A Night to Felicitate: A Night to Celebrate
by District Editor Dr Bahma Sivasubramaniam
The evening of 11.11.2019 saw a gathering of effervescent ladies of various Inner Wheel Clubs of District 330 at the Royal Lake Club in Kuala Lumpur. The occasion was to celebrate the lady we all know and love, Datin Pearl Jai Mohan and her remarkable achievement of being awarded the prestigious Margarette Golding Award 2019. Datin Pearl is the fourth Malaysian to win this award, following the illustrious footsteps of To’ Puan Lam Leepin, Anne Lasimbang (from East Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak Inner Wheel clubs were part of District 330 then) and Dato’ Dr Majumder, a Rotarian.
The turnout for the night was overwhelming, a fact acknowledged by the organiser of the event, District Extension Chairman Parimala Satheesan. More than 70 ladies were in attendance which made it a joyously noisy affair. It was an acknowledgement of the love and respect for this indomitable lady. DEC Parimala was ably supported in putting together this wonderful evening by Charter President of Inner Wheel Club of Alor Setar, Padmini Pillai.
District Chairman Padmini Menon and her Exco members were out in full force and joined other ladies in showing their admiration and recognition of our Inner Wheel legend. National Representative Juanita Lee gave a lucid speech on the inspiring Datin Pearl. The lady of the hour herself also spoke and delighted all those who attended by handing out pearl ornaments, showing her usual generosity of heart, mind and soul.
Datin Pearl’s club, IWC Kuala Lumpur City Centre brought out a cake and all of us joined in a rousing sing along with Cliff Richard’s “Congratulations” playing in the background. Datin Pearl’s family was also there to witness the felicitation of the lady of their hearts.
The criteria for the Margarette Golding Award set out in the website of International Inner Wheel are as follows:
The successful Margarette Golding Award recipients have generally been involved with a variety of charities or organisations for a very long time, often involving a great deal of commitment on a very regular basis. This work must be completely unconnected with Inner Wheel membership, Inner Wheel or Rotary fundraising activities. Alternatively or in addition they must have made great personal sacrifices for the benefit of others.
The awards are given to Inner Wheel members as well as members of the general public.
The criteria for success are set high so that the award remains a truly significant marker of an individual’s commitment to others.
It is indubitable that Datin Pearl Jai Mohan is therefore a well deserving recipient.
A pamphlet describing the award and setting out the achievements of Datin Pearl prepared by Charter President Padmini Pillai of Inner Wheel Alor Setar is in this pdf (please click). To view photos of the event, please click here.