Lee (centre) receiving a mock cheque for RM50,000 from Yio (3rd left), witnessed by former Senator Datuk Naomi Chong (Lee’s wife, 4th left) and other Rotarians in Singapore. The riders are from right : Kimon, Ligunjang, Yapp and Ryman
KOTA KINABALU: Through the initiative of Past District Governor (D3310) Datuk Lee Chuen Wan from Sabah, the Rotary Club of Changi (RC Changi, Singapore) has taken the lead in donating RM50,000 in support of four Sabah riders’ charity mission-cum cycling event to raise RM100,000 to purchase two dialysis machines for Persatuan Hemodialisis Kinabalu, Sabah.
He said the contribution to the association was made possible through a collaborative effort by the RC Changi and RC Likas Bay, of which he was a past president.
Lee received a mock cheque for the sum from the President of RC Changi Eugene Yio at the club’s 34th Installation Dinner in Singapore recently.
“That is the beauty of networking among caring Rotarians anywhere in the world. When I received a flyer from Ride Captain George Ligunjang about the riders’ forthcoming epic ride (dubbed Tour de Peninsula East Coast, I vowed to lend a hand in raising some funds. I texted my Rotary friend Anthony Lim (Past President of RC Changi) who in turn approached the current President (Yio), and the act of passing the hat around snowballed from there,” he said during a lunch meeting with the riders here on Wednesday.
Describing the riders’ endeavour as a worthy cause, the Past District Governor appealed to all Malaysians in Sabah to throw their weight behind them (riders) to ensure their accomplishment. “They deserve support from fellow Malaysians in the spirit of solidarity. Life is unpredictable. We never know..one day, anyone of us, our family member(s) or friends may need the dialysis service offered by Persatuan Hemodialisis Kinabalu, Sabah.”
The intrepid foursome are retiree Ligunjang, 65, (Past President, RC Likas Bay), Labuan’s 78-year-old Frank Yapp, who is as fit as a fiddle, retired banker Terry Ryman, 57, who mooted the idea of incorporating the charity element into the cycling event, and Auther J. Kimon, 48, a tourism player.
Meanwhile, Ligunjang, who expressed the cyclists’ gratitude to Lee, said the historic ride to the eastern corridor of Peninsula Malaysia starts on July 24 as scheduled, covering a distance of 1100km (from Johor to Penang) over a period of 12 days.
He was touched by the magnanimity of Singaporean Rotarians, saying that like-minded Sabahans have emulated the Rotarians’ benevolent gesture while hoping that more would follow suit.
“With the bonanza from the RC of Changi, we, riders, are looking at the possibility of hitting the RM100,000 mark (from the original target of RM50,000) so that we can acquire a second dialysis machine for the association,” Ligunjang enthused.
“As of today, we have raised about RM64,000 (including the sum from RC Changi). We practise transparency in that all donations are channelled directly to Persatuan Hemodialisis Kinabalu, Sabah via bank transfer – Alliance Bank Account Number 100390010037679.”
Thanking the public for their donations, Kimon also acknowledged the generosity of Firefly in sponsoring the tickets for their return flight from Penang (where the cycling activity ends) to Kota Kinabalu.
However, Ryman expressed disappointment that corporate bodies, among other potential donors, had turned down his request for donations. “But I have not given up hope,” he quipped. Nevertheless, Ryman expressed the riders’ appreciation to the State Ministry of Youth and Sports for its contribution of RM5000.
