Vipassana Meditation Centre Singapore
Constitution

1. Name

This society shall be known as the "Vipassana Meditation Centre (Singapore)". Hereinafter referred to as the "Society".

2. Place of Business

Its place of business shall be at No. 1 Paya Lebar Walk, S'pore 535926, or such other address may subsequently be decided by the Management Committee and approved by the Registrar of societies. The Society shall carry out its activities only in places and premises which have the prior written approval from the relevant authorities where necessary.

3. Objectives

Its objectives are:

a) To perpetuate, propagate and practise "Theravada Buddhism".

b) To provide opportunities and venues for Intensive Vipassana meditation practice.

c) To observe Buddhist religious ceremonies, such as Vesak, Kathina Day, etc….

d) To conduct Dhamma classes, meditation classes, retreats, lectures, discussions and short courses on Buddhism.

e) To produce and publish Buddhist magazines, articles and periodicals.

f) To conduct other activities incidental to and necessary for the promotion of the above mentioned objects.

4. Membership

a) Membership is unlimited and is open to all persons regardless of sex and race and is sub-divided into:

(i) Ordinary Members:
Ordinary Members must be Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents
above the age of eighteen. Ordinary Members have the right to vote and to hold office in the Society.

(ii) Associate Members.
Associate Membership is open to both the Singapore Citizens as well as non-Singapore Citizens. Persons who are below eighteen years of age shall not be accepted as Associate Members without the written consent of their parent or guardian. Associate Members have no voting rights and cannot hold office in the Society.

b) A person wishing to join the Society should submit his particulars to the Honorary Secretary on a prescribed form. The Management Committee will decide on the application for membership.

c) A copy of the Constitution of the Society shall be given to every approved member upon payment of the entrance fee.

d) The membership of a member whose behaviour is deemed to be inconsistent with the objects of the Society can be terminated by a simple majority vote of the members at a General Meeting, provided the member has the right to be heard by the General Meeting before a decision is made.

5. Adviser

5a) Honorary Adviser
The Management Committee at its discretion shall appoint one or more person(s) as Honorary Adviser(s). The tenure of the Honorary Adviser(s) shall be the same as that of the existing Management Committee.

5b) Religious Adviser
The Management Committee shall appoint one or more Buddhist monk(s) as the Religious Adviser(s). The Religious Adviser(s) shall advise the Society on all religious matters. The tenure of the Religious Adviser(s) shall be the same as that of the existing Management Committee.

6. Entrance Fees and other Dues

a) An entrance fee of $20 is payable within two weeks of election to membership in default of which membership may be cancelled by order of the Management Committee.

b) Annual subscriptions are $24 for Ordinary Members and $12 for Associate Members and they are payable within two weeks of election to membership. Ordinary Life Members and Associate Life Members shall pay a once only subscription of $300 which includes the entrance fee.

c) For retiree members of sixty years and above , the entrance fee is waived and the annual subscription is reduced by half.

d) Any additional funds required for special proposes shall be raised from members and well wishers with the consent of the General Meeting of the members.

7. Supreme Authority and General Meetings.

a) The supreme authority of the Society is vested in a General Meeting of the members presided over by the President.

b) An Annual General Meeting shall be held in September each year. At other times, an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called by the President on the instruction of the Management Committee or the request in writing of one-fifth or more of the total voting members, stating the objectives for which the meeting is desired.

c) Members of the Society shall be notified of the date, time and venue of the Annual General Meeting by the Honorary Secretary and provided with a copy of the agenda and the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting at least fourteen days prior to the meeting. Notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be given to members not less than ten days before the meeting. In the Extraordinary General Meeting, only the matter for which such an Extraordinary General Meeting is called shall be discussed. If the Management Committee does not within two months after the date of the receipt of the written request proceed to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting, the members who requested for the Extraordinary General Meeting shall convene the Extraordinary General Meeting by giving ten days' notice to voting members setting forth the business to be transacted and simultaneously posting the agenda on the Society's notice board.

