Response to Barry Palmer's comment in his post

This post is in response to Barry Palmer’s comments that there is a process on how to complain to LCI. (Refer to my post yesterday)

Have I followed the process or has LCI blundered? Let us hope Barry Palmer of Lions International will shed some light.

 I was a member until 17.1.2017 which means I had Locus Standi until that date.

Summary of the Emails to and from Luqman/ LCI:

12.12.2016  -  My email to LCI Finance.

13.12.2016  -  My email to LCI, Finance, LCI Legal and LCI Administration

13.12.2016 – Automatic response to my emails stating that my emails have been received

18. 12.2016 -  Another email from me to LCI Legal, LCI Administration and Finance

04.1.2017    - I wrote yet another email to LCI

04.1.2017   - A response from LCI  Legal and copied to Administration and LCI Finance

I had therefore written 4 emails to Lions Club International while I was still a member of my former Lions Club. During this time I had also written emails to almost all the PDG’s in District 308A2.

Here are the emails to the time I was still a member of my former club:

luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>

To:finance@lionsclub.org

12 Dec 2016 at 05:08

Dear Sir,

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 others will not involve in club matters but what do I 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.

Thank you and Kind Regards,

Lion Luqman Michel

Member of LCKKHost

From: luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>
To: "districtadministration@lionsclubs.org" <districtadministration@lionsclubs.org>
Cc: "finance@lionsclubs.org" <finance@lionsclubs.org>; "legal@lionsclubs.org" <legal@lionsclubs.org>
Sent: Tuesday, 13 December 2016, 4:49
Subject: Status Quo and Club suspension

Dear Sir,

My name is Luqman Michel and I am a 2 year member of Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu Host of Sabah, Malaysia.

Some of the conducts of my current President, Thomas Ho Thau Phin and a PDG John S F Ho are very unbecoming. I have been told by a few PDG’s that this has to be sorted out at our club level. However, I have a number of matters which I believe LCI should look into and take the necessary action as it will spoil the good name of the Lion Movement.

1.       On a recent visit to the Registry of Societies I learned that we had been using the name ‘Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu Host’ despite the name not being approved by the ROS until as late as 23.11.2016. This is contravening the laws of this country. However, a few of the PDG’s have told me that Lion International can override our local laws. I attach the letter from the ROS below.

2.       I had tried to lay a hand on the audited accounts of our club for fiscal year 2015/2016 when I was a director to no avail. I therefore went to ROS to get a copy. It was then that I discovered that the name of my club did not exist in the ROS as no officer from my club had updated the computer at the ROS since the name was approved to be used from 23.11.2016. (This needs to be done by an authorised officer of the club).

After a while I managed to trace my club to be listed under LCKK (without the Host as a suffix). I then asked for a copy of the accounts as I was a director of the club for that fiscal year. The officer of ROS scrolled the computer screen up and down and said that my name was not listed in the computer. I then found out that most of the directors names were not listed in the ROS. I was therefore not able to get a copy of the accounts. Attached is a list of officers I obtained from the ROS.

I asked the officer as to what is the maximum number of officers that may be listed and I was told that there was no limit to the maximum number.

Sir, imagine me telling a friend that I was a director and someone finding out that my name is not on the list of directors at the ROS. I would be considered a liar.

3.       Anyway, I asked the officer as to what Fixed assets my club had. This is because I am informed that we had bought our club house in 1999 funded by some of the Past Presidents of my club paying RM2000 per person and the balance being topped by profits from a past project.

I asked a few of the PP and was told that they are not informed anything about the clubhouse. They believe that the clubhouse is registered under a trust but do not receive any further information since having invested their money.

4.       I have discovered that our club has 3 bank accounts in the same bank that are being currently operated. I have a copy of the bank account numbers attached. The auditor of our club has confirmed that he has been given only two of the accounts for audit. Many of the Past Presidents and none of the members are aware of the 3^rd bank account. It bears the same name as the other two accounts.

Sir, I am concerned that monies meant for the club may be siphoned off into the 3^rd account as this 3^rd account is not audited for many years by our in-house auditor Lion Horace Ho Toh Chee.

5.       I am informed that another bank account in Hong Leong Bank was closed by the bank last year because the bank requested for the certificate from ROS bearing the name LCKKHost, to update their account, which was not able to be provided by my club.

6.      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.

7.       I have been reprimanded for bringing many matters up to the president and the PDG and have been ordered to present myself at an EGM to be held soon to dismiss me.

For your information I was given an award by my president for fiscal year 2015/2016 for outstanding services award and this year the new president wants to dismiss me from the club. What an irony!

Sir, I would like to clear the air before such action is taken.

I believe the above is more than enough to look into the status quo and suspension of my club until you have finished your investigation.

All other matters are club matters, I believe.

Please confirm receipt of this email.

