Dispute over sports memberships sets stage for SCC leadership tussle

SINGAPORE – Trouble is brewing at the second-oldest sports club here, with Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) members calling a special general meeting next week to remove the president and deputy president — in what is believed to be the first time a vote of no-confidence will be called against the club’s leaders in its 163-year history.

Following the death of then-club president Michael Grice — a popular figure at the club, which has more than 4,000 members — in August last year, former president Mohan J Bhojwani stepped up to fill the leadership void before current club president Baldev Singh and his deputy Brian Teo were elected in April.

Some members told TODAY they are unhappy with the direction taken by Mr Singh and Mr Teo, including moves that would ultimately reduce the number of Sports Members — which suggest Mr Singh and Mr Teo were trying to close Sports memberships as a way of joining the club without paying Ordinary membership fees, which are higher in the short term.

A club member who declined to be named claimed that Mr Singh and Mr Teo had taken actions “not in the best interest of the club, (and) without consulting the rest of the general committee”. In one general committee meeting after Mr Singh and Mr Teo took office, seven members walked out due to frustration with the duo’s management. Some members took issue with Mr Singh’s lack of experience in running the club, noting that he had not been part of the general committee previously before he was elected as president.

They added that unlike Mr Singh, Mr Grice “was a sportsman through and through” — being a cricket player for the club before becoming its president — and was a strong supporter of other sports such as rugby and football. Sources said among the incumbent 12-member general committee, eight had agreed to hold the special general meeting. Mr Singh, Mr Teo and two others objected.

Mr Singh could not be reached for comment, while Mr Teo declined to respond to TODAY’s queries.

Five months after he was elected, Mr Singh had issued a circular titled Transparency, Accountability, Consensus, detailing his concerns over the club’s manpower structure and financial status, as well as vowing to trim the excesses.

The club has incurred annual deficits of more than S$1 million under its Sports arm since 2010, for example. Mr Singh also informed the club members that he was told in July that some service staff at the club were involved in the “unwarranted hire of casual labour and misappropriation of petty cash claims”. Following a preliminary investigation by the club management, two assistant managers at the Padang Restaurant were sacked. The matter was referred to the police after the general committee reviewed the findings, Mr Singh said.

On the club’s finances, Mr Singh pointed out that between 2010 and last year, the club had tapped its reserves to balance its books. “For very obvious reasons, this cannot continue,” he said in the circular.

The Sports arm is projected to incur a deficit of about S$1.3 million this year. Mr Singh reiterated that sports “have always been a focus” of the club. “However, as a main deficit cost centre... we have to trim wastage and fats, while minimising its effects on our commitment to sports,” he said.

Separately, a White Paper issued to the club members proposed to “streamline and offer guidance on the interpretation of the criteria of Sports membership”. Among other things, it also suggested changing the criteria for converting Sports memberships to Ordinary transferable memberships.

If the White Paper is endorsed by the club, it would be more difficult for Sports Members to continue their membership, effectively reducing the number of such members in the club.

Sports Members have to be between 21 and 40 years old, and able to represent the club at various competitive sporting events in the sport of their choice.

Under the current criteria, anyone who can play the sport of which they applied for would be accepted as “of a standard that will promote the performance of the Sports Section which he intends to participate in”.

The proposed definition states that “only sportsmen and women who will be playing in the first two teams of the sport (will) be approved” as Sports Members, thus “justifying the much lower cost of entry into the club”.

Sports Members pay an annual fee of S$2,500, as well as the S$103 monthly subscription fee. According to the club’s monthly magazine, the last 10 transacted prices in April to May of the ordinary transferable membership through the club averaged around S$19,000. Ordinary members also pay the S$103 monthly subscription.

Conveners of the club’s various sports sections, as well as its Games Control Board, have put up an opposing paper, arguing that it is “a myth that Sports memberships are a cheap entry route into the club”. They pointed out that Sports Members transferring to Ordinary membership actually have to pay more than a person buying an Ordinary membership on the open market. They also argued that a large part of the club’s profits come from Sports Members’ spending at its food and beverage outlets.

The Rugby section, which is one of 13 sections, alone contributed to about 10 per cent of the club’s F&B revenue.

CLARIFICATION: In an earlier version of this article, we reported that seven members left the club’s general committee after the new president and deputy president took office. A source for the report has clarified that the seven members expressed strong disagreement, but did not leave the committee.