Passing the buck (part 1) details

The following are the full contents of emails I posted extracts of yesterday. I had not posted  all these emails for a year hoping matters will be settled amicably.

Now, that even LCI Legal is trying to pass the buck to me I think it is high time I lay all the cards on the table.

Here is an email to PDG Dato Lawrence Ting that I wrote on 12.12.2016 while I was still a member of LCKKHost.

This email was responded by Dato Lawrence and he passed the buck to DG Eve Wong. However it was nice of him to copy his email (to me) to DG Eve Wong, VDG Pelly Lee and 2^nd VDG YT Tiong.

Don’t forget my club convened an EGM and expelled me on 17.1.2017 and all my emails prior to this date are while I was still a member.

On Mon, Dec 12, 2016 at 4:58 AM, luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

Dear Dato,

PDG John S F Ho has been controlling my club for the last 2 years that I have been a member of this club. I regret to inform you that answer to simple questions are not forth coming.

I have been told that PDG’s will not involve themselves in club matters. This I can accept but please tell me what I can do when I believe that something against the constitution is being carried out.

1.       Article v of constitution and by-laws of my club – Resignation

Section C says:

“The name of any member who shall absent himself from four consecutive regular meetings of the club without acceptable cause being given to the attendance committee chairman or the club secretary, shall be submitted to the BOD by the secretary at the Board Meeting next following the fourth such absence, and the BOD shall decide whether such member shall be dropped from the club or retained on the club roaster.”

At all directors meeting that I had attended since I joined in October 2014 not once did I see such a list as mentioned above let alone it being deliberated upon.

There are many members who have not attended any meeting for a period of 12 months and more.

2.       There are 3 bank accounts operated under the name of LCKKHost name in Alliance bank in Kota Kinabalu. Only 2 of these 3 accounts are audited by our in-house auditor Lion Horace Ho. Many of the past presidents and members are not aware of the 3^rd bank account. This account can be misused and money misappropriated.

Many other matters are club matters but I would like a response from you on the above 2 matters. I would like to include your response in my blog:

www.myclubexperiences. blogspot.com

Thank you and Kind Regards,

Lion Luqman Michel

Member of LCKKHost

Dato Lawrence responded immediately with the following message that was copied to DG, VDG and 2nd VDG.

Lawrence Ting <lawrenceting818@gmail.com>

To:luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk

Cc:evewonglb@gmail.com,lee.pelly@gmail.com,yt.tiong3@gmail.com

13 Dec 2016 at 08:35

Dear Luqman

Thank you for your email.

 As Immediate Past District Governor, I am not in the position to get involved in your club dispute.

 You may seek the advice from District Governor Eve Wong on the possibility of settling the issue by Dispute Resolution as provided in LCI Standard Club Constitution and By-Laws (Revised June 30, 2016)

Kind Regards

Dato’ Lawrence Ting

Immediate Past District Governor

District 308-A2

 The following is my response to Dato Lawrence Ting and the 3 others.

luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>

To:lawrenceting818@gmail.com

Cc:evewonglb@gmail.com,lee.pelly@gmail.com,yt.tiong3@gmail.com

14 Dec 2016 at 04:15

Dear Dato Lawrence Ting,

Thank you very much for your prompt response.

That was what I had been told even before writing to you.

Dato, please allow me to think aloud.

I have not brought to you many of the club matters that I believe

should be handled at club level like falsification/manipulation of minutes.

However, what I have brought up with you are matters that are going against the constitution.

It would be wrong to continue as the club with the largest number of

members by not implementing Article V of the constitution.

As for using the name LCKKHost before the name was approved by

ROS everything I had done as a director in 2015/2016 may be construed as illegal.

Having a bank account (or possibly more than one) that is not audited and not accounted for could lead the whole Lions movement to be questioned.*

Just imagine for a moment if there is money laundering in this account,what will be the implications?

Where is the transparency? How is it possible that bank accounts are not audited by our in-house auditor Lion Horace Ho?**

The bank statements and accounts of the 3rd bank account (or more)

were never given to Lion Horace Ho to audit. If this is not a cause of

concern to the Lion Movement than I am not sure what is.

Anyway, Dato I thank you for your response and regret any inconvenience caused.

