Selangor Athletics Association fires back at sacked president

 

SAA vice-president Varughese Abraham (left) says former president SM Muthu was duty bound to explain his financial plans to the main committee.

PETALING JAYA: Crisis-stricken Selangor Athletics Association (SAA) has described as “autocratic” and “puzzling” the way its sacked president, SM Muthu, handled its fixed deposit funds.

SAA vice-president Varughese Abraham said the main committee had been left in the dark over the past four years about the “missing” RM110,000 from the fixed deposit.

He said they only learnt from an FMT report on Monday that Muthu, who is also the president of Malaysian Athletics Federation, had invested the money in various businesses.

Muthu told FMT the money went into his personal bank account to make the investments on behalf of SAA, adding that RM55,000 in profits had been derived over the past three years.

Abraham said the main committee members were puzzled over Muthu’s statement that as the president, he did not have to seek their approval or that of the affiliates.

The president, he said, was duty bound under clause 17 (17.1) of the SAA constitution to explain his financial plans to the main committee that was equally answerable to how funds were utilised.

He said any move to withdraw more than RM25,000 was subject to approval by all the affiliates through an annual general meeting (AGM) or extraordinary general meeting (EGM) under clause 22 (22.6) of the constitution.

Abraham said Muthu’s claim of RM55,000 in profits from the investments was not shown in the statement of accounts of the association.

“His motive might be noble but the money belongs to SAA and he ran the association in an autocratic manner, leaving everyone in the dark,” he said.

Abraham said Muthu had failed to enlighten the members about the fixed deposit account despite pleas to do so after the matter was highlighted by the former treasurer Murugan Ramasamy.

Muthu was stripped of his position as SAA president and membership for life on Sunday over alleged financial impropriety at the association’s extraordinary general meeting, attended by representatives of 39 affiliates.

The meeting also passed similar motions against SAA’s former secretary, Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor, and former treasurer Mohd Fauzi Manivannan Abdullah.

The trio have also been asked to explain the “missing” RM16,000 in athlete incentive and development funds given to the association by the Selangor sports council.

Muthu made a police report on Monday alleging the EGM was illegal and was provoked by people out to tarnish his name and remove him from the state body ahead of its AGM on Nov 7.

Abraham said he had arranged the EGM after Muthu failed to respond to the written request on Sept 27 by 16 affiliates to solely discuss the alleged misuse of the fixed deposit funds.

He said a copy of the letter was sent to the sports commissioner, adding that the refusal by Muthu to call for an EGM as requested by affiliates was a violation of clause 16 (16.1 c) of the constitution.

On Muthu’s statement that he was prepared to discuss the issue in detail at the coming AGM, Abraham countered: “It is only at an EGM, with one agenda, that details of such an issue could be discussed at length, and not at an AGM”.

He said members found it odd why Muthu did not attend the EGM or raise the matter at the previous four AGMs.

“If Murugan had not exposed the issue or resigned due to that, it would not have been revealed at all,” he said.

Abraham said affiliates were also upset that Muthu had switched the originally scheduled Dec 12 AGM to Nov 7 despite the resignations of the secretary and treasurer, and urged the sports commissioner to intervene. - FMT