Ethics and integrity of the Lions Clubs

This post is for those who are reading my posts here for the first time.

I want to share my experiences with Lions Clubs and Lions Club International (LCI).

In 2017 I was expelled from the Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu Host (LCKKHost) for asking questions on misappropriation of funds by a few senior members. A scheme had been set up by operating bank accounts unknown to most members.

I complained to some Past District Governors who instructed me to get in touch with the District Governor. They wanted to have no part in investigating this matter.

I complained to the District Governor who pushed it to Lions Club International.

I complained about the matter to Lions Club International and was told that each club is autonomous and LCI will not get involved.

I complained to the Registrar of Societies (ROS) and after investigation, the club was deregistered.

 

John Ho, a PDG who was the person who had schemed the whole matter together with some senior members who were past presidents, appealed to the Minister of Home Affairs with false information and the club was reinstated after a year of deregistration after having fulfilled requirements by ROS. Club accounts filed in ROS that had recorded only 2 bank accounts for more than 10 years was updated with 5 bank accounts.

It was through these undisclosed bank accounts that monies were siphoned off by the perpetrators.

None of the members or PDGs asked for the accounts during the period of misappropriation. No one knows the amount misappropriated by the perpetrators.

During this period of deregistration, John Ho Shui Fah and two other members used their own money to pay for the International dues to LCI. LCI accepted the payment despite knowing the club had been deregistered.

Payment of any kind by a deregistered club is prohibited by the Malaysian Society’s Act. In other words, this payment to LCI contravened the Society’s Act which is a criminal act and LCI was a party to it.

Again, the PDG’s wanted to have nothing to do with it.

Don’t forget that we are talking about a movement that is renowned for its integrity and ethics or at least that is what we are made to believe.

Subsequent to the reinstatement, the club required all members to pay subscription for the year in which the club was deregistered. A member who refused to pay on the grounds that the club was non-existent during that year was expelled from the club.

What integrity and ethics are we talking about?