By Choo Zheng Xi and Khairulanwar
THE drama didn’t let up while votes were being tallied by external auditors Deloitte and Touche.
From 4.30 pm till the final count at 7.30pm, member after member continued to castigate the new committee on a range of issues from their understanding of feminism to the amount of money they had spent so far a month into their term.
One burning issue members demanded an answer to was how much of Aware’s funds has been spent in the last month. The Aware constitution requires the Executive Committee to seek the consent of members before approving expenditures above $20,000.
One member pointedly asked Honorary Treasurer Maureen Ong if her committee had used more than $20,000 in organising the EGM, and noted asked if her committee had acted beyond the powers granted to them in the Aware constitution. Picking up the question of financing, members from the floor started demanding an estimate for how much had been spent so far.
Ms Ong announced that an estimated $80,000 had been spent on lawyers, auditors, and venue bookings. This brought the audience to its feet in anger.
Calling the spending “extravagant”, Aware member Loretta Chen said it was the “turning point” as it indicated that the team headed by Ms Josie Lau “may not be the best to lead AWARE”, despite being “well-meaning women”. Running a group such as AWARE required a set of values that was different from their “corporate ethics.”
Mark Ho, the legal adviser to the Old Guard, questioned whether Josie Lau’s exco tried to “reach out” and “call for help” in organizing the EGM, to save on fees for event organizers, legal help and the various miscellanies.
Social worker Suzanne Jarzabkowska commented that in “an NGO culture, money is the last thing we reach for” – preferring to “work by consensus” and leveraging on the “network” of civil society. By resorting to a “chequebook culture”, it underlined that Ms Lau’s team “does not understand how NGO works.”
Ms Bridget Lew, the director of HOME, derided the expenditure as “shameful” for an NGO whose ethics are usually to “work hard (and) struggle hard.”
It is unclear at this point of time how Aware will defray the costs for the expenditure, or whether Ms Lau’s team will bear any of the costs.
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look at how churches are extravagant these days.. probably explaining why they are so :”generous” with their spendings.. they have no regards as to how they should be dealing with money matters.. and this concerns not their own church’s business and their activities of fun and enjoyment.. but the affair of many helpless people out there..
they have failed to consider the welfare of many.. and conveniently pushed the blame to “nobody” and “circumstances”.. have they not gone to schools.. one is even a DBS staff.. shame on them… for being unable to think and count logically
35) eh on May 3rd, 2009 6.35 pm ,
if these poor women cannot be helped why stray into the gay and lesbian area?
//r stray dogs fed? r the homeless given homes? r the dom gg to batam every weekend caught? aiyo. pls leh. aware is so small, how to look after everyone? since u care so much u go do something la//
Inclusiveness? selective inclusiveness? no wonder , gay is their passionate group.
36) the watchwoman on May 3rd, 2009 6.51 pm
hi , washerwoman, please send the bill to Singam or Dana.
i’m aghast
we are not talking about a megachurch here but a NGO!
beyond the 20k which needes TO BE APPROVED first… every single cent collected thru painstaking efforts and hard work by volunteers and donated by the generous and kind individuals/companies NEEDS TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR! every penny helps towards the cause of helping the underprivileged.
for josie and co to totally disregard this shows their bloody ignorance and disrespect for fundraising and helping the underprivileged is totally unacceptable —so don’t talk to me about forgive and forget.
i shudder to think of my funds/donations being handled by josie of dbs
What’s few Ks compared to billions lost by Temasek? So funny that the people rather question AWARE than Temasek. Zzzzzz
Watchman, u ought to be Watchmybloodpressure. stop harrassing men.
Hi all,
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Simple: they should pay back anything above $20k.
Now they know the real “shock”….financial shock, that is.
Let’s be calm & objective here.
“Men in Back” is saying Josie & Co. have committed “Misappropriation of AWARE’s fund to the tune of $90,000 in a month” & compared them to the NKF & Ren Ci scandals. Misappropriation is dishonestly taking for one’s own use. Unless it is proven, it’s hardly fair to say Josie & Co had taken AWARE money into their own pockets, this is a very serious allegation. For sure they have to properly explain & account for money spent during their short term & for the new exco to decide on any actions taken, but in the interim let’s not speculate on unproven theories.
Yes, expenses could have been much lower if Josie & Co had asked around but objectively let’s consider:
- people have asked why the FM couldn’t offer a lawyer FOC from her firm. Seriously, would such a lawyer be trusted by majority of the members to give objective professional advice? Before EOGM, people were assuming the lawyer Josie & Co got would be biased due to a Christian connection, but from all accounts he seems to have given a sensible & neutral performance.
