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What is Rotaract?
Rotaract is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women ages 18 to 30. Rotaract clubs
are either community or university based, and they’re sponsored by a local Rotary club. This makes
them true "partners in service" and key members of the family of Rotary. As one of Rotary’s most
significant and fastest-growing service programs, with more than 7,000 clubs in about 163 countries
and geographical areas, Rotaract has become a worldwide phenomenon.

Purpose of Rotaract
The purpose of Rotaract is to provide an opportunity for young men and women to enhance the
knowledge and skills that will assist them in personal development, to address the physical and social
needs of their communities, and to promote better relations between all people worldwide through a
framework of friendship and service.

The Rotary 4 Way Test


Of the things we think, do and say:
Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

For more information, please visit http://www.rotaract.org/


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History of RACUTP

The Rotaract Club of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS was chartered on the 26th day of June 2000 by
the Rotary Club of Kinta during the presidency of Rtn Arthur Yeong and the governorship of
Allahyarham Dato' (Dr) Jaffar Mohd Ali.

Sometime in mid 1998, an ex-Interactor from the Interact Club of SMK Methodist (ACS) Ipoh named
Chee Wei Liang called on Rtn Arthur who was the Rotarian Advisor to his Interact Club from 1996 to
1997. Wei Liang had by then become an undergraduate of UTP. Together with a few like-minded
friends who were former Interactors and Leos from other States, he had wanted to continue to do
service to his community and the idea for a Rotaract Club was formed.

Rtn Arthur was then the Director of Community Service in RC Kinta. The idea of chartering a Rotaract
Club was not well received by the Rotary Board of Directors. "We already have 4 Interact Clubs". "We
have not much experience with Rotaract Clubs". "Our last Rotaract Club of Goon's Institute closed
down (because the Institute closed down)". "Who is going to travel all the way to Tronoh for their
Meetings?". "An institution-based Rotaract Club has no continuity". "The New Generations Director is
not prepared to do it".

These were some of the objections raised. Even Rotarians from outside RC Kinta and one Past District
Governor tried to dissuade the charter of a Rotaract Club Tronoh.

However it was impossible to deny the enthusiasm of Wei Liang and his friends and say "No" to 30
names, NRIC numbers, addresses, handphone numbers, matriculation numbers and course names
neatly written on one side of an A4 paper. There was also no stopping an idea whose time had come.

After several tentative Meetings of pro tem Board of Directors, some of which were not attended by
the pro tem Rotarian Advisor who as usual had lost his way or could not tell the difference between a
Universiti Sains Malaysia block and a UTP one, the provisional Rotaract Club of UTP was formed and
started to carry out projects such as recruitment drives, visits to the Old Folks' Home in Jelapang,
International Understanding Night and so on.

Chee Wei Liang, who was instrumental in forming the Club, became the Vice-President of that first
Board of Directors. The first President was Beh Wei Liang.
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RACUTP INTERCULTURAL UNDERSTANDING TRIP JUNE 2009


It has always been a tradition of the Bako National Park and meeting up with fellow
International Service Avenue to organize Rotaractors of District 3310.
overseas trip. We’ve been to Pune (India) in
2004, Singapore in 2006, Chiang Rai (Thailand)
in 2007 and most recently to Jakarta and
Yogyakarta (Indonesia) in December 2008.

9am marked the start of our visit to KAA


[ Kuching Autistic Association ] on the 19th of
June. Mr Andrew and Mr Bernard gave us a
Having gone to so many countries, we came to short tour of the care center, which was
a question – why not go local for a fresh previously owned by the government.
experience? And that’s when we decided on
Sarawak for its cultural diversity and places of
interests.

Unlike our previous community-service-only


endeavors, we expanded our objectives by
collaborating with the Professional
Development Avenue and came up with the
UNIMAS visit and nature trail at the Bako
National Park.

