About Us

(updated 28 Jan 2023)

District 330 comprises clubs formed in the peninsula in the west of Malaysia. It is under the auspices of International Inner Wheel which is the largest women's service voluntary organisation in the world, found in 100 countries with over 120,000 members and nearly 4,000 clubs. International Inner Wheel is a non-governmental organisation, inserted in the ECOSOC roster, with several representatives at the United Nations.

Map of charter year and location of clubs in District 330:

1. Inner Wheel Club of Ipoh (1948)
2. Inner Wheel Club of Kuala Lumpur (1949)
3. Inner Wheel Club of Taiping (1955)
4. Inner Wheel Club of Kuantan/Indera Mahkota (1987)
5. Inner Wheel Club of Bangsar (1988)
6. Inner Wheel Club of Seremban (1993)
7. Inner Wheel Club of Petaling Jaya (1995)
8. Inner Wheel Club of Klang (1999)
9. Inner Wheel Club of Kuala Lumpur North (2003)
10. Inner Wheel Club of Ipoh East (2007)
11. Inner Wheel Club of Penang (2008)
12. Inner Wheel Club of Subang Selangor (2010)
13. Inner Wheel Club of Selangor (2010)
14. Inner Wheel Club of Kuala Lumpur City Centre (2011)
15. Inner Wheel Club of Pearl of the Orient (2013)
16. Inner Wheel Club of Ioras, Ipoh (2013)
17. Inner Wheel Club of Apsaras (2017)
18. Inner Wheel Club of Alor Setar (2018)
19. Inner Wheel Club of Johor Bahru (2019)
20. Inner Wheel Club of Butterworth (2019)
21. Inner Wheel Club of Azul (2021)

DISTRICT ACTIVITIES

The official event of the District is the Annual General Meeting in September which is held primarily to pass the audited accounts and vote on resolutions proposed. Although the District Executive Committee commences duties in an Inner Wheel on 1 July, it is customary to hold a ceremonial installation during the AGM.

The election of the District Executive Committe is held during a District Committee meeting in March. The elected officers will hold office in the ensuing Inner Wheel year starting on 1 July.

Other events held through the year are hosted by clubs rallying other clubs from within and without the District. These events are important in bringing together the Clubs in true fellowship and understanding.

One of the rallies is World Inner Wheel Day which commemorates the formation of Inner Wheel on 10 January. It is when Clubs come together to celebrate and gain an appreciation of the wide-ranging membership and service of the organisation to which they belong.

District has also arranged joint Club overseas visits to IW Clubs in the region. All Clubs and members are always delighted to welcome overseas visitors to meetings and themselves enjoy visiting other Clubs when travelling. District 330 was the organiser and host of the 4th South Asia Rally on 19 March 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, welcoming delegates from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia and Singapore.

Service to the needy and disadvantaged in the community and support for the victims of the frequent natural disasters in the region are also priorities for the Clubs, and members’ help is often essential to the quality of life, even survival, of many.

In 2009, District 330 was awarded the honour of holding the International Inner Wheel Convention at Kota Kinabalu.

FORMATION OF DISTRICT 330

In 1972, with five Inner Wheel Clubs, namely the Inner Wheel Clubs of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Taiping and Kota Kinabalu, a district to be formed was mooted.  However, only three clubs responded—IWC Singapore, IWC Kuala Lumpur and IWC Taiping.  In 1974, another attempt to form a district was again brought up but was not successful.

In 1978, the IWC Ipoh President Dr Bakshish Singh pledged to establish a district as one of her projects for the year.  As the response to form a district was positive, International Inner Wheel was informed.  Subsequently, International Inner Wheel President, Mrs Joan Pyke visited Malaysia to advise and help with the formation. Thus Inner Wheel District 330 comprising of 5 clubs – Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Taiping, Tawau and Kota Kinabalu and corresponding with the Rotary District was formed in 1980. This was followed by its registration with the Registrar of Societies, Malaysia, on 17 July 1984.

