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Vol. 142 Jan–June 2013

MCI(P) 118/11/2012

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Vol. 142 January – June 2013

CONTENTS

Editorial:

- Farewell, My Beloved page 3

- Addendum page 5

President’s Fellowship page 6

March Dinner Meeting page 8

The Mackays’ Visit page 11

Fellowship at Chestnut Hotel page 13

May Dinner Meeting page 16

Birthdays & Anniversaries page 19

MCI(P) 118/11/2012

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EDITORIAL

Farewell, My Beloved

The International Y’s Men’s Club of

Singapore, Beta Chapter was chartered in

1958. For 55 glorious years she had provided

sterling services to the Community.

From time to time she had organised fund-

raising charity events for institutions such as

Association for the Visually Handicapped,

Villa Francis Home for the Aged, Metropolitan YMCA, Sree Narayana

Mission Home, Chen Su Lan Children’s Home, the Singapore Cheshire

Home, Student Care Services, Singapore Anti-Narcotic Association,

Singapore Planned Parenthood Association and the Kampong Kapor

Family Service Centre, The fundraising was done through Charity Film

Premiers, Charity Dinners, Donation Draws and Charity Golf

Tournaments. The Club was instrumental in providing funds for a male

dormitory and the Dining Hall when the Villa Francis Home was being

built. It had also established a Beta Scholarship Fund run by the Student

Care Service. The Fund is ongoing and provides grants to needy

primary school children. Beta Chapter had also made home visits to

children’s homes and homes the aged organising outings, tea parties,

dumpling festival parties and annual Christmas parties.

Beta Chapter was responsible for several SMIT District Conferences,

the 9th Asia Area YMCA Leaders’ Conference in 1974, the 6th Asian

Y’s Men’s Convention in 1976 and the highly successful 61st

International Convention.

Y’s Man Dr Paul Tan Editor of Beta Bulletin

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The Club provided home-stays for many International visitors. In

1966, she chartered the reactivation of the Alpha Chapter. She

celebrated her 21st Anniversary with a gala Dinner and dance at Hotel

Ambassador, her Silver Jubilee in 1983 and in 2008, her 50th

Anniversary.

At District, Regional, Area and International levels, Beta Chapter had

been highly looked upon. She has provided leadership and had several

of her members serve in important positions.

She had even dabbled in the glamour world of beauty contests,

organising two Y’s Beauty Queen Contests in 1974 and 1976 and the

Miss Singapore Universe Pageant in 1986.

I had been with the club since 1971 and had watched her grow from

strength to strength, blossoming into a gracious lady. She had been

fortunate in being able to recruit dedicated, committed members who

became core members. She had never needed to recycle Presidents.

But as in many clubs the world over, members had grown old and

weary and coupled with personality problems and their own agenda,

they had left the club in shambles. We had not been able to infuse new,

young blood into the club. As the late Y’s Man David Tan predicted

when he was desperately afflicted with cancer and knowing he would

not live long enough to help the club through her travails, there would

be little alternative but to close the Club. The Board of Directors had

tried in vain to keep the Club going but with falling membership and

lack of enthusiasm and commitment of members, it has reached the

inevitable conclusion.

I watched all these events unfolding before my eyes. It pained, it

saddened me but like the others we knew it was the inevitable. I must

now bid you my beloved a fond, final farewell. I will always treasure

you, the many good times we had and hold fond memories of you.

Perhaps at another time you may rise again.

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ADDENDUM TO EDITORIAL

When I wrote the editorial, Beta Chapter was on the verge of closing

down. At our AGM, the President of MYMCA, Dr Samuel Yeak and

members of the Alpha Chapter (President Lee Liat Cheng, Edward

Ong, David Lau and Julie Lau) were present to dissuade us from doing

so. Also at the Regional conference, members present told CP Norman

Wee that it would be a shame if Beta Chapter ceased to exist as all

these years, she had been a leading club not only in the region and the

district, but is well known in the world.

President of MYMCA offered to join as a member of the club and will

persuade some of his Board Members to sign up. Alpha Chapter has

agreed to hold join dinner meetings with us and will consider seconding

some of her members to join the ranks of the Beta Chapter.

In view of the overwhelming support, we have decided to carry on for

another year and review our position at the next AGM. CP Norman

Wee even agreed to hold the fort and continue to lead the club.

