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History of
Rotary in Malaysia
A part of Our History of Rotary in Asia
See also short histories of certain
Malaysian clubs
See also the first club of Malaysia 
The history of Rotary's spread to Malaysia is like most other regions, due to the influence and
hard work of one of the early leaders and extensionists of Rotary.
If it was not for the tireless work in discussing the ideals of Rotary and what it might mean to
the local populations, the introduction to South East Asia may have taken much longer.
Jim Davidson of the Rotary Club of Calgary,
Canada was appointed by Paul Harris to do just that - spread the word of Rotary as far afield as he desired, and
that he did.
Having visited Burma (now Myanmar) in 1928, Davidson entered Malaysia via treacherous terrain and
non-existent roads, with his first port of call being the British settlement of Penang. His meetings there
resulted in the later formation of one of the first of seven clubs in what was then, the Federated States of Malaya.
Continuing in a southerly direction towards Singapore, he then stopped in Ipoh, a large town developed around
tin mining and timber industries, a days drive (in those days) north of Kuala Lumpur where more meetings met with
similar success.
Port Klang was a busy sea port servicing the inland and a new club was rapidly formed.
A few miles inland on roads used by transport to and from the busy sea port, he met with local residents of the
capital, Kuala Lumpur which, as years went by, became the largest and most active club in the country.
South from Kuala Lumpur his next stop was Seremban. Despite its being many months since he visited
Penang,
Seremban became the first club in Malaysia to be
chartered due to a lucky timing with infrequent shipping to America and some efficient paper-handling by the local
British residents.
Some weeks later came Malacca (now Melaka) and lastly, Singapore which in those days,
was a part of the Malayan federation.
In all cases, the British presence in Malaya was very strong.
Many had knowledge or experience of Rotary in Britain and America and in most cases, formed the nucleus of these
new clubs.
However, Davidson was aware of the dangers of large expatriate membership of itinerant foreigners and insisting
on greater local representation, all original Certificates of Charter show a high proportion of local
residents.
All these 7 clubs were formed within the period from September 1929 to September 1930. Davidson's
travels were less than 1 year so we can assume that delays were caused more by infrequent shipping of documents
than any other cause.
Malaysia is now divided into two districts, the northern part of the peninsula being allocated
District 3300.
The southern half of the peninsula together with the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak are classified as
District 3310 which also includes the small nations of Singapore and Brunei.
acknowledgements to District Boards, Clubs, Members, Webmasters and
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