Clear Conscience

"We urge all Muslims to renounce membership in the Rotary Club and the Lions Club. Otherwise they can consider themselves infidels."

—Atian Ali Mohammad Da'i

Many people don't know what is Rotary all about. Most of them have some vague idea of our charitible existence. They know us simply as fund raisers to help the needy—and that is all we do.

But truth be told, we are much more than just charitible engines. To write a couple of hundred words in an attempt to describe our purpose will not do justice to Rotary. So I will just mention a few here in the hope that there is a better understanding of our organisation.

As a whole, we seek to make the world a better place by forstering friendship—the fellowship amongst members is a unique feature of the Rotary Clubs all over the world. People from numerous backgrounds work together for a better world. Rotarians go out of their ways to contribute their time and efforts. They do all those without monetary returns.

We raise funds and then help to build hostels for the children in the interiors. We brave floods to deliver food supplies to the kampong folks. We sponsor young students as Interactors and train them to be leaders and instill the spirit of wanting to help others. We carry out community services—gotong royong, tree-planting to rehabilitate the environment, and installing gravity-fed water to several villages, to name just a few.

Globally, we've done our part inter alia in polio eradication. We have contributed over US$600 million, leading to the inoculation of more than two billion of the world's children. Over the years, we have done so many good things for humanity.

It is therefore somewhat heart-breaking when some people hurl baseless accusations upon us—that we have a different agenda instead. I don't know how or why these people arrived at such a conclusion.

I can only speak for myself—and for other Rotarians, I'm sure—that I am proud to be a Rotarian. For whatever it's worth, I have a clear conscience, and I know that my fellow Rotarians and I will continue with our noble cause.