Rules of Association

1.
The name of the Association shall be: “Singapore Hardware and Tools Association”.
2.
The Association’s Place of business shall be at: Block 808 FRENCH ROAD #03-06 KITCHENER COMPLEX Singapore 200808.
3.
The objects of the Association shall be to cement the friendship of the employers and employees of the Hardware and Tool Line and to promote the welfare of members.
4.(a)
Basic Company Membership is open to any business firm in the hardware and tools line in Singapore and shall have the right to elect or to be elected, and enjoy all rights in welfare activities provided by the Association. (Membership shall take effect after 3 months of admission).

 

(b)
Basic Personal Membership is open to any employer or employee in the hardware and tools line who resides in Singapore and shall have the right to elect or to be elected, and enjoy all rights in welfare activities provided by the Association. (Membership shall take effect after 3 months of admission).

 

(c)
Permanent Basic Company Membership: Permanent Basic Company Membership is open to any Basic Company Member who makes a one time contribution to the Association of (S$2,000.00). The Permanent Basic Company Member shall enjoy all privileges in welfare activities and shall have right to elect or to be elected and also need not pay anymore the “Annual Membership Fee”.

 

(d)
Permanent Basic Personal Membership: Permanent Basic Personal Membership is open to Basic Personal Members who makes a one time contribution to the Association of (S$500.00). The Permanent Basic Personal Member shall enjoy all privileges in welfare activities and shall have right to elect or to be elected and also need not to pay anymore the “Annual Membership Fee”.

 

(e)
Associate Membership: Associate Membership is open to any business firm or any person who appreciate the objects of the Association and donates to the Association (business firm S$3,000.00, individual S$l,000.00) and approved by the Management Committee. The Associate Member shall enjoy all privileges in welfare activities, but shall not have the right to elect or to be elected.

5.
Application for membership is to be made on the Association’s prescribed form and same shall be submitted to the Secretary. An application shall be proposed by either one basic member or one permanent member, and shall be put up on the notice board for one week. If it draws no objection after one week, it shall be considered by the Management Committee. In case of a rejection, no reason shall be given. Once the application is approved, the applicant is to pay the entrance fee, and he shall be either Basic Member or Permanent Member and be given a copy of the Association’s Rules.

6.
The Association’s entrance fee shall be $20.00 per basic member, $100.00 per a Business firm (Permanent Basic Member shall be exempted).

7.
Every Basic Member shall pay an annual subscription of $24.00, and in case of a business firm $120.00.

8.
In case of special event, the Management Committee has the power to call for special subscription from members.

9.
A meeting of the Management Committee may cancel the membership of any member who commits one of the following:
(a) Damages the Association’s reputation and misuse the Association’s name.
(b) Disobey The Association’s Rules.
(c) Commits an offence in the Criminal Law of the Government.
(d) Association Members whose “Annual Subscription” is overdue for six months shall be stopped from enjoying all privileges in welfare activities immediately.
10.
The General Meeting shall be valid only by the presence of at least 1/4 of the total voting membership or a minimum of 30 persons eligible to vote.

11.
The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held within 3 weeks after December each year. A general meeting may be called by request in writing by 20 basic or permanent basic members, then the president shall call an extraordinary general meeting. The request for calling general meeting shall be accompanied by their reason for calling and must be attended by the 20 members who requested. A general meeting shall be called by a decision of the committee meeting.

12.
The agenda of the Annual General Meeting must include the following
1. The year end account and report of the Committee.
2. The election of office-bearers for the following period of 2 years.Any member who wishes to place an item on the agenda of a general meeting may do so provided he gives notice to the Secretary one week before the meeting is due to be held.

13.
In the event of there being no quorum, the meeting shall be adjourned to the same day in the following week at a place and time to be appointed and should the member then present be insufficient to form a quorum, those present shall be considered a quorum, but they shall have no power to alter, amend or make additions to any of the existing rules.
14.
At each alternate Annual General Meeting notices shall be sent out to all members with election ballot papers, which shall be duly filled by members who shall post them to the Association or put them into the ballot box of the Association. At the preliminary election, 19 members shall be elected from amongst the basic members and permanent members and 7 members erected from amongst 26 existing members of management committee to form new 26 members of Management Committee and from these 26 the following officers shall be elected:

One PresidentThree Vice Presidents
One SecretaryOne Welfare Officer
Two Assistant SecretaryOne Assistant Welfare Officer
One TreasurerOne Recreation Officer
One Assistant TreasurerOne Assistant Recreation Officer
One Chinese CorrespondentThree Officers for Commerce Section
One English CorrespondentThree Officers for Personnel Section
One Liaison OfficerThree members for Management Committee

The Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer should be elected amongst business firms. In case among the 26 elected in preliminary election there are no business firms, the general meeting shall appoint 2 business firms to be Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer.


15.
The tenure of office of the office-bearers shall be two years. All office-bearers are eligible for re-election except the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer who shall not be re-elected to the same post for a second consecutive term.

16.
A committee meeting shall be held once in 2 months after 4 days notice to committee members. In the case of emergency, the President shall call such meeting at any time. At least one half of the committee members must be present for its proceedings to be valid.

17.
The duty of the committee is to organize and supervise the daily activities of the Association and to make decisions on matters, affecting its running when the general meeting is not sitting. It may not act contrary to the expressed wishes of the general meeting without prior reference to it and always remains subordinate to the general meetings.

