MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO

Recently, a Leo told me that he is doing a certain thing in a certain way because that was how he saw it being done the previous year. He had assumed that the way is correct. However, he was wrong and was grateful for the highlight, reason behind it and the gentle correction.

Since young I have a habit of curiosity. I dismantled and fixed back the engine of my first car, a Mitsubishi Galant because I was curious about the sounds the tappet valves were making. I would examine each "accepted" practice and question the motive or rationale behind it. Why do Malays use green packets to give money? Because they wanted to follow the Chinese practice of giving red packets. But why is the red packet red? Today, what the recipient want is the $$ (and throwing the packet away) but the root of the red packet lies in the red paper and not the contents! So does the usage of green (or purple, blue etc) have any meaning? Obviously not. So should a wrong precedence be allowed to become an accepted practice?

Take the common practice of naming the person who leads a function, the Master of Ceremony (or emcee). Yes, this is correct when the function is a project or ceremony, and does not have a Presiding Officer. However, when there is a Presiding Officer (e.g a meeting), the person chairing the meeting is the master of the entire show and is in fact the Master of Ceremony. If there is a different person, making the announcements and leading the program, this person should be called the compere or announcer as he/she is doing so on behalf of the Presiding Officer or Chairperson. As such, his/her role is merely to introduce the elements of the program and has no authority to change it or create new items without the approval of the Presiding Officer. Often, they do so at the approval of the Organizing Chairperson. Again, this is wrong as the OC is organizing the function for the Presiding Officer who is placed first in the Order of Precedence. We often hear the "MC" instructing his/her superior, the Presiding Officer, to do this or do that. Put yourself in the working world: would you tell your boss how to do his job? As such, words of courtesy such as "invite" should be used. My recommendation goes something like this: "We invite Presiding Officer Lion ABC on stage to perform his/her first duty." The Presiding Officer should know his/her duty (e.g. calling the meeting to order), otherwise he/she shouldn't be sitting in the Chair!

Another example is the position of the Multiple District Council Chairperson. Started as a single person coordinator to liaise between the Governors of different SubDistricts to ensure inter-District harmony, it has grown into a Council of Governors with (this year) 21 Committee Members (all PDGs) and 4 Committee Assistants (the 4 VDGs), meeting and traveling at the expense of every Lion in the MD. With due respect to the current and past Council Chairpersons, would the next step be making this initially and essentially non-decision-making body into a powerful authority to rule over the MD and their respective Governors? I hear of plans to implement megaprojects and even "king-making" powers! No wonder we can see the many "behind-the-scene" moves by certain people to become a CC! What will happen to the Governor's accountability to his/her District? What is the basis and rationale for this direction? Will we allow this to become accepted practice?

Look around you as you move in the Lionistic world. Question every practice, action or decision, there should be good reason behind it. Most Lionistic practices have been in use since the beginning of our 90-year history. Some are new and recently adopted. Whatever it is, ask why before accepting or using. Don't just blindly follow because someone else "did it that way" or a "leader" says so. Be an intelligent Lion; after all, our motto is Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nation's Safety.

Leo Advisors

A recent incident highlighted the importance and heavy responsibility of a Leo Advisor. Some Leos, assuming it is 'initiative' and 'good leadership' decided to do things without informing their respective Leo Advisors. Instead they were given a scolding by the Lion President when he was informed at the last minute about some decisions the Leos had made and which would involve some financing by the Lions club.

There was also the disappointment by some Leos that, despite the hard work they had put in, they were not recognized for their efforts during the recent Leo Forum and to add salt to wound, those who didn't do much (as compared to others) were given numerous awards. It turned out that the Leo Advisor had not attended any of their meetings, did not advise them nor sign their award nomination forms. A new BOD told me that they had no idea how their Leo Advisor look like!

As the vital connection between an active Leo club and the sponsoring Lions club, the Advisor has quite a big responsibility. Some Leo Advisors think that this responsibility should lie with the school. However, the Faculty Advisor, being appointed by the school, merely sits in to make sure the Leos don't do anything silly but other than that, most Faculty Advisors will not make any effort to add to their already heavy school burdens.

Perhaps it is time our District examine what some Districts are doing - making the Leo Advisor a certified position. Send them for training and mark their involvement. Take their attendance at their Leo activities and meetings and count that towards awards. Make the Leo Advisor and Faculty Advisor not just the link but the main 'cable' in all correspondence. Direct all phone calls, emails and text messaging from the District Chairperson (DC-Leo) or Regional Committee Chairperson (RCC-Leo) to the Advisors instead of directly to the Leo clubs.

On the other hand, the Leo club is an affiliated program of the sponsoring Lions club. It's duties and services should be within the scope assigned by the Lions club (and if an Alpha Leo club, approved by and within the school). Sometimes, an overzealous DC-Leo or RCC-Leo, instead of assisting or advising the District Governor on all matters pertaining to the Leo program, would instruct the Leo clubs to carry out activities or projects that have no use to the community or school. As the 'DG for Leos,' he/she would use this as a criterion for awards later. The poor Leo club, not wanting to disobey their 'DG' or in seeking to gain such recognition, would carry out the project or activity without meaning, and sometimes the sponsoring club is caught unaware or grudgingly go along for not wanting to disappoint the Leos.

What do you think?