The Extraordinary General Meeting

 Sunday, 28 March 2010

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of more than 200 members was held at 10 am on Sunday, 28 March 2010 pursuant to the requisition by the House at our last Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Sunday 13 December 2009, during which a resolution by Mr. S. Somu (8463) and Mr. Vincent Lawrence (14372) - “That an Extraordinary General Meeting be called annually around the month of March each year to discuss and adopt on a proposed Budget of the Income and Expenditure as well as the proposed Budget on Capital Expenditure for the Club for the following year” - was discussed and voted on.

Although the resolution was compliant with Rule 25.10 in the notice to the Secretary within fourteen (14) days, an administrative omission of the Club Management rendered it non compliant with Rule 25.11. Nevertheless, hard copies of the resolution were made available and the House proceeded to discuss the resolution. A vote on this resolution resulted in an approval of this resolution by a very slim simple majority.

This resolution however was not intended to amend Rule 21.12 which reads as :

“The General Committee in addition to the power hereinafter specifically conferred upon them, shall have control of the finance of the Club, power to engage, control and dismiss the Club’s employees and all such administrative powers as may be necessary for properly carrying out the objects of the Club in accordance with these rules PROVIDED ALWAYS that the General Committee shall not incur any capital expenditure exceeding RM1,000,000/- without prior approval of the Club in general meeting.”

The President Dato’ A. Sani Karim who chaired the EGM clarified that he had received numerous calls not to have the EGM as the agenda would involve a conflict with the above Rule 21.12. The Chairman further clarified that as the House had requisitioned an EGM, it would still be necessary to have one. The General Committee was very happy to have the EGM in the spirit of Good Governance to openly table and discuss the revised 2009/2010 Budget and also the proposed 2010/2011 Budget.

Further to the above opening clarification, the Chairman opened the floor for a discussion on the conflict. He subsequently put it to the House to vote on an amended agenda of “to discuss and consider comments on the Budget”, rather than “to approve and adopt the Budget”.

The vote was practically unanimous in support of the General Committee’s proposed amended agenda.

The President then stated that at the General Committee’s first meeting on Wednesday, 16 December 2009, a 5-year Vision Plan was proposed for the Club to improve the Values, Dignity, Activities and Vibrancy of the Club : not forgetting improving the dignified behaviour of members of the Club. This was towards regaining special shine to our once much respected and revered Premier Club.

He done presented the financial projection and the Budgets, comparing them with the Club’s performance of the past years. An extremely lively and healthy discussion ensued resulting in numerous positive comments and suggestions. On the membership subscriptions, the President clarified that the Registrar of Societies approval was obtained on 22 February 2010 (instead of 1 January 2010), and as a result the circulated revised 2009/2010 Budget needed to be further revised from a deficit of RM350,000 to a deficit of RM654,200. The proposed 2010/2011 Budget with a deficit of RM732,700 was discussed with a general agreement.

The President further emphasized that the General Committees of 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 should of course endeavour to achieve a “zero deficit Budget”.

After more than two (2) hours of a productive discussion and just before the adjournment, Dr. A Pathmanathan (4224) requested the floor. He stated that as the most senior member (in age) present at the conclusion, he proposed a vote of thanks to the Chair for having conducted a most elegant and productive general meeting. The house unanimously supported the motion, and in conclusion the President also extended a special vote of thanks to all the members who participated in such an extremely dignified manner to have made the EGM such a success and a fruitful one.

The Chairman then proceeded to adjourn the EGM at 12.15 pm.