Thank you and kind regards,

Lion Luqman Michel

luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>

To:districtadministration@lionsclubs.org

Cc:finance@lionsclubs.org,legal@lionsclubs.org

13 Dec 2016 at 05:39

Dear Sir,

Here are the documents that I should have attached in my earlier email.

Regret any inconvenience caused.

1. My letter to the Registry of Societies

2. Certificate from ROS re: Name of my club

3. Letter from ROS approving change of name from 23.11.2016.

    I believe it would be void to use the name before the approval

Another 2 attachments in another email.

Lion Luqman Michel

Re: Status Quo and Club suspension

Yahoo/lion2

luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>

To:districtadministration@lionsclubs.org

Cc:finance@lionsclubs.org,legal@lionsclubs.org

13 Dec 2016 at 05:46

Dear Sir,

Here are 2 more documents for your perusal.

Please let me know if you require any further documents.

4. Bank account

5. Outstanding services award from my president last year.

I believe last year's president (IPP Carol Lo Phit Hah) will be

able to shed some light on the Hong Leong bank account that was

closed last year.

Regards,

Lion Luqman Michel

Automatic reply: Status Quo and Club suspension

Yahoo/lion2

Legal <legal@lionsclubs.org>

To:luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk

13 Dec 2016 at 04:49

Thank you for contacting the Lions Clubs International Legal Division. This email is checked regularly during business hours (7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Central Time, Monday through Friday).

Please be advised that your email is being reviewed and if applicable, a response will be provided as soon as possible.

Please visit the Legal Division Resources/Publications page which provides helpful information on topics such as Insurance, Tax Information, Use of Funds, Trademark Policies and much more.

Kind Regards,

Legal Division

luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>

To:districtadministration@lionsclubs.org,legal@lionsclubs.org,finance@lionsclubs.org

18 Dec 2016 at 19:36

Dear Sir,

Further to my 2 emails dated 13.12.2016,

I have also discovered that another bank account has been

operated under Hong Leong Bank by our club which was not

audited. I understand that this account may have been closed

by the bank as they demanded for a ROS certificate which was

not able to be produced by my club last year.

No one is able to tell me for how many years this account had been in use.

I have confirmation from a previous auditor, a chartered accountant that he was presented only with statements from 2 bank accounts.

I would be grateful if you could kindly acknowledge receipt

of this e-mail.

Lion Luqman Michel

LC of KK Host

luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>

To:districtadministration@lionsclubs.org,legal@lionsclubs.org,finance@lionsclubs.org

4 Jan 2017 at 04:49

Dear Sir,

I have been told that all Lions club are autonomous and LCI will not get involved in local club matters.

I however believe that someone other than my club members should investigate theft of monies from fund collected from people who donate.

As mentioned earlier my club has now held an EGM to dismiss me
for asking relevant questions.

Since my last email to you I have discovered more bank accounts that are not audited and money in the account used for private use.

Please confirm receipt of this email and let me know if club matters such as the above is really not your concern.

See my email below that has yet to be acknowledged receipt by you.

Kind regards,

Lion Luqman Michel

Kingsbury, David <David.Kingsbury@lionsclubs.org>

To:luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk,districtadministration@lionsclubs.org,legal@lionsclubs.org,Finance@lionsclubs.org

4 Jan 2017 at 05:45

Dear Lion Luqman Michel,

Thank you for contacting the Legal Division regarding local registrations by your Lions club.

As you may be aware, all Lions clubs are autonomous, meaning each club is responsible for day to day operations, including compliance with local laws. While Lions Clubs International does not oversee the day-to-day management of each Lions club, we do provide dispute resolution procedures to address all Lions-related complaints. In the event an issue causes concern as to whether a respective club is compliant with local laws, registrations and filings, a complaint may be filed under the Club Dispute Resolution Procedure (CDRP). The CDRP provides

“All disputes arising between any member or members, or a former member or members, and the club, or any officer on the board of the club, relative to membership, or the interpretation, breach of, or application of the club’s constitution and by-laws, or the expulsion of any member from the club, or any other internal Lions club matter whatsoever which cannot be satisfactorily resolved through other means, shall be settled by dispute resolution. Except as otherwise provided herein, any time limits specified in this procedure may be shortened or extended by the district governor, conciliator or the International Board of Directors (or its designee) upon a showing of good cause. All parties to any dispute subject to this procedure shall not pursue administrative or judicial actions during this dispute resolution process.”

As you will note, all disputes arising between current or former members of a club regarding a breach of the club’s constitution and by-laws “or any other internal Lions club matter whatsoever”, including the manner in which a respective club’s financial accounts are addressed, shall be resolved by the Club Dispute Resolution Procedure. You may review the Club Dispute Resolution Procedure at http://www.lionsclubs.org/resources/EN/pdfs/club_dispute.pdf.

I trust I have provided guidance in this matter.

Kindest regards,

David Kingsbury