We pray God will continue to guide us as we embark on this difficult

journey.

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THE PRESIDENT’S FELLOWSHIP NIGHT

As is Beta Chapter’s tradition, the Club President hosts a Christmas

dinner for its members. As December was a particularly busy month

with members overseas on vacation, the President decided to host his

dinner function in January 2013. He called it a New Year Party – to

welcome in a brand New Year.

This fellowship night was held on January 5, 2013 at his Cable Road

home. Club members present were Lee Yut Khoon, Anna Loo, Phyllis

Tan, Maggie Mun, Loo Fook Sung, Paul and Daisy Tan and Ong Eng

Yau and Lynn with their three children, Jerome, Cyril and Terese.

Norman had also invited many of

his friends. Y’sling Milton Wee

and his family were also present

to lend a helping hand.

A wide buffet spread was catered.

As Lee Yut Khoon is vegetarian,

Norman specially ordered

vegetarian fried noodles and some

vegetarian dishes.

We had chicken, prawns and

sweet sour pork. Also offered was

Vietnamese popiah. For desert we

had mixed fruits and jelly.

After some fun and fellowship,

club members adjourned upstairs

for the Club’s monthly Board

Meeting. This was carried forward

from the usual scheduled meeting

in January.

Y’s Man Ong Eng Yau with Y’s Mennette

Lynn and Y’slings Jerome and Cyril

Lady Y’s Man Phyllis, Maggie and Anna with

Y’s Man Norman’s relative enjoying dinner

alfresco-style.

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The most significant discussion was the viability of the Club with its

dwindling membership and the inability to attract new members. The

decision was to delay the demise of the club till the AGM in June. In

the meantime we should make every effort to recruit members. Many of

us were saddened to see the Club falling into such a poor state after 55

continuous years of service.

The meeting ended at 10:15pm.

With heavy hearts we bade our

hosts a fond farewell and

thanked him for the evening’s

function.

Club President and host Y’s Man Norman

chairing the board meeting

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DINNER MEETING

March 24, 2013

Guest Speaker: Dr Yong Tze Tein

Senior Consultant Obstetrician & Gynecologist

General Hospital and President ABAS (Association of

Breast Feeding Advocacy, Singapore)

Topic: The Public Perception of Breastfeeding: Why it Must Change

Dr Yong was the youngest child amongst 8 siblings. Her mother was

then past 40 years and did not breast feed her. She had however

watched her married nieces breast feeding their babies but did not think

much about it. Her boss at work, Prof Maurine Tsakok was compulsive

about her patients breast feeding their babies. She thought her boss was

being fastidious.

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Things changed when she became a mother and had to breast feed her

baby. She understood the bond being quickly established between

mother and baby. She noticed that bottle-fed babies tend to be colicky,

constipated and do not rest well. Whilst working in Norway, her baby

was immediately put to her breast after birth and room with her

throughout the day, a practice so different from Singapore. Here the

babies are weighed, measured and bathed after birth and are kept in the

nursery. This is a practice she is trying to change. Rooming babies with

mother prevents cross infection and frees up space in the hospital.

There is no need for nurseries.

There is a misconception here that bottle feeding is as good as breast

feeding, giving women time to continue with her life-style as well as

allowing her to get more time to rest. This concept had been reinforced

by mother-craft nurses who keep promoting their brand of milk in the

hospital, telling mothers the milk is formulated to imitate breast milk

and has added on vitamins and minerals essential for the growth of the

babies. Their campaign had been so successful that the hospitals had

allocated a day each for competing companies to provide free milk to

patients. Only of late has this practice been discontinued.

Physiologically we are made to hold our babies in our arms to breast

feed them unlike quadruped primates that allow the young to suckle

standing up. During pregnancy, hormones such as estrogen and

progesterone prepare the breast for breast feeding and as soon as the

mother delivers, prolactin is released from the pituitary gland to

stimulate breast production. This is reinforced with the suckling effort

on the nipple resulting in more prolactin release. Breast feeding also

releases oxytocin which in turn minimizes the risk of postpartum

hemorrhage and helps in the involution of the uterus.

Breast feeding is safe and convenient. It protects babies against SIBS,

IDDM, Crohn’s Disease. It reduces risk of obesity and enhances

cognitive development.

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The antibodies in breast milk protect the baby from infections such as

otitis media and respiratory diseases. There is decreased risk of allergic

disorders such as asthma and eczema.

