Constitution

NEW ZEALAND MALAYSIAN SOCIETY INCORPORATED CONSTITUTION

1. NAME

The name of the Society shall be NEW ZEALAND MALAYSIAN SOCIETY INCORPORATED (hereinafter called the ‘Society’).

2. OBJECTS

The objectives of the Society are

  1. To promote social contact, mutual helpfulness, and recreation between persons of Malaysian descent, their spouses and families.

  2. To provide a support base for newly arrived Malaysian immigrants and visitors to New Zealand.

  3. To encourage closer liaison between the official representative of the Malaysian people and members of the Society.

  4. To cooperate with any non-profit association or society having objectives altogether or in any part similar to any of those of those of this Society calculated to support and assist the Society in the achievement of its general aims.

  5. To provide a regular newsletter or similar publication detailing Society information and any other data considered of interest to Society members.

  6. To acquire and own assets in like or kind that will enable the Society to operate effectively and that will benefit the members, subject, however, to the provisions of the Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Act 1982.

  7. To seek, organise, accept and receive sponsorships, donations, subsidies, grants, gifts, loans and bequests, either in money or in kind, to be used solely for the benefit of its members in furtherance of the Society's non-profit objectives.

  8. To invest the funds of the Society in such a manner as may be allowed by law and to make disbursements and payments and otherwise support in any lawful way the interest of members and other lawful objects of the Society.

  9. Will be an apolitical Society.

3. MEMBERSHIP

a.

  1. Membership shall be open to all persons over eighteen (18) years of age, of Malaysian descent, their spouses and members of their families.

  2. Any person (not within part (a) (i) above) shall be eligible to be an associate member of the Society and if below eighteen (18) years of age as Junior member of the Society. Associate and junior members shall enjoy all privileges of the Society provided that they shall not have any voting rights.

b. Application for membership shall be in writing.

c. Commencement of membership shall be upon payment of membership fee to the Treasurer or, in his absence, such otherwise authorised officer of the Society.

d. Termination of Membership. Membership shall be terminated by:

  1. Death
  2. Resignation (written)
  3. Resolution of Management Committee if any subscription remains unpaid for a period of one month beyond the due date.
  4. Expulsion: The Management Committee at a meeting called for the purpose at which such member personally or by his or her representative has been given the opportunity of being heard, may, in its absolute discretion, resolve by a four/fifths majority of the Committee in attendance that the member shall cease to be a member of the Society. Such member shall not be entitled to take part in any activity of the Society. Any member subject to expulsion may appeal to a Special General Meeting of the Society, called for that purpose, at which the majority vote of those attending shall be final and binding.

4. PATRON

The Society may invite any individuals to be patron(s) of the Society.

5. SUBSCRIPTIONS

a. The rate of subscription shall be fixed by the members at the annual General Meeting.

b. Subscription shall be payable by the 31st January of the year in which they are so fixed.

6. OFFICERS

a. The Officers of the Society shall consist of

  1. A President
  2. A Vice President
  3. A Secretary
  4. A Treasurer and
  5. A Committee of six (6) other members

Who shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Society.

b. All officers except the President and Secretary shall hold office until the next ensuing Annual General Meeting of the Society provided that the Committee of the Society may appoint a member to fill a vacancy in their number. Any such member appointed to be confirmed at the next General Meeting.

c. The President and Secretary shall hold office for a two-year term and shall be eligible for re-election.

7. MANAGEMENT OF THE SOCIETY

The affairs of this Society shall be administered by a Management Committee comprising the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and a committee of six (6) members, as per the objects defined in the Constitution of the Society and stated policies of the Annual General Meeting.

a. The Management Committee shall meet regularly or as necessary to carry on the business of the Society.

b. A record of the proceedings of each Management Committee meeting shall be kept.

c. Six members shall form a Quorum at any Management Committee meeting.

d. Ordinary meetings of the Management Committee shall be called by the Secretary at monthly intervals, or on such dates as the Committee shall determine. At ordinary meetings of the Management Committee the order of business shall be:

  1. Apologies
  2. Confirmation of Minutes
  3. Business arising from Minutes
  4. Inwards and Outwards correspondence
  5. Treasurer’s report – Accounts for payment or approval
  6. Reports of any sub-committee
  7. General business

e. At all meetings the President shall preside; in his/her absence the Vice President shall preside; or in both their absence, those present shall appoint one of their number to preside.

f. A member of the Management Committee or any sub-committee appointed by it shall lose his/her seat if he/she fails to attend three consecutive meetings without leave of absence.

g. Seven clear days notice shall be given of all Management Committee Meetings.

h.Notwithstanding Ordinary Meetings set out in clause 7 (d) above, a meeting of the Management Committee may be convened at any time upon the request of the President or four members of the Committee.

i. The Management Committee shall have the power to appoint sub-committees to be responsible for such areas of the Society’s activities as it shall decide, and for the Management Committee or the sub-committee to have the power to co-opt members of any such sub-committee.

8. FINANCE

a. The Society’s financial year shall commence on the 1st day of January each year and end of the 31st day of December in the same year.

b. The Trustees of the Society’s bank account shall be the Treasurer, President and one other Management Committee member to be elected by the Committee. For signing of the cheques or any withdrawals from the Society’s Bank account the signatures of the Treasurer plus one other of two Trustee's will be required.

c. All the monies of the Society shall be paid into such bank or banks as the Management Committee may from time to time determine to the credit of the Society and all accounts shall be passed for payment by the Management Committee.

d. All payments shall be by cheque.

e. No liability shall be incurred by any officer or member of the Society without prior consent of the Committee.

f. For the Society to borrow money for the objects of the Society, the approval of a two-thirds majority of votes case at a General Meeting shall be required.

g. The funds of the Society shall be devolved solely to the furtherance of the objects of the Society as set out in this Constitution.