d) The agenda for the Annual General Meeting shall consist of the following:
(i) Adoption of the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting.
(ii) Acceptance of the Audited Statement of Income and Expenditure and the Balance Sheet of the previous financial year.
(iii) Annual Report of the Management Committee for the previous financial year.
(iv) Election of office-bearers and the Honorary Auditors for the following term.
(v) Approval of expenditures for major projects.
(vi) Any other matters of which notice in writing has been given to the Honorary Secretary at least seven days before the meeting is due to be held.

e) At least one quarter of the total voting members present at a General Meeting shall constitute a quorum. In the event of there being no quorum at the commencement of a General Meeting, the meeting shall stand adjourned for thirty minutes, and if there is still no quorum at such adjourned meeting, the members then present shall be considered a quorum but they shall have no power to amend any of the existing Rules.

f) Voting.
Voting at all General Meetings shall be either by ballot or by a show of hands. Any motion passed at General Meetings of the Society shall be carried by a simple majority vote of the members.

8. Management Committee

a) The administration of the Society shall be entrusted to a management committee consisting
of the following to be elected at each Annual General Meeting :
A President
A Vice- President
An Honorary Secretary
An Honorary Assistant Secretary
An Honorary Treasurer
Five Ordinary Management Committee Members.

b) Names for the officers stipulated at Rule 8(a) shall be proposed and seconded at the Annual General Meeting and election will follow on a simple majority vote of the members.

c) All office-bearers, except for the Honorary Treasurer, may be re-elected to the same post for a consecutive term of office. The term of office of the Management Committee is one year.

d) The Management Committee shall meet at least once in every two months. The Honorary Secretary shall give seven days' notice of the meeting unless the urgency of the business otherwise requires. Meetings of the Management Committee may be convened any time by the Honorary Secretary at the request of the President, by giving five days' notice. At least half of the Management Committee must be present to constitute a quorum.

e) The President, or, in his absence, the Vice-President, shall preside at meetings of the Management Committee.

f) Any member of the Management Committee absenting himself from three meetings consecutively without satisfactory explanation shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the Management Committee, and a sucessor may be co-opted by the Management Committee to serve until the next Annual General Meeting. Any change in the Management Committee shall be notified to the Registrar of Societies within two weeks of the change.

g) The duty of the Management Committee is to organise and supervise the daily activities of the Society. The Management Committee shall not act contrary to the expressed wishes of the General Meeting without prior reference to it and shall always remain subordinate to the General Meetings.

h) The Management Committee shall have the power to:
(i) Appoint from time to time sub-committee with such objects (not inconsistent with the Constitution), power, duties and rules for the conduct thereof as they may determine. The names of such sub-committees shall be given by the Management Committee. Such sub-committee shall be chaired by any voting member of the Society appointed by the Management Committee.
(ii) Dismiss or accept the resignation of any member of sub-committees of the Society and to fill vacancies thus arising.
(iii) Make from time to time By-Laws for the proper administration of the Society and its facilities and for the conduct of activities, not inconsistent with this constitution, and to amend or rescind such By-Laws.
(iv) Approve applications for the use of the Society's facilities and properties provided that such use is not in conflict with the objects of the Society.
(v) Authorise the expenditure of a sum not exceeding $5000 per month from the Society's funds for the Society's purposes.

9. Duties of Office Bearers

a) The President shall be responsible for all administration matters and shall act as Chairman for all General and Management Committee Meetings. He shall also represent the Society in its dealings with outside persons.

b) The Vice-President shall assist the President and deputize for him in his absence.

9c(i) The Honorary Secretary shall keep all records except financial of the Society and shall be responsible for their correctness. He will keep minutes of all General and Management Committee Meetings. He shall maintain an up-to-date Register of Members at all times.
9c(ii) The Honorary Assistant Secretary shall assist the Hon Secretary in the delegated tasks and deputise for him in his absence.

d) The Honorary Treasurer shall:
(i) Keep all funds, collect and disburse all monies on behalf of the Society.
(ii) Keep an account of all monetary transactions of the Society and shall be responsible for their correctness.
(iii) Prepare the annual estimates of income and expenditure for consideration by the Management Committee.
(iv) Prepare a monthly statement of income and expenditure, get it audited by the Honorary Auditors and then submit it to the Management Committee.
(v) Prepare the statement of income and expenditure and the balance sheet for the previous financial year.
(vi) On behalf of the Management Committee, present to the Annual General Meeting for approval, the statement of income and expenditure and the balance sheet for the previous financial year duly audited by the Honorary Auditors.
(vii) Sign all cheques of the Society in conjunction with the President, Vice-President or the Honorary Secretary.
(viii) Maintain a petty cash of not more than $500. Cash received in excess of $500 shall be deposited in a bank named by the Management Committee within one week.

e) Ordinary Management Committee Members shall assist in the general administration of the Society and perform duties assigned by the Management Committee from time to time.

