SA constitution changes passed

But 2 proposed amendments on MC meeting minutes, athletes' commission unresolved

Singapore Athletics passed a host of amendments to its constitution after a five-hour extraordinary general meeting. PHOTO: SINGAPORE ATHLETICS/FACEBOOK

National track and field body Singapore Athletics (SA) passed a host of amendments to its constitution on Monday night, after a "robust" five-hour extraordinary general meeting (EOGM).

However, two proposed changes remain unresolved.

One is the move to keep proceedings in management committee (MC) meetings confidential; currently, members can inspect them if they give one week's notice to SA's honorary secretary.

The other is the removal of voting rights for its athletes' commission representative, which was introduced in 2018.

Both proposals had sparked concerns among the fraternity ahead of the EOGM.

Two SA affiliates, Wings Athletic Club and Club Zoom, had reservations about the proposal for minutes to be kept confidential, citing the need for transparency and accountability.

Two-time SEA Games marathon champion Soh Rui Yong, who sued SA for defamation last year over its statement on his non-selection for the 2019 edition of the Games, said in a Facebook post on Monday that proposing to remove voting rights for the athletes' commission representative shows that SA "does not care for the opinions of its athletes".

Sources told The Straits Times yesterday that a disagreement over voting procedures was the reason for the non-resolution. SA's constitution states that alteration or deletions to the charter can be passed only "with consent of two-thirds of voting members present".

After two of the 20 members that attended the online EOGM abstained from voting, those in assembly were divided. SA's two legal advisers present held differing views.

One said that the two-thirds majority applied to all 20 affiliates, which means a total of 14 votes was needed for an amendment. The other believed the two-thirds majority should apply only to the 18 who voted, which means only 12 votes are needed.

In response to ST's queries yesterday, SA president Tang Weng Fei, who chaired the meeting, confirmed that the two unresolved articles required the definition of the two-thirds majority rule, and said that SA would seek "independent legal opinion" on the matter.

Separately, he also said that a proposed new criteria for affiliated membership - namely that clubs must align their constitutions with that of SA's and submit their annual reports, general meeting minutes and financial reports - was removed. Some clubs felt the proposal was unnecessary as they are already required to submit the documents to the Registry of Societies.

On the EOGM, Tang said: "It was a robust meeting, which should be the case. It was nice to see everyone actively participating in discussions on how to take SA forward.

"This bodes well for the future of the sport in Singapore."

While some amendments to the constitution, such as the use of an electronic voting system for the election of office bearers, lay the ground for SA's elections in September, others were not linked.

They include the move to keep MC minutes confidential, removing the voting right of the athletes' commission representative, and upping the term for elected officials from two years to four.

Tang had told ST on Sunday that "most of the proposed amendments are made in accordance" with guidelines from Sport Singapore (SportSG), and the requirements of the Registry of Societies and the Commissioner of Charities.

A SportSG spokesman yesterday said that it "supports the efforts by national sports associations (NSAs) to professionalise and strengthen their governance".

It had provided guidance to the athletics body through a set of governance principles for NSAs and a template of a model constitution.

But the spokesman added: "We have given our views on their proposed amendments and requested (that SA) share with us the revised version.

"SportSG has not reviewed the latest amendments SA has circulated to its members."

The national sports agency also said it did not mandate specific changes to the SA constitution.

Addressing the lengthier term for elected SA officials, the SportSG spokesman said that while it "supports a four-year term for an NSA Board, which is aligned with the major Games cycles", he stressed that "each NSA determines the appropriate term".

He also added that "SportSG also does not prescribe management practices of how minutes of meeting are kept or disclosed, except to emphasise the need for proper record keeping".

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 15, 2020, with the headline SA constitution changes passed. Subscribe