11 Rotaractors begun their journey in Kuching


on the 18th of June despite the A (H1N1) scare.
What we did there (besides having fun) were: As requested, we presented to them RM300
community service at the Kuching Autistic worth of products – a kettle and a vacuum
Association (KAA), an educational visit to cleaner - as well as stationeries from UTP and
UNIMAS, jungle-trekking at the very beautiful bags from RC KL. I could see why they needed
those (the electrical appliances). Andrew
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shared with us that the center has been broken assigned to scrap old paint of the gate as well
into 4 times in the last 7 months! as to give the gate a fresh coat of paint.

Bernard and Andrew guided us throughout the


center, explaining stage by stage how they train
the autistic children. It was eye-opening for
some. There were students as old as 12 yet
they were just starting to learn how to clothe
themselves. We spent most of the time in a
special room with various equipments aimed to
evoke the autistic children’s senses – swings to
calm agitated children down and slides to train
focus of the eyes, just to name a few. At the
end of the day, everyone was touched in a way
or two.

Situated at Bukit Lima Road, the center


provides the blind with a chance to serve the
community as well as to feed themselves.
Residents there were trained to weave rattan
products, which is then sold to the public and
the municipal council.

For more information on Rotary International


and Rotaract, do visit
http://www.rotary.org/en/Pages/ridefault.aspx

By the 22nd of June, we moved on to Sibu,


where we visited a bona fide Iban longhouse,
did community service at the Sibu Blind Center
as well as experienced the affability of the
Rotaractors of United College Sarawak (UCS).

The Sibu Blind Center benefited from the


RM500 worth of paint and painting tools
sponsored by RACUTP. Basically, some of us
cleaned up the center while the rest of us were
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Schedule of Sarawak Trip

18th of June
On the day we arrived, we did an impromptu trip to Carpenter Street and visited a tribal tattoo parlour
there, just for the fun of it. The others who had arrived earlier, went on a Jalan-Jalan Cari Makan
adventure. That night, we were surprised with a dinner at the Hornbill Restaurant. Greeted by five
Rotarians was definitely a delight.

19th of June
After the visit to KAA (Kuching Autistic Association), we headed off to UNIMAS. We were given a tour
of the civil engineering labs. This is when we began to appreciate the lab facilities provided in UTP.
However, the students’ area at UNIMAS had a bowling court, snooker sets and a room for mini-karaoke.
This was our hang out spot in UNIMAS for the next two hours.

20th of June
It was our free day and we were joined by Michelle’s friend, Sam!! We headed off to the cultural village
and got a RM15 pass each. Basically, it was a 7-stop-tour, with each stop showcasing a traditional
house. What was most interesting would be the daily cultural show at the Rainforest Stage. The 45-
minute-performance was packed with dances of various tribes of Sarawak, some of which were quite a
sight. At the end of the show, most of us joined the dancers onstage.

21st of June
We set off early to the Bako Jetty and got a boat to the National Park, which was about half an hour
away. Most parts of the trail looked postcard-perfect – the surreal greeneries, the pitcher plants, and
the rocky cliff which looked like the surface of the moon. The beach and cliff were definitely worth our
trek. The group then trekked to the beach and we hung out there for about 2 hours – chatting, napping,
swimming and cam-whoring. By the time we reached the city, it was already 4pm. We had a quick KFC
lunch with the Rotaractors before parting ways.

