6. MANAGEMENT AND FUNCTION OF THE COUNCIL AS WELL AS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
6.1 The direction and management of the Society shall be vested in the Council consisting not more than fifteen Ordinary/Life Members domiciled or residing in Singapore. The Council member must be elected by vote of Ordinary/Life Member. The election of Council Members shall be conducted by secret ballot. The members receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected members of Council. The terms of office of elected Members of the Council shall be three years. However, one third of Council members shall retire annually. If there is an insufficient vacancy to admit one third new Council Members each year even after natural attritions (such as resignations, unwillingness to continue,etc.), Council Members who received the least number of votes at the election at AGM must vacate their offices to make room for new Council members. Retired Council Members shall not be eligible for re election for one year.
6.2 The Council members shall elect the following office bearers from amongst themselves within one week after the AGM by secret ballot. Each session of the Council shall commence at the Annual General Meeting not later than the last day of February or such time in special cases as decided by the AGM. The Council shall hold office until the next annual election. Out going office bearers shall hand over relevant documents for the administration of the Society including membership list, membership information, member subscription status, financial transaction records, secretarial documents and banking transaction procedure set up in favour of the incoming office bearers within two weeks of the AGM. Members of the Council shall not receive nor shall they be paid any remuneration or fees for acting as such, and no member of the Council shall be appointed to any salaried office of the Society by fees.
- One President
- One Vice-President
- One General Secretary
- One Joint Secretary
- One Treasurer
- One Welfare Secretary
- One Cultural Secretary
- One Sports Secretary
- Not more than seven Council Members
6.3 Term of office of President, General Secretary shall not be more than 2 years and they will not be eligible to hold any of these offices within three years from the last date of holding any of these offices. The Treasurer shall hold office for one session only and shall not be reappointed for the following session.
6.4 A Council meeting shall be held at least once in two months after 7 day’s notice to Council members. The President may call a Council meeting at any time by giving 3 day’s notice. More than half of the members of the Council must be present for its proceedings to be valid.
6.5 The duty of the Council is to organise and supervise the day to day activities of the Society and to make decisions on matters affecting its running when the general meeting is not sitting. The Council shall adopt every possible means of advancing the objectives of the Society in all cases of emergency such as the death or resignation of the members of the Council. But it should not act contrary to the expressed wishes of the general meeting without prior reference to it and always remains subordinate to the general meetings.
6.6 The Council has the power to authorize the expenditure of a sum not exceeding S$3000/- per month from the Society’s fund for the Society’s purposes. Any expenditure exceeding S$3000/- must be approved by a general meeting.
6.7 The duties of the office-bearers are as follows:-
6.7.1 The President shall act as Chairman at all General and Council meetings. He shall also represent the Society in its dealings with outside persons/organisations.
6.7.2 The Vice-President shall deputise for the President in the latter’s absence. He shall also guide and work proactively with the Welfare, Sports and Cultural Secretary in promoting objectives and activities as approved by the Council.
6.7.3 The General Secretary shall keep all records, except financial, of the Society and shall be responsible for their correctness. He will keep minutes of all general and committee meetings. He shall have charge of all the movable properties of the Society and keep a register of members. He shall be responsible for serving all notices except financial matter. He shall, in short, act under the instructions of the President.
6.7.4 The Joint Secretary shall assist the General Secretary in day to day running of the Society. He will deputise for the General Secretary and/or the Treasurer in their absence. He shall provide and/or oversee secretarial support to the Welfare, Sports and Cultural Secretaries.
6.7.5 The Treasurer shall keep all funds and collect and disburse all money on behalf of the Society and shall keep an account of all monetary transactions and shall be responsible for their correctness. He is authorised to spend up to S$300/- per month for petty expenses on behalf of the Society. He will not keep more than S$300/- in the form of cash and money in excess of which will be deposited in a bank to be named by the Council. Cheques for withdrawal from the bank will be signed by the President or General Secretary in addition to the Treasurer. There will be a separate welfare fund which will be maintained in a bank to be named by the Council. The source of the welfare fund will be 20% of the yearly membership subscriptions, contributions, donations and any other accounts receivable. Any disbursement from the welfare fund shall be approved by the Advisory Committee. Expenditure beyond the stipulated amount as per clause 6.6 must be approved by a general meeting.
6.7.6 The Welfare Secretary, The Cultural Secretary and The Sports Secretary shall co-ordinate, execute and provide leadership in their respective field activities and events. They shall outline objectives and action plan/activities in their respective fields for the approval of the Council.
6.7.7 The members of the Council will help in the organisation of social, cultural, sports, welfare activities and publication of magazines as decided by the Council.
6.7.8 The Council shall have the following additional power:-
6.7.8.1 To appoint whenever needed, sub-committee or sub-committees for a purpose.
6.7.8.2 In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of the President, the Council shall appoint the Vice President for the Office. In the event of a vacancy occurring in the Office of the Vice President, or any of the Council Members, the Council shall have the authority to fill the vacancies by appointment of suitable voting members for the unexpired portion of the current Council session. The members so appointed under this provision shall retire at the next AGM but shall be eligible for re-election.
6.7.8.3 To purchase furniture and equipment, books, newspapers, sports requisites, etc.
6.7.8.4 To arrange and hold functions and receptions.
6.7.8.5 To perform and carry out other duties and functions not included in these rules and regulations, provided such duties and functions do not contravene the Laws of Religions and Government.
6.7.9 Any member of the Council absenting himself from three meetings consecutively without satisfactory explanations shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the Council, and a successor may be co-opted by the Council to serve until the next Annual General Meeting.
6.7.10 Notice of all Council meetings and special meetings shall be given by the General Secretary seven days in advance. Notice of the Annual General Meeting(AGM) which must be given four weeks in advance shall include the annual report, the audited statement of account for the past year ending on the 31st December and the notice of election of Council and Auditors.
6.7.11 Notices of all meetings including AGM and SGM to the members can be served either by post, courier, hand delivery and e-mail.
6.7.12 The accidental omission to send notice of a meeting to, or the non receipt of a notice by, any member shall not invalidate the proceedings at a Meeting/AGM.
6.7.13 The Council within two weeks of AGM shall establish an Advisory Committee consisting of not more than 11 voting members. The Advisory Committee shall consist of preferably former Presidents or General Secretaries of the Society or distinguished and eminent persons. The Advisory Committee enhances the image of the Society and serves as a purpose for the Council to seek advice it deems appropriate to advance the objectives of the Society, to provide for the proper conduct of the business of the Society in all cases of Emergency and to delegate any of its functions with special matters or business. The Advisory Committee shall also approve all transactions of the welfare fund.
6.7.14 The Advisory Committee shall elect its own Chairman, Secretary and Assistant Secretary. The Advisory Committee should meet at least twice a year. All matters at a meeting of the Advisory Committee shall be decided by a simple majority. In the case of equality of vote, the Chairman shall have a casting vote. The Advisory Committee shall be invited to attend meetings of the Council. The Chairman may nominate a member of the Advisory Committee to represent him/her in the Council meetings. The Advisory Committee Members as far as possible shall maintain their presence in Annual General Meetings and Special General Meetings. The tenure of an Advisory Committee member will be for three years. Renewal of tenure of advisory committee members or filling up vacancies shall be decided by the council. If in the opinion of the Advisory Committee a member is guilty of misconduct of such a kind as to render it undesirable that he continue as a Advisory Committee member, the Advisory Committee shall remove him from the Committee. The Advisory Committee should consult with the Chief Adviser (High Commissioner of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh) to resolve any dispute before it is brought up to the Annual General Meeting or Special General meeting or to a Court of law in Singapore.