Move to oust country club president disallowed

SINGAPORE - A petition to oust Raffles Country Club president Simon Yuen was deemed improper and disallowed at the club's annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday.

The Sunday Times understands that the vote of no confidence against Mr Yuen was called off at 11pm, after an hour of heated argument among some of the 150 members present.

Club member Willie Ong submitted a petition with over 150 signatories about three weeks ago, calling for a vote of no confidence against Mr Yuen.

The item was included on the AGM's agenda to be discussed under "Any Other Business". Members were informed of it in a club circular sent last Monday.

The circular states that Mr Ong was to be given time to explain why he had initiated the petition. This was to be followed by another member, Mr Loh Kum Chuen, who filed a motion urging members to reconsider the vote of no confidence against Mr Yuen.

However, on Friday night, neither Mr Ong nor Mr Loh got to speak. Members debated whether the vote of no confidence should be permitted and tempers started to fray.

The club's audit committee chairman Ho Chye Hoi took over as chairman of the meeting when the no-confidence vote came up for discussion after Mr Yuen had recused himself.

Mr Ho explained that the petition had not cited grounds for wanting to remove the club's president. That would not be fair to the club members who should vote on an informed basis, as well as to Mr Yuen, who could not prepare a response to it.

He added that Mr Ong could resubmit the petition.

The decision to disallow the petition drew jeers from some of the members. One member noted that Mr Ong should have been told earlier that his petition was not properly done. Another, Mr John Goh, noted that the management should proceed with the vote since the item was included in the meeting's agenda.

Raffles Country Club has been in the spotlight recently after the club management's plans to spend up to $26 million on a golf course revamp were voted down last month.

Members had been told that the Palm Course - one of two at the club - was in need of an overhaul and that the investment was justifiable given that the existing lease runs until November 2028. However members were not informed that the Singapore Land Authority had told the club that lease extension talks would start before the end of this year. This means that the club runs the risk of spending its funds on a course which may not get its lease renewed.

Friday night's AGM had earlier seen a proposal for an additional budget of $250,000 to look at alternative ways to develop the Palm Course voted down, according to another member, Mr Alfred Ang.

Mr Yuen and Mr Ong could not be reached for further comment on Saturday.

rjscully@sph.com.sg

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