10 Audit and Financial Year
10a) A firm of certified Public Accountants shall be appointed as Auditors at each Annual General Meeting for a term of one year and shall be eligible for re-appointment.
10b) They will be required to audit each year's account and present a report to the Annual General Meeting . They may be required by the President to audit the society's account for any period within their tenure of office at any date and make a report to the Management Committee.
c) The financial year shall be from 1st July to 30th June.

11 Trustees

a) If the Society at any time acquires any immovable property, such property shall be vested in Trustees subject to a Declaration of Trust. The number of Trustees shall not be less than two and not more than five. The Trustees shall be elected by the General Meeting of members.

b) Any Trustee may at any time resign his trusteeship. If a Trustee dies or becomes a lunatic or has an unsound mind or migrates or is absent from the Republic of Singapore for a period of more than one year or is being adjudicated bankrupt, he shall be deemed to have resigned his trusteeship. If the Trustee is guilty of misconduct of such a kind as to render it undesirable that he continues as a Trustee, a General Meeting may remove him from his trusteeship. Vacancies in the trusteeship may be filled at a General Meeting.

c) Notice of any proposal to remove a Trustee from his trusteeship or to appoint a new Trustee to fill a vacancy must be given by posting it on the notice board in the Society's premises at least two weeks before the General Meeting at which the proposal is to be discussed. The result of such General Meetings shall then be notified to the Registrar of Societies.

d) The addresses of the immovable properties, names of trustees and any subsequent change must be notified to the Registrar of Societies.

12 Prohibitions

a) Gambling of any kind whether for stakes or not, is forbidden on the Society's premises. The introduction of materials for gambling or drug taking and of bad characters into the premises is prohibited.

b) Funds of the Society shall not be used to pay the fines of members who have been convicted in court.

c) The Society shall not engage in any Trade Union activity as defined in any written law relating to trade unions for the time being in force in Singapore.

d) The Society shall not hold any lottery, whether confined to its members or not, in the name of the Society or its office-bearers, Management Committee or members unless with the prior approval of the relevant authorities.

e) The Society shall not indulge in any political activity or allow its fund and/or premises to be used for political purposes.

f) The Society shall not attempt to restrict or interfere with trade or make directly or indirectly any recommendation to, any arrangement with its members which has the purpose or is likely to have the effect of fixing or controlling the price or any discount allowance or rebate relating to any goods or services which adversely affect consumer interests.

g) The Society shall not raise funds from the public for whatever purposes without the prior approval in writing of the Director, Criminal Investigation Department and other relevant authorities.

13 Amendments To Constitution

No amendment to the Constitution shall be made except at a General Meeting and with the consent of more than half of the voting members present and they shall not come into force without the prior sanction of the Registrar of Societies.

14 Interpretation

In the event of any question or matter arising out of any point pertaining to the day-to-day administration of the Society which is not expressly provided for in the Constitution, the Management Committee shall have the power to use their own discretion. The decision of the Management Committee upon any question of interpretation shall be final unless it is reversed at a General Meeting of the members.

15 Dissolution

a) The Society shall not be dissolved, except with the consent of not less than three-fifths (3/5) of the total voting members of the Society for the time being resident in Singapore expressed, either in person or by proxy at a General Meeting convened for the purpose.

b) In the event of the Society being dissolved as provided above, all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf of the Society shall be fully discharged and the remaining funds shall be donated to an approved charity or charities in Singapore.

c) A Certificate of Dissolution shall be given within seven days of the dissolution to the Registrar of Societies.

16 Disputes

In the event of any dispute arising amongst members, they shall attempt to resolve the matter at an Extraordinary General Meeting in accordance with the Rules in the Constitution. Should the members fail to resolve the matter, they may bring the matter to a court of law for settlement.


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Updated on 4 Oct 2001