Let us be reminded by the Malay proverb:

Seekor kerbau membawa lumpur semua-nya terpalit.

Thank you and kind regards,

Luqman Michel

Note as at February 2018:

*At that point in time I was not aware of the other two bank accounts in Hong Leong Bank.

**At the point of writing the above email I was under the impression that Past President Horace Ho Toh Chee was the auditor of the club for all the years. Later I was made to understand that he was auditor for only one year.

The one who was the auditor for the year 2015/2016 when I was one of the directors is our Robert’s Rules expert Past President CCPung.

Here is another email I wrote to VDG Pelly Lee and to 3 others while I was still a member.

luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>

To:evewonglb@gmail.com,lee.pelly@gmail.com,yt.tiong3@gmail.com,winlsp@hotmail.com

20 Dec 2016 at 07:25

Dear Dg, VDG, Zone chairperson and 2nd VDG

I refer to the above captioned in the Lions Club International manual.

It states on page 14 that clubs are encouraged to consult their zone chairperson, district governor, first vice district governor and second vice district governor if any of the conditions above exist in the club to be placed in status quo.

My club, The Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu Host, falls under at least one of the justifiable conditions for placing on status quo and Club Cancellation which is:

Failure to comply with the purposes of the association or conduct unbecoming to a Lions Club.

The conducts unbecoming of my club among others are:

1.       To have a bank account in Alliance bank that has not been audited by the auditors for a number of years. This is over and above the 2 accounts that are audited. Lion Horace Ho can confirm that only 2 accounts have been audited. I have checked and confirmed same with ROS.

2.       They have operated without the certificate of registration from ROS all this while as The Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu Host when the name was only approved on 2.11.2016.

3.       Not registering many of the directors in ROS for years 2015/2016.

4.       To operate 3 or more bank accounts under the name The Lions club of Kota Kinabalu Host when this name was not approved prior to November 2016.

5.       Having a club house that may have been purchased from project funds.

6.       Falsification of minutes of BOD meetings which complaint has now resulted in the BOD calling for an EGM to be held on 3.1.2017 to remove me.

I now request you to take action on my club under ‘Status Quo and Club Cancellation’ before the EGM is held.

This matter has already been brought up to some of you and as yet no action has been taken.

Kindly investigate this complaint immediately.

I have already escalated this matter to relevant authorities.

Thank you and kind regards,

Lion Luqman Michel

Memebr of LCKKHost

I was a member of LCKKHost until 17.1.2017 when I was expelled from the club. As such all the above emails were written to PDG’s and the VDG who is the current DG while I was still a member of LCKKHost.

Here is my email to VDG Pelly Lee when I was no longer a member of LCKKHost

luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>

To:lee.pelly@gmail.com

24 Feb 2017 at 06:10

Dear VDG Pelly Lee ,

I forward below an email to DG Eve. Just like this forwarded email a few other emails to her have not been responded.

LCI has asked me to bring this matter up to local leaders and I

am now requesting you to help in this matter.

I attach herewith the email from LCI and hope you and a few PDG's may get together and see what you can do about this matter.

I also attach page 30 of the Lions September 2016 magazine. Under point 4 of the of the first part under Constitution and By-laws committee it talks about a DG being stripped of his title for failure to comply with International Constitution and by law.

I can give you a list of infringements of the constitution by John Ho and 'gang' for you to deal with this matter at the next convention or earlier.

Let me know your stand as soon as possible.

My Tel. Contact is 0198500258 if you would like to meet.

I will be writing to LCI once I have exhausted all avenues of contacting local leaders as suggested by LCI.

Thank you and kind regards,

Luqman Michel

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>
To: Eve Wong <evewonglb@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, 20 February 2017, 6:32
Subject: My meeting with you

Dear DG Eve Wong,

At our meeting on 12.2.2017 I gave you a letter and 3 sets of documents for you and for handing over to Thomas Ho and John Ho.

I had said that this is not a club problem but one of Lions Movement and pleaded with you to bring it up at the next convention.

You said that John Ho had told you not to get involved in his matter. Eve, this is not a small matter between him/LCKKH and me. This is a concern for the whole movement.