18.
The Committee has power to authorize the expenditure from the Association’s funds for the Association purposes.

19.
The Duties of the office bearers shall be as follows:

 

(a)
The President shall act as Chairman at all General and Committee Meetings, and internally shall be in charge in all matters of the Association, and externally shall represent the Association. He shall keep the official seal of the Association.

 

(b)
The Vice President shall deputies for the President during the latter’s absence.

 

(c)
The Secretary, in accepting the guidance of the President, shall be responsible to all matters of the Association, Assist all sections in their duties, in charge of all furniture and important documents, engage and dismiss all paid employees.

 

(d)
The Assistant Secretary shall assist the Secretary and shall act for Secretary during the latter’s absence.

 

(e)
The Treasurer shall be in control of all incomes and expenditures of the Association, keep current accounts of the bank, and in case of expenditure over $300.00 it shall be paid by cheque. The Treasurer must not keep in cash over $500.00, exceeding this shall deposited in the bank which authorized by the committee Cheques of the Association paying out, shall be valid duly signed by any 3 of the following office bearers; the President, Vice President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer, and chopped with the official seal of the Association.

 

(f)
The Assistant Treasurer shall assist ant Treasurer and shall act for the Treasurer during the latter’s absence.

 

(g)
The Chinese Correspondent shall handle the Association’s Chinese documents and keeps records of meetings.

 

(h)
The English Correspondent shall handle the Association’s English Document.

 

(i)
The Liaison Officer shall be responsible with the Association’s external matters and shall represent the Association in all social gatherings.

 

(j)
The Assistant Liaison Officer shall assist the Liaison Officer and together with Liaison Officer represent the Association in all social gatherings.

 

(k)
The Welfare Officer shall be in charge with matters regarding the Association’s Welfare.

 

(l)
The Assistant Welfare Officer shall assist the Welfare Officer in his duties.

 

(m)
The Recreation Officer shall be in charge of all athletic and amusement matters.

 

(n)
The Assistant Recreation Officer shall assist the Recreation Officer in all his duties.

 

(o)
The Commerce Section Officer shall assist the fellow members in betterment in business concerned.

 

(p)
The Personnel Section Officer shall harmonize between employers and employees in matters regarding personnel requirements.

 

(q)
The Association will assist in organizing celebration or obituary of a member or his or her immediate family where sufficient notice is given to the committee.
20.
Two persons not members of the Committee will be elected as Hon. Auditors at each alternate annual general meeting and will hold office for two years only and may not be re-elected.
21.
If the Association at any time acquires any immovable property, such property shall be vested in Trustees subject to a declaration of trust. Any trustee may at any time resign his trusteeship. If a trustee dies or become a lunatic or of unsound mind of moves permanently or is absent from the Republic of Singapore for a period of one year, he shall be deemed to have resigned his trusteeship. If a 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 general meeting, but number shall not be greater than four or less than two. Notice of any proposal to remove a trustee from his trusteeship or to appoint a new trustee to fill a vacancy be given by affixing in the premises of the Association. A document containing such proposal at least two weeks before the meeting at which the proposal is to be discussed. The result of such meeting shall be notified to the Registrar of Societies for approval.
22.
The Management Committee shall in each year invite prominent people who have made distinctive contribution to the Association to be patrons and advisors.
23.
Any business firm who have voluntarily contributed a sum of S$10,000.00 or persons who have contributed a sum of $5,000.00 and who have made distinctive contribution to the Association, approved by the Managing Committee shall be Permanent Patron and enjoy all rights in welfare activities provided by the Association and need not to pay “Annual Membership Fee”.
24.
Residents in Singapore may be admitted into the premises of the Association but they shall not be admitted to the privileges of the Association nor shall they be admitted into the premises more than six times in any year. These visits are to be confirmed to not more than in 14days. A visitor’s Book shall be kept, in which shall be entered the names of all visitors and guests, together with the signatures of the members nominating them and the date of their visits. No person shall be a visitor or guest till his name has been entered in this book.
25.(a)
Gambling of any kind such as the playing of paikow or mahjong whether for stakes or not, are forbidden on the Association’s premises. The introduction of materials for gambling or opium smoking and of bad characters into the premises is prohibited.

 

(b)
The funds of the Association shall not be used to pay the fines of members who have been convicted in Court.

 

(c)
The Association shall not attempt to restrict or in any other manner interfere with trade or prices or engage in any trade union activity as defined in the Trade Union Ordinance.

 

(d)
The Association shall not hold any lottery, whether confined to its members or not in the name of the Association or its office bearers, committee or members.

 

(e)
The Association shall not indulge in any political activity or allow its funds and/or premises to be used for political purposes.
26.
No alterations or additions to these rules shall be made except at the General Meeting, and they shall not come into force without the prior sanction of the Registrar of Societies.
27.
In the event of any question or matter arising out of any point which is not expressly provided for in the rules, the Committee shall have power to use their own discretion.
28.(a)
The Association shall not be dissolved, except with the consent of not less than 3/5 of the members of the Association eligible to vote expressed, either in person or by proxy at a General Meeting convened for the purpose, or by postal vote.

 

(b)
In the event of the Association being dissolved as provided above, all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf of the Association shall be fully discharged, and the remaining funds will be donated to charity bodies.

 

(c)
Notice of dissolution shall be given within one week of the dissolution to the Registrar of Societies.