The first District Chairman was Dr Bakshish Singh who served from 1980-1982.  In the committee were Vice-Chairman Helen Jayasuria (IWC Kota Kinabalu), Honorary Secretary Jean Khoo (IWC Kuala Lumpur), Honorary Treasurer Nancy Yew (IWC Kota Kinabalu), International Service Organiser L. Kanasingam (IWC Taiping) and Extension Officer Julie Larson (IWC Kuala Lumpur).

The first District Annual General Meeting was held in Dr Bakshish’s residence.

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

The oldest Inner Wheel Club of the district, the Inner Wheel Club of Singapore, was chartered in 1946.  This was followed by the founding of IWC Ipoh in 1948 and IWC Kuala Lumpur in 1949.  IWC Taiping and IWC Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) were chartered in 1955.  During the 1970s and 80s, the Inner Wheel Clubs of Miri, Tawau, and Sibu in East Malaysia; and Singapore East and Singapore West. were chartered. IWC Kuantan Indera Mahkota and IWC Bangsar, were also chartered during this period.  In 1983, Kota Kinabalu withdrew from the District but rejoined in 1990.  In 1987, after much persuasion and invitations, the 3 Singapore Clubs finally agreed to join. 

By 1989 the number of Clubs in District 330 stood at twelve. The 1990s were very productive for the District which expanded to include another four, the Inner Wheel Clubs of Seremban, Sandakan (Sabah), Petaling Jaya and Klang. Thus, by the end of the century the number of Clubs in District 330 had reached 17.

But this achievement was equaled in the first decades of the 21st century when District 330, against the apparent global downtrend, chartered seven new clubs, the Inner Wheel Clubs of Kuala Lumpur North, Ipoh East and Penang in the first decade, and Subang Selangor, Selangor, Kuching (Sarawak) and Kuala Lumpur City Centre in the first two years of the second decade. During this period, IWC Teluk Intan disbanded making the number of Clubs in the District, twenty-three. This shows a remarkable growth rate of 3.3 Clubs per decade since the first Club, IWC Singapore was founded in 1946 and demonstrates the continuing success of District 330.

At the Thirty-second District Annual General Meeting of District 330 held in Kota Kinabalu, a resolution was passed to form a new district comprising the 3 clubs in Singapore and 6 clubs in East Malaysia.  IIW was informed and approval was obtained. On 15 May 2012, District 331 was formally registered. District AGM cum Fellowship Night was jointly held by both Districts annually in March of 2013 until 2018.

The newest club in the District is IWC Azul which was chartered in 2021. IWC Mutiara, Selangor was disbanded at the end of 2019-2020. IWC of Melaka chartered on 29 Oct 2020 and IWC Intan Kuala Lumpur were disbanded at the end of 2021-2022. The total number of clubs in District 330 now stands at twenty-two clubs.

INTERNATIONAL INNER WHEEL REPRESENTATION

By 1987, the District with more then eight clubs and having functioned as a District since 1980, was eligible for representation on the International Board. The first International Inner Wheel Representative was Charter District Chairman Dr Bakshish Singh followed by Datin Lam Leepin (not To' Puan Lam Lee Pin), Mrs Annie Foo, Mrs Jean Khoo, Dr Bakshish (again), Mrs Jeannette Tong, and lastly Datin Joan Salleh who served for 2 years from 1993-1995.

In 1995, the structure of the Inner Wheel Board changed and representation on the International Board was reduced from 25 to 16. These 16 “Board Directors” as they are known, were to be elected by clubs worldwide from National Representatives. The IIW Representative was now known as National Representative and the first National Representative was Puan Sri Helen Jayasuriya. The following have served as IIW Board Directors: Mrs Jean Khoo 1998-1999, Mrs Jessie Wang 2001-2003, Datuk Nancy Ho 2004-2005 and 2009-2010, Mrs Rathy Mahendran 2010-2011, Mrs Shirin Ghadiali 2011-2012, Datin Ainol Ramli 2012-2013, Mrs Joy Sundram 2013-2014, Datin Pearl Jai Mohan 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, and Datin Seetha Lakshmi (2021-2022).

The International Inner Wheel Editor/Media Manager (2021-2022) was Past District Editor Ms Cheng Yeok San, the 5th to hold the post which was created in 2013-2014.