- Yes, Josie & Co should have been more open to offers of help from the old guard & others but can you really blame them after being on the receiving end of one month of attacks? Try shouting, hurling abuse & being just short of physically violent on someone continually for a month and suddenly turn around to be nice & offer to help. It would be human nature for the abused party to be wary & play safe to reject the help. On hindsight it was certainly not a wise move but you can’t really blame them for feeling overwhelmed by all the negativity & having a “barbarians at the gate” mentality.
Since Josie and gang loves to play the legal card so much so many times, we shall play by her game.
We must get back every single cent above the Constitutional Limit.
Anyway, Thio’s husband is not just rich but super wealthy guy in properties. And most of the exco are very successful figures in their own profession.
So we are not causing them hardship by making them pay for all the excess expenditure.
There shouldn’t be a lawyer in the first place because Thio Su Mien and her daughter are lawyers! Aware’s coffers surely being bled dry. Either way Thio Su Mien wins! She’s the one with the last laugh.
Cool Head
Josie had contravened the constitution of AWARE,
Someone out there who have access to AWARE’s constitution, please post the clause of the $20k limit Exco authorised to spent.
Please also see my post ” Societies Act” , “Maintenance of Religous Harmony Act”
3 strike, she’s out !
i felt the heartache when this amount is unnecessarily spent. JL and team are just so arrogant and they manage AWARE like any MNC. They simply do not understand the fundamentals of a NGO and hv breached the constitution. Glad that we’ve overthrown them as i shrudder to think if they ever stayed on and with their ‘spending’ habits, operating cost certainly shot up! We dont hv to give JL and team 1 year to prove their worth… it is shown, it is made known in their one-month span in AWARE.
JL and team certainly must be held responsible for this excess spending. Perhaps TSM being their mentor can help. WOULDN’T SHE? Perhaps WATCHMAN can chip in too..
cheers to Dana Lam, cheers to the return of old guard and thanks to all supporters of old guard to trash them.. we crush JL and team like a cockroach!
How come some threads on TOC cannot be refreshed to show later posts?
Alamak. peanuts for them. All are related. Start digging. We cannot handle the truth, so said a great mentor
Men In Back,
Everyone knows about the $20k monthly limit and even a small kid knows $90K is more than $20k, all that is not in dispute. The current issue is they should have utilised the money, particularly related to the EOGM, in a more cost effective manner and in accordance with the constitution. That is not the same thing as claiming they pocketed the money for their own use & committed CBT, which is the perception that inaccurate use of words like “misappropriation” leads to. Sure, nobody knows the future & who knows maybe it comes down to a lawsuit or even criminal case, but until such serious charges are officially confirmed, it does no one any good to throw unnecessary fuel into the fire.
No offence but suggest don’t be so quick to condemn Josie & Co. based on those parts you copied & pasted on the Societies Act & “Maintenance of Religous Harmony Act”, especially the latter since Josie & Co. never made their religion an official platform for election. All the while it’s the media & others who played up the religious card. There’s no evidence they intended to use AWARE to gain religious converts. They haven’t offended other religious groups (unless homosexuality is now a religion), promoted political causes & no evidence of subversion under the pretence of spreading their religious belief. Subversion in this context should be against the ruling govt, but even if stretched to mean against an established institution like AWARE, democratically & legally becoming the next elected authority is hardly the same thing as trying to destroy & weaken the existing authority through subversive actions.
As for the Societies Act, the onus is on the accuser to prove the defendant wilfully used the money for purposes contrary to the society’s rules. While I don’t know exactly what’s in the AWARE constitution, spending on an EOGM that was called on the members’ request seems a legitimate purpose, no matter how distasteful the total amount spent.
I’m just saying let’s not be so trigger-happy. Up to this point, even the Govt said this is an internal matter for AWARE to resolve, do you think the relevant Govt agencies have not already at least made a prelim assessment whether any laws broken? Sure, things may change, but until then no point for any sensible & rational person to indulge in speculation. I don’t think the way Josie & Co. have handled things is all right, but in the absence of hard evidence & while waiting for further developments & the new exco to decide the next steps, let’s all on both sides just cool off and focus our energies on more pressing matters in our own lives, the economy & our country.
Dear Cool Head
I am a member of AWARE. The money was spent without my authorisation or approval – much less that of the general meeting.
Article 18 of the Constitution states: The Executive Committee has power to authorise the expenditure of a sum not exceeding $20,000 per month from the society’s funds for the society’s purpose.
Article 9 of the Constitution States: The Management of the society is vested in a general meeting of the members presided over by the President.
It’s very clear that if they want to spend more than the $20,000 limit, they have to come to the general meeting of the members.
This they did not do. Even though they clearly knew that they were spending more than their limits – see the video evidence on youtube. Besides, they had other options like a field or school hall or even pasar malam style.