For the mother breast feeding results in amenorrhoea and allows natural

family planning. It allows an early return to her pre-pregnancy weight.

It minimizes the risk of ovarian and uterine cancers.

There are also social and economic benefits. Health care cost is

reduced, so is employee absenteeism. There is no need to buy costly

formula milk. It is also environmentally friendly. For the hospitals it

can cut down on staffing and releases spaces for other uses.

Lady Y’s Man Phyllis Tan introduced our guest speaker. Y’s man Loo

Fook Sung was the marshall for the day and Y’s Man Dr Ong Eng Yau

gave the vote of thanks.

Y’s Man Ong Eng Yau presenting the speaker’s certificate to Dr Yong

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THE MACKAYS’ VISIT

John and Roberta Mackay are old friends of the club. They were last

here 35 years ago. John was a Brotherhood Fund delegate and he and

Roberta were hosted by Y’s Man Paul Tan. This time they were in

Singapore to visit their son, Andrew, who is working for SATS. They

were here from February 13-25.

John was from the South Suburban Y’s Men’s Club in Perth. He said

that when a new CEO took over the running of the YMCA in Perth, he

did not look at Y’s Men’s Clubs favorably and offered no support. As a

result the club had to shut down.

John subsequently became CEO of the Perth YMCA but it was too late

to revive the Y’s Men’s Clubs. John had since retired. He made contact

with Lady Y’s Phyllis Tan who is the CEO of MYMCA who in turn put

him in contact with Y’s Man Paul Tan.

CP Norman, Y’s Man Paul with Y’s Mennette Daisy and the Mackays

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A dinner was arranged for them on February 22. Their son, Andrew,

was also invited along. The dinner originally was to be hosted by Y’s

Man Paul Tan at his club – Warren Golf and Country Club, but

unfortunately the Chinese Restaurant was fully booked for a function.

Club President, Y’s Man Norman Wee graciously agreed to host them

at his club – Tanglin Club.

Norman ordered Nan with three varieties of curry - mutton, chicken and

vegetable. He also ordered tandoori chicken, satay and an assortment of

roast meat. It was a very enjoyable meal and we had a great fellowship.

Group photo at the Tanglin Club after a happy time of food and fellowship

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FELLOWSHIP AT “CHESTNUT HOTEL”

On April 6, 2013, Y’s Man Paul Tan and Y’s Menette Daisy hosted the

Club’s Fellowship Nite at their home fondly referred to as Chestnut

Hotel. It had throughout the years hosted many International Visitors

from all parts of the world, hence its name.

This fellowship night was specially poignant as it may be Beta’s last

fellowship night. There is a move to close the club because of falling

membership and lack of interest amongst members. The decision will

be made at the club’s AGM in June.

About 60 people had gathered for this final fellowship night. Y’s Men

present were Club President Norman Wee and his Y’s Menette Ming,

Lady Y’s Man Phyllis Tan and her mum, Lady Y’s Man Maggie Mun,

Lady Y’s Man Anna Loo and Y’s Man Dr Ong Eng Yau and Y’s

Menette Lynn and their 3 children, Jerome, Cyril and Terese. Y’s Man

Loo Fook Sung came late, after the AGM of his society, IBS (Irritable

Bowel Syndrome).

Others in attendance were Paul’s friends which included Beta’s ex-

member Lau Liat Cheow, his wife Lorna and daughter, Gladys and the

Mackays. Roberta was in Singapore as she had to bring her

granddaughter, Alicia to visit her dad, Andrew.

Others present were the nurses in Paul’s locum clinics. Two of them

came with their husbands; others with their sister and children.

Dinner was catered by Paul’s

friend, Jerry, also an old friend

of the Club.

Jerry making sure that the food is

perfect.

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He had on two previous occasions cooked for the club and it was so

good that they requested for his services again. Jerry provided Mango

Lobster Salad, Roast Pork, Duck Salad, Pineapple Prawns, Broccoli and

mushrooms and fried rice. Dessert was jello and fruits. Paul had also

provided Halal food as several of his nurses are Muslim. He requested

Razak’s (Paul’s son Darryl’s buddy’s) sister to prepare Lontong, Beef

Rendang, Sambal Sotong and Prawn tempura. There was so much food

left over that the guests were asked to ‘tapau’ back the food. Paul’s

domestic helper had prepared tapioca in coconut milk and rock sugar

(pengat) for dessert.