22nd of June
We took a boat trip to Sibu. We were welcomed by a banner which read ‘University of Technology,
Tronoh’. In Sibu, we went to the longhouse settlement of Sungai Aup. There we handed out 16 sets of
hand-outs worth RM10 for each family.
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Monday morning was a fair-weathered one. We decided to arrive earlier to try to sell off our extra
ticket - which we did in the end after much haggling with a tourist.
As explained earlier on, the 'express boat' was the exact like the ferries we took to Pangkor Island.
Throughout the 5 hours, what we did mostly would be to catch up on our sleep and to have the fresh
air blown 120km/h onto our faces at the deck. It was rumored that if we were lucky enough, we could
actually spot a dolphin or two. But I guess everyone was too tired / busy to be bothered. So, yeaps, no
sightings!
Relief and joy. Those were the only words I deem suitable for us when we arrived at the Sibu Jetty.
Lesson learnt here: think twice before boarding a 5-hour-air-conditioned-boat-ride.
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Upcoming Events

Installation Night
Date : 17th October 2009
Time : 7pm-11pm
Venue : Undercroft, UTP
Ticket Price: RM40

India Good Will Trip


Date : December 2009

Community service trip to Loyal Handicapped and Disabled Children Home


Date : 22th August 2009

Buka Puasa Raya Dinner at needy homes


Date : 12th September 2009

Community service trip to Orang Asli settlements


Date : 10th October 2009

Interested to know more about RAC-UTP?


Visit us at http://rac-utp.blogspot.com/

RAC-UTP in Facebook!
Get all your updates in RAC-UTP through our facebook group:
Rotaract Club of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=10395431577
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Previous B.O.D of RACUTP (08/09)

President : Jasmitt Singh


Vice President : Goh Yoke Mun
Secretary I : Aira Amira Abd Rahman
Secretary II : Jenny Ngu Yen Ping
Treasurer : Andrey Walter

Club Service Avenue Community Service Avenue


Director : Nurhazirah Hamdan Director : Tan Sandee
Ass. Director I : Hamizah Omar Ass. Director I : How Mei Le
Ass. Director II : A. Devina Ass. Director II : Yeoh Sue Jane

Funding Avenue International Service Avenue


Director : Wong Lee See Director : Jerry Foo Kok Xiang
Ass. Director I : Lee Kuo Chun Ass. Director I : Na Kai Lun
Ass. Director II : Javier Teo Han Ass. Director II : Arvinder Singh
Seong

Promotion and Publication Avenue Professional Development Avenue


Director : Wan Salwa Director : Chan Yen Pinng
Ass. Director I : Siti Nurashikin Ass. Director I : Harvin Kaur
Ass. Director II : Khaw Seek Guan
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Contact Details
HICOM

Name Contact No. Gmail


Jerry Foo (PRESIDENT) 012 989 0211 jerryfoo89@gmail.com
Jenny Ngu (VICE PRESIDENT) 017 435 2218 jenny89ping@gmail.com
Javier Teo (SECRETARY 1) 017 534 9390 javier.ths@gmail.com
Harvin Kaur (SECRETARY 2) 016 284 2280 sunshinebaby89@gmail.com
Lee Kuo Chun (TREASURER) 017 550 6998 atsushilee@gmail.com

Avenue Directors & Assistants

Avenue Name Contact No. Email addresses


Club Service Shammer 012 364 7455 liverpool21@gmail.com

Ella Tan Hui Xian 017 701 7390 ellatan1@gmail.com

Community Yeoh Sue Jane 016 438 1906 shadysu3@gmail.com


Service
Koh Liang Yi 017 667 9918 liangyikoh@gmail.com
liangyi90_koh@yahoo.com
International Tan Xiao Ci 012 372 5273 xiaoci6010@gmail.com
Service
Sandeep a/l Ramakrishnan 017 271 2650 sandeep156@gmail.com

Funding Puventhan a/l Krishnasamy 014 258 2242 zord1991@gmail.com


zord_el@hotmail.com
Jason Law Ming Xian 017 579 1300 bluescorpions90@gmail.com

Professional Michelle Lee 016 885 0608 michkirszanelee@gmail.com


Development
Jennifer Lye Yan Ching 016 673 3822 yanching90@gmail.com

Promotion & Chiew Kwang Chian 017 598 3269 cassey0327@gmail.com


Publication
Timmy Ong 016 204 6831 kingofblur@gmail.com
kingofblur@yahoo.com

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