City Hall holds RSC members at gunpoint

Members of the Royal Selangor Club are outraged by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s demand that a 30 percent membership discount be given to civil servants in return for the land title to the club’s Kiara Annexe. 

This hefty discount must be approved by the club’s members and a resolution on the matter will be tabled at its annual general meeting (AGM) tomorrow.
    
A number of RSC members are incensed by City Hall’s outrageous demands, with some describing it as an act of extortion.

“City Hall is holding the RSC to ransom and trying to exploit the situation by demanding that if you do not approve the membership of civil servants at a discount of 30 percent, the mayor will not approve the pending title to the Kiara Annexe,” decried a member who is lawyer.

He added that the matter should instead be referred to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

“This arrogant attitude by the past mayor, Ahmad Fuad Ismail, is typically political - it is telling the RSC membership that they have no other choice but to approve the discount for civil servants.”

Moreover, the fees have to be refunded by the club should the civil servant retire or die.

Outstanding land issue

The RSC has been in correspondence with the City Hall over the past 14 years to resolve an outstanding issue since its Kiara Sports Annexe was built in 1990.

The issue is that the land that the building and the field sit on is under the name of the mayor and not the RSC.

According the resolution to be tabled tomorrow, the RSC had held several meetings with the then mayor, it was proposed that the discount be approved by the AGM before the land title be given to the prestigious club.

This was communicated to the RSC last year in a letter from the City Hall, confirming the mayor’s offer.

The motions are:

• That the RSC attempt to recruit a fifth of its members from the ranks of the Malaysian civil service.

• That those members recruited be allowed a 30 percent discount on its entrance fees, and

• The club will refund entrance fees for this category of members on their retirement, leave the civil service or upon their death as they will no longer be members of this club under this category.

Club given little choice

“So tomorrow, the club members will be compelled to vote in favour of the resolution to allow civil servants to be members of the club in exchange for the title and this is a blatant form of corruption which the past mayor is openly practicing,” another member and former council member of the RSC said.

The resolution concludes: “Having sought, and received, legal advice, the general council is of the opinion that the RSC has little choice in the matter but to accede to City Hall’s wishes. 

“But, since only the house the power to consent to such a sweeping change, the general council has put forward the abovementioned motions for your consideration.”

Another club member commented: “The former mayor is living in the past. Such a gunpoint demand to allow the civil service (to join the club) will cost the BN votes in the coming election because this is not 1Malaysia the government is preaching.”