The party ended at 10p.m. We were blessed with good weather as for

the past few weeks it had been raining heavily every evening. The rain

trickled to a drizzle by 6pm and cleared by 6.30pm.

Y’s Man Norman Wee and Lady Y’s

Man Maggie Mun chatting with Y’s

Man Paul Tan’ s spritely 94-year old

mother.

Roberta Mackay with son Andrew and

Andrew’s daughter as special guests

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Y’s Man Paul Tan and his fan

club – nurses enjoying a stroll

in the beautifully landscaped

garden

Y’s Man Dr Ong Eng Yau and Y’s Menette Lynn

with host Dr Paul Tan

Lady Y’s Man Phyllis with ex-Y’s

Man Lau Liat Cheow, wife Lorna

and daughter Gladys, and Y’s

Menette Ming

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DINNER MEETING

May 12, 2013

Guest Speaker: Mr William Tham

CEO, Asia Social Ventures Group of Companies

Topic: Alleviating Poverty through Enterprise –

A Sustainable Model of Social Investment

Our usual 4th Sunday Dinner Meeting

in April was scheduled for May 12,

2013 as our guest speaker was unable

to make it. A good turnout of

members and friends graced the

dinner meeting.

Our guest speaker, William Tham, an engineer by training, switched his

career and became a very successful insurance man. He then had a

calling to do more to help the poor and needy. He started by visiting

homes in the rural areas of the Philippines, offering his services. He

found that many rural Filipinos are just sustaining themselves on less

than $50 per family and many mothers had to go overseas to work as

domestic helpers to earn for their families, leaving their children

behind. He felt he needed to do more to alleviate poverty.

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Coconut is found in abundance in the Philippines. Many farmers grow

them in their ancestral land. He gave up his job and with $10,000 of his

own money started the Davao Coconut Project which he felt was

sustainable. This project entails persuading coconut traders to buy the

farmers’ coconuts and process them. He found 14 traders willing to be

involved in the project. He persuaded 2,800 farmers to sell their

products to the traders. This in turn created 11,200 farm jobs and

14,000 rural jobs.

He also found many rural families are in debt, paying exorbitant

interest on their loans. They found it almost impossible to get out of the

poverty trap, with meager monthly incomes. He started micro-financing

– lending money to the rural folks at no interest. They were then able to

use this money for their business, their farms. This revitalized the rural

economy in Davao.

He found on an average the coconut trees in the rural areas were

producing 20-25 coconuts per tree, in comparison to 40-50 coconuts per

tree in other parts of the world. With micro-financing the farmers were

able to buy fertilizers to increase the output of the coconuts.

William was also able to persuade his friends and well- wishers to

plough money into his venture, promising a 12-15% return. With more

money, he was able to look at the transportation of the coconuts from

faraway farms to the traders. He had also persuaded LGT Venture

Philanthropy (a German NGO) to join him in this project. William has

worked tirelessly travelling monthly to the Philippines and without a

salary. His initial investments had grown exponentially.

Now he is on the second lap - to build coconut mills in the rural areas.

This way the produce need not travel long journeys to the mills in the

cities. Here they can process top quality virgin oil for the mass markets,

cheaply and efficiently. They are in direct control of the process. This

mill will be fully operational in the second half of this year. It has now

become his passion to see the mission of ASV fulfilled – alleviate

poverty, create jobs with wide scale community transformation.

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Y’s Man Dr Ong Eng Yau introduced our guest speaker and Y’s Man

Paul Tan gave the vote of thanks. This was the Club’s last Dinner

Meeting and it could not end on a better note - selfless service to our

fellow being.

Y’s Man Dr Paul Tan giving the vote of thanks and presenting

the speaker’s certificate to Mr William Tham

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BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:

February 3 Lady Y’s Man Maggie Mun

April 25 Y’s Man Lee Yut Khoon

June 1 Y’s Man Prof (Dato) P C Wong

16 Y’s Man Dr Paul Tan

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO:

January 1 Y’s Man Prof (Dato) P C Wong & Kum Peng

April 15 Y’s Man Leslie Struys and Irene

June 5 Y’s Man Norman Wee and Kwong Ming

10 Y’s Man Dr Ong Eng Yau and Lynn

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