Now that you have met me and John Ho together with his team of people I regret to note that you have yet to tell me what you are going to do. You have also not told me as to what I am expected to do.

I would be grateful for a response as soon as possible.

This matter will not have reached this point if members in my club had sat and discussed matters as requested by me many times. Now it is in your hands.

Thank you and kind regards,

Luqman Michel

Below, is yet another email to VDG Pelly Lee subsequent to my expulsion.

luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>

To:lee.pelly@gmail.com

19 Mar 2017 at 13:29

Hello Ms. Pelly Lee,

I have written many emails to Eve Wong who does not appear to understand English.

LCI had asked me and copied their email to Ms. Eve Wong asking her to get leaders to look into the misappropriation of monies from Lions club of Kota Kinabalu Host.

She has not done anything as she told me that John Ho had asked her to mind her own business.

Now, I am requesting you to look into this matter as it is against the LCI constitution.

If I do not hear from you in the next one week I will escalate this matter to higher authorities.

I refer you to the email from LCI below:

Thank you and kind regards,

Luqman Michel

p/s. I request your permission to post this email and its response in my Facebook and Blog.

From: "Kingsbury, David" <David.Kingsbury@lionsclubs.org>
To: luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>; Finance <Finance@lionsclubs.org>; Legal <legal@lionsclubs.org>; District Administration <districtadministration@lionsclubs.org>
Cc: "evewonglb@gmail.com" <evewonglb@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 14 February 2017, 1:26
Subject: RE: Lions info for you

Dear Lion Michel,

Thank you for contacting the Legal Division.

As an initial matter, all Lions clubs are autonomous, meaning that each Lions club is responsible for complying with local laws, handling its own finances and addressing membership matters. If you believe that the Lions club is mishandling club accounts, we recommend speaking with district leadership to review this matter.

With respect to your removal as a member, if you believe that your removal was unjustified, a complaint may be filed under the Club Dispute Resolution Procedure (CDRP). The CDRP provides in part…………….

 

luqman michel

luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk

60198500258

(The highlight above is by me.)
The following is an email to DG Pelly Lee.  I believe it is my first email to her as a DG.

luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>

To:lee.pelly@gmail.com

14 Dec 2017 at 17:21

Dear Ms. Pelly Lee,

(Sorry, I should address you as DG, but if I do, you and I may get bombarded by PDG John Ho as I am considered as a non Lion.)

Here is a copy of an e-mail I wrote to a PDG in LCI today for your information and action if you deem fit.

....start...

My name is Luqman Michel from Kota Kinabalu Sabah, Malaysia.

I was expelled from the Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu host for asking members if there were more bank accounts than the 2 shown to us as directors of the club. I later found out that my club had 3 extra bank accounts that were not privy to many of my club members. After my expulsion 14 members resigned from my club. Most of them were more than 10 year members and many of them were PP's.

I started by writing to members of my club. Then I asked the DG, VDG (Now DG) and PDG's for their help. When that failed I wrote to LCI which asked me to get in touch with the DG.

Again I got in touch with DG and gave her CDRP fee required which she did not want to accept. I gave her documents relating to the extra undisclosed bank accounts (3sets) - one for her and one for the president of the club and one to the perpetrator of all the problems in my club- PDG John Ho. When no action was forthcoming I wrote to LCI and informed them that this is not a club issue but that it was one of a Lions Movement issue. John Ho (PDG who is the cause of all this upheaval) wrote a demeaning email to the DG and copied it to LCI and me. Following this letter LCI has not responded.

The email from LCI had advised me not to take legal action but since CDRP was never instituted and I don't get any response to my emails from LCI I would be grateful for the green light from anyone in Lions Club Movement for me to go ahead with my suing the club and its members and DG for wrong dismissal with trumped up charges.

Sir, I have many students locally and parents of dyslexics from overseas who read my blogs as I write a blog on Dyslexia and I wish to clear my name. I seek your advice before I take the next course of action.

I request your permission to include this email in my future blog posts at:

www.myclubexperiences.blogspot.com

..................end...

Ms. Pelly Lee, I would prefer not to take legal action as it is going to cost time and money but I am left with no choice as no one is prepared to sit and discuss.

Wish you well.

Luqman Michel