What do you call spending money you’re not supposed to spend?
Stealing.
Perhaps provide a solution on what Josie’s Lau could have done under a short timeline of a month or so amidst all the issues arising out of the saga & money that they could have handled better.
Switch the positions around – New Exco becomes old guard & old guard becomes New Exco.Would things happen the same way the money is managed.
Th results will be the same.
Its not easy for Josie Lau’s team to find a venue at a short timeline. I managed conferences. I know what its like have to book in advance for up to 200 attendees which could easily chalked up to S$100K.. Not to talk about 3000 members within 1 month. Who has the advantage on short timeline. Its the conference venue. S$90K is reasonable for 3000 members with large capacity.
Talk is cheap.
Money is always a sensitive & subjective issue. Its simply not appropriate to questions on money matters during EGM. It should be done later. What was done on the expense may be dealt later. All these questions on money were not clever and simply cornering questions. It may be enquired later on at a rightful platform on accountability rather. Such questions will ultimately be addressed anyway. Also AWARE is a society and there is a accountability system to a governing group & may be audited.
Its rightful for Josie Lau’s team not to address it at that point of time actually. But they have graciously provided the figure, to the long awaited devouring act of the old guards supporters. Very sad scene.
Kanchi said that If the old guards have organised the EGM under such short notice they would also have spend that money. I disagree.
The old guards work in a way that reaches out to volunteers for help. There are lawyers who have been helping them for free even for the past years. Secondly, they would have gotten the venue for free. One of their supporters who organises events is able to secure a free venue to that nite’s turn out.
The old guards would not hire a top law firm – that is unnecessary expense.
The old guards would not install CCTV – another unnecessary expense.
The old guards would not use an expensive venue for an earlier Press Conference which the Josie’s team did.
The old guards offered their help to Josie at least 3 times regarding organising the EGM. Josie’s gang refused the help. If Josie would accept the old guards’ help, they would realise how to spend within $20,000!
So, Josie and her gang should be held responsible. They ought to pay for the excesses.
@Kanchi
You are missing the point. Whether organizing the event under $20k is possible or not, they had to get authorization before they spent it.
Even the Government needs to get the President’s permission to unlock the Reserves. Even if it is a formality, they have to go through with it because it is the law & they have to be accountable for it.
Are JL’s exco above the law?
And on the subject of the cost, if you are in charge of organizing conferences and think $90k for 3000 members is reasonable, you are terrible at your job.
At least 4 different event organizers I spoke to said it could have been done for much cheaper if the venue chosen was more care.
And about ‘graciously’ providing the figure, I would like to see you get your wallet stolen, the money spent and the thief telling you “yeah I spent $30 watching movie at GV gold class” and see how graciously you accept that answer.
Words like gracious, and mentor are what people call you, not titles you give yourself.
Thank you Karen Teoh for the relevant Articles of the constitution.
Very wise words you wrote : “It’s very clear that if they want to spend more than the $20,000 limit, they have to come to the general meeting of the members. ” Yeah. No exceptions.
If urgent need of fund is a reason enough to breach the spending cap, we are opening the pandora’s box.
Now is the time for pastor Derek Hong to walk the talk and show that he meant it when he urged his church members to support JL and her sisters. $90,000.00 should be transferred from Church of our saviour to Aware to pay for JL and her sisters’ extravagance. If he can’t do that then he should just shut the hell up. Like forever.
The clowns that asked for the party pay. Yo, Singam, you dance well for a fat old lady. You should have sung, then it would have been over.
BTW, what a GAY party! Good entertainment. Now, shut up, sit down, go back to work!
@socrates:
$20k+ was spent on the EGM, but they’d estimated spending $90k+ since taking office. Who wants to bet this estimate is a safe one, and the actual spending was much higher?
What was the rest of the $70k+ spent on? Even if the old guards would give these women a rest, I, as an AWARE member, will not.
Among many questions:
1) Why the need to install CCTVs in the AWARE office?
2) Why Raffles Town Club for a press conference for a few of them + Thio Su Mien? And was there a need to book such a big room? Raffles Town Club is not masak masak ok, is anyone even aware of the kind of opulence it represents? http://www.rafflestownclub.com.sg/
3) The spike in membership, and therefore contribution in membership fees, is NOT their credit. >1400 people joined to support the old guards, we would like our money to be spent on meaningful things, not for a few people to flush down the drain.
i wonder if CSOs like Aware should have a list to blacklist people who has done great harm to that parricular CSO from running Exco positions? say a number of years? or if possible colour code the offenses?
i think Josie & fiends no forgetting Dr Thio & Derek Hong should qualify the most serious offence committed. code red!!