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| The Bletherings of Former Chieftains on absolutely anything and everything |
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This year’s AGM created a bit of history for the Society’s archives. In my 36 years of being a member of the Java St. Andrew Society it is the first
where there were three candidates competing for the position of Chieftain. I admire all three nominees, Elaine Cameron, Brian Scott and Christopher
Milne for standing – being Chieftain is not an easy role (ask Jim Shon) and congratulations to Elaine for being declared the winner after the vote
count. I am sure you will want to join me in wishing our new Chieftain and her Committee every success in the coming year of her social calendar.
Voting Rights
Our immediate Past Chieftain told me that the perennial issue of who can and who cannot vote at the AGM was once again the subject of much
discussion. For as long as I can remember Associate Members being denied the privilege to vote at the AGM has been the subject of lively debates
and the Chieftain has decided to “test the temperature of the water” once again. Good for you, Elaine, it’s been too long since we had “a right good
rammie” at a Society meeting.
But to be fair, Jakarta and the expatriate community living here, has changed dramatically since I first arrived in 1974. I won’t go into the comparisons
– too long and boring, but I believe the question full members of the Society must ask themselves is, “Has the Java St. Andrew Society kept up with
those changes?” I read with interest an email from Gordon Benton on the voting rights of Associate members and he focused on the history of the
International Sports Club of Indonesia (ISCI) as an example. Gordon was a prime mover in the club being built with British funding and it was initially
going to be a British sports club. However, he changed his position as he felt at that time there was little support for the idea of a club in Jakarta
being ”British” and suggested changing it to an international membership thereby reflecting the demographic profile of Jakarta. He now questions that
wisdom given the current financial condition of ISCI (the club evidently is almost bankrupt) because decisions are being made by a small group of
“international” members to sell of pieces of the club’s land to inject funds, thus hopefully keeping ISCI open.
The reader may ask, “What’s that got to do with Associate members’ voting rights?” Well, I believe Gordon is comparing apples with oranges. ISCI is a
business, with tangible assets (land, buildings etc) and is run on the same principles as any other commercial venture. The sad fact is that ISCI is no
longer the place to relax on a weekend, as it was in the early days. Too many alternatives are now available to the expat community and much more
accessible – geographically.
The Society, on the other hand is an amorphous body, originally founded by a bunch of Scots living here to basically celebrate the feast day of
Scotland’s patron, St. Andrew. Knowing how jealously we Scots guard our heritage - and proudly so, I doubt if the founders even considered the
possibility of there being an Associate category of membership, (non Scots) never mind allowing them to vote. Hard to believe, but when the
Society was founded in 1919, women in Britain, whether Scots or not, did not have the right to vote!
But back to the topic I was discussing. The world is changing now faster than ever and, as a Society, unless we are adaptable to meet those changes
there is the distinct possibility we could find ourselves completely out of step with the community in which we live. With so many social activities now
available it takes an imaginative and interesting programme of social events to maintain the number of JSAS members and to attract new ones. The
new Chieftain’s agenda will certainly be more complex than mine was in 1977/8, when life in Jakarta was so much more primitive in terms of social
amenities than it is now.
Today, all the British societies, including JSAS, are suffering from declining membership for a variety of reasons. Here are a few that I think have
contributed to this situation.
- 1. The gradual shift in global economic/industrial power from the Western world to the East has resulted in a reduction of
job opportunities for “Western expats” in Indonesia.
2. Indonesia is no longer considered the attractive country to be posted to by UK expatriates and their families as it once was.
3. Expats living in Jakarta today have an abundance of choices on how they spend their leisure time.
4. The contract time for expats is now shorter than it used to be resulting in new expats being less inclined to become involved in formal
Societies like JSAS.
Would changing the Constitution by allowing Associate members the right to vote redress this situation and help the Society maintain its proud
position in the community? That’s the question each of us must ask of ourselves. All I will say, from personal experience, is that I have known many
Associate members who have contributed much to the Society’s social programmes feeling really aggrieved when they see members who have not
been active participants being able to cast their votes at the AGM while they have no voice. Certainly it can be argued that Associate members know
this is the rule of the Constitution. The question now before us....Is it time for a change?
A year ago President Obama’s campaign was primarily based on the word ”Change”, a theme adopted in the run up to last week’s UK elections and
look at the chaos now facing the British public! Who would want to be in Gordon Brown’s shoes today – or Nick Clegg’s for that matter?
Is “Change” necessary and good? Ask yourself that question, bearing in mind it is your Society.
| Black and White – May 2010 Edition AGM |
In my September 2009 edition I had the pleasure of reporting the marriage of Debbie Hunter, the daughter of Past Chieftain Billy and his wife Isobel. I included a very happy photo of the Hunter family in the article and was particularly pleased to do so as I knew Isobel was fighting a virulent strain of cancer and she looked so well in the photo. Less than one year later it is with a deep feeling of sadness that I have to tell my readers who knew the Hunters when they lived here that Isobel lost her valiant fight against this terrible disease and passed away on 21st April. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to Billy, Gordon and Debbie on their loss of a loving wife and a devoted mother. Bernie McCready May 9th 2010 |