Chinese federation in Miri out to address all issues to maintain RoS registration

MIRI (July 3): The Federation of Miri Division Chinese Associations (FCA) Miri will diligently respond to all inquiries by the Registrar of Societies (RoS) and to attain understanding from the latter, with hope that it would soon be free from the risk of deregistration.

FCA President Datuk David Goh, in a press statement yesterday, said a committee meeting was held on July 1, and with the attendance of all committee members, it had garnered support that would help it resolve the issues raised by the RoS.

Goh added that as the RoS’ showcause letter issued on June 6 had prohibited general meeting to be held, a committee meeting was called in accordance with Article 9.4 of the Constitution, with resolutions equivalents to those of a general meeting.

In the meeting, which also attended by Federation of Chinese Associations of Sarawak president Dato Richard Wee, Goh said all members in attendance had been briefed about FCA’s constitution and the relevant clauses.

“Most of them unanimously voted to defend the unity and dignity of FCA, from being deregistered.

“The first resolution that passed in the meeting was the appointment of a senior lawyer who would be representing FCA in assisting to resolve the issues with ROS, and second resolution was that FCA committee members would be prohibited from writing and contacting ROoS directly to express opinions relating to the deregistration issue.

“All external announcements would be uniformly issued by FCA secretariat, to ensure that no inappropriate comments would be affecting FCA’s appeal to RoS,” said Goh.

He stressed that FCA had been proactively investigating and working on to respond to all inquiries from the RoS.

“We seek understanding and patience from the Chinese community as well as compassion from this incident, and asked for continued guidance and support towards the FCA Miri.”

Goh added that the committee meeting had also authorised him, along with Wee and the legal team, to draft a response letter to ROS, to be submitted this July 5.

“We hope that the ROS would accept this explanation letter and listen to our explanation,” he added.

Goh also expressed gratitude towards the Federation of Chinese Associations of Sarawak for its deep concern over this dispute, and for its officials having travelled tirelessly between Kuching and Miri, meeting with all the committee members and community leaders, and discussing the issues.

Wee, in the same statement, had expressed hope that all parties could set aside their prejudices and jointly seek a way to prevent FCA Miri from being deregistered by the RoS.

“From the several meetings that we had, we could see that committee members were able to assess the situation wisely, set aside personal views and prioritise the association’s interests and the reputation of the Chinese community first.

“Under the leadership of FCA Sarawak, FCA Miri will continue to uphold its founding principles, unite the Chinese community, gather its strength and build a harmonious society, creating better future for the Chinese community in Sarawak,” said Wee.