9. MEETINGS

a. Annual General Meetings

There shall be held once in each year at a time and a place to be fixed by the Management Committee a General Meeting of the Society. Such time so fixed shall be during the first two weeks of April.

  1. Notice of the Annual General Meeting and of the business to be transacted thereat shall be forwarded to every member at their last notified address not less than 14 days (or such other minimum period as the Management committee shall prescribe) prior to the date fixed by the Management Committee for the meeting.

  2. At any General Meeting the attendance of thirty (30) members shall form a Quorum.

  3. Such meetings shall be held for the following purposes:

    1. To read the Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and any special general meeting held since then; to receive an annual report, balance sheet and statement of accounts duly audited for the preceding year.
    2. To elect officers of the Society and members of the Management Committee for the ensuing year, and to elect any other office bearers as may be required by the Meeting.
    3. To decide on any motion which may be submitted to the Meeting.
    4. To appoint an Honorary Auditor who shall not be a member of the Management Committee.
    5. To discuss general business.
    6. To set rate of annual subscription.
  4. Each motion submitted to a meeting shall be decided in the first instance on the voices, or if demanded, on a show of hands. In the case of equality of voting, the chairperson shall have a casting vote in addition to the vote in which he/she is entitled to as a member.

b. Special General Meeting of the Society may be called as follows:

  1. By a resolution of the Management Committee.
  2. Upon a requisition signed by fifteen (15) fully paid up financial members specifying the object thereof, delivered to the Secretary.
  3. On the application of a member subject to expulsion by the Management Committee.

Any such Special General Meeting shall be held as soon as convenient after the passing of such resolution or the receipt of such requisition, at such time and place as the Management Committee shall fix, but not later than 30 days thereafter. Fourteen days notice in writing shall be given to every member at their last notified address, specifying the time, place, and object of such special meeting and no business shall be transacted thereat other than that specified in the notice.

10. VOTING

Unless otherwise provided by these rules, voting at all meetings both Committee and General shall be by a show of hands.

In all contested offices at a General Meeting, the voting shall be by secret ballot. Notwithstanding the aforementioned on any issue where five or more members present request a secret ballot, the voting shall be by secret ballot.

11. STANDING ORDERS

The following shall be the standing orders of the Society:

  1. On all questions concerning these standing orders or points of order, the Chairperson’s ruling shall be final provided that it shall be competent for any such member to move that the meeting disagrees with such ruling, which being seconded shall be put to the meeting without further discussion.
  2. No motion shall be discussed before it has been proposed and seconded.
  3. Any member, excepting the mover and seconder of any motion under discussion may move an amendment thereto and on being seconded such amendment shall be open for discussion.
  4. No further amendment shall be received by the Chairperson until the amendment before the meeting is dealt with.
  5. Amendments must be dealt with before the substantive motion.
  6. On all motions of questions before the meeting, each member may speak once except the mover of the motion who alone shall have the right of reply, provided that the Chairperson may use his/her discretion upon special application for the right to speak twice to a motion.
  7. All questions shall be addressed to the Chair.
  8. In addition to his deliberate vote, in event of equality of voting, the Chairperson may exercise a casting vote.
  9. No subject which has been negated or passed at any meeting shall be brought up by discussion except by notice of motion of which seven (7) days notice to members must be given.

12. INCORPORATION

The Society shall be registered under the provisions of “The Incorporated Societies Act, 1908”.

13. SEAL

The Common Seal of the Society shall be kept in the Society of the Secretary. Instruments to which the Seal of Society is affixed shall be sufficiently executed on behalf of the Society if the seal is affixed in the presence of the President and the Secretary and then only in pursuance of the resolution of the Management Committee.

14. INTERPRETATION OF RULES

If any doubt shall arise as to the proper meaning of any of these rules the decision of the Management Committee thereon shall be final and conclusive, provided such decision is reduced to writing and recorded in the Minutes of the proceedings of the Meeting.

15. ALTERATIONS OF CONSTITUTION

Any of these rules may be altered, added to, or rescinded by a resolution passed at any Annual or Special General Meeting by a two-third majority of the members present at such meetings, provided that notice of the intention to propose such resolution shall have been given in writing to all members and such resolution shall be approved by the Registrar as provided in section 21 of “The Incorporated Societies Act 1908” EXCEPT that article 16(b) shall not be altered, added or rescinded by any means whatsoever and shall remain entrenched in the constitution.

16. DISSOLUTION

a. The Society may be voluntarily wound up if the Society at a General Meeting of its members passes a resolution requiring the Society so to be wound up and the resolution is confirmed at a subsequent General Meeting called together for that purpose and held not earlier than thirty (30) days after that date on which the resolution so to be confirmed was passed.

b. In the event of the Society being wound up, any surplus after payment of all liabilities shall be donated to a charity or charitable organisation(s), the choice of which shall be at the sole discretion of the management committee by resolution at the date of such winding up.

c. Funds of the society shall be prohibited from being utilized paid or distributed either by way of pecuniary profit or gain to any member or associated person of that member during the existence of the society. This article shall not be altered, added or rescinded by any means whatsoever and shall remain entrenched in the constitution.
 
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