue to lead the Perak Branch for another year. I asked for and you gave me the mandate to put the branch at a higher level of achievement. For this I pledge to do my level best to achieve these objectives with the available resources and time.
My request to members at the AGM on July 25, 1998 that I shall be given the.mandate to start a building fund for the branch, to improve the quality image of the branch and to start fund-raising activities was met with overwhelming support and a spontaneity which was totally unexpected. Hence there was no prior arrangement or preparation as to how the funds were to be received and accounted for. I must apologise to those who felt uneasy at having to commit at such a short notice. In order that everything is put in the proper perspective to have a measure of transparency and accountability the committee shall deliberate on measures to safeguard the fund and ensure that it would be for the sole purpose of acquiring and operating a building eventually. It will also help the Treasurer and Building Fund sub-committee that would be set up to handle the monies collected.
During such trying times the generosity of members is indeed reassuring and has set in motion a concerted effort towards the realization of my and all branch members' dream to have a home for the Perak MNS. In view of your strong support I shall therefore increase my pledge to the fund. If anyone wishes to donate to the building fund whether in cash or in kind he or she is most welcome. Please ask your friends to donate too to this noble cause and help realise our dream sooner.
The idea of a building for the branch is not new. I wrote out a proposal for a branch building in 1992 but have been waiting for the appropriate time to present it. Mr. Leow Kon Fah, the former chairman, first proposed the idea in September 1995 in the branch's newsletter. Early this year we were offered a room in a building by a large company to be used as an office at a nominal rate but unfortunately it was only on a year-to-year basis. A longer-term agreement on a more permanent basis is what the committee would agree upon.
What urged me to ask for the mandate has been the growing amount of paper and paperwork to be done for the branch in my house. With the growth of the internet and the change in members' needs this has reached a new level of urgency. Over the years the SIGs have also accumulated a substantial amount of assets and inventories which are kept mainly in the respective co-ordinators' residences. Facilities for the children nature camps are kept at various places mainly at Ooi Beng Yean's house thus cramping up his place which I feel is taxing too much of his generosity. His house has also served as the branch's library for very long time. We also require a conducive place for the committee to meet and to facilitate archiving, planning, discussion and preview preparations for branch activities, nature education, slide shows and talks for members and the public.
What do I propose to do with the building, many may ask. Well, I have a dream it will do more than solving the problems above. It will be a base for monitoring Perak's Natural heritage, an acti-vity centre, a nature education centre with reference facilities on all aspects of Malaysian flora and fauna, a clubhouse and a proud symbol of the hard work and sacrifices of all Perak MNS members, especially the founding members who have given a major part of their lives for the branch. So please show your support positively and write in if you have any constructive ideas to achieve our objectives. Once again I thank all of you for your generosity and your strong support for the branch.
Cheaw Hon Ming
1 September 1998
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Created on 24th Dec 1998. Last modified on