Silver Jubilee Fund (Singapore) Act
(CHAPTER 294)

(Original Enactment: Ordinance 1 of 1936)

REVISED EDITION 1985
(30th March 1987)
An Act to establish the Silver Jubilee Fund (Singapore).
[28th February 1936]
Whereas in the year 1935 a Fund was raised in Singapore partly by public subscription and partly by grants made by the Government of the Colony and by the Municipal Commissioners of Singapore as a permanent memorial of the Silver Jubilee of His Most Gracious Majesty KING GEORGE V:
And Whereas the subscribers to the said Fund agreed that it should be devoted to the relief of distress in the Settlement of Singapore:
And Whereas it is expedient to provide by statute for the appointment of Trustees of the said Fund and of a Committee of Management and to define the powers and duties of the Trustees and the Committee of Management.
Short title
1.  This Act may be cited as the Silver Jubilee Fund (Singapore) Act.
Interpretation
2.  In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context —
“Fund” means the Silver Jubilee Fund (Singapore) and includes all subscriptions, donations, interest and dividends and all other property real or personal heretofore or hereafter received or acquired for the purposes of this Act by the Corporation mentioned in section 3;
“Committee” means the Committee of Management constituted under section 12.
Trustees incorporated
3.—(1)  In order to carry out the objects of the Fund the trustees of the Fund are hereby constituted a corporation by the name “the Trustees of the Silver Jubilee Fund (Singapore)”, which —
(a)by that name has perpetual succession;
(b)shall have a common seal; and
(c)may for the purposes of the Fund —
(i)sue and be sued;
(ii)make contracts;
(iii)acquire, purchase, take, hold and enjoy movable and immovable property of every description;
(iv)sell, convey, assign, surrender, mortgage, lease, or otherwise dispose of any movable or immovable property vested in it upon such terms as to the Corporation may seem fit; and
(v)collect and receive further subscriptions and donations, interest and dividends for the benefit of the Fund.
(2)  The Corporation shall consist of the persons for the time being discharging the duties of the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and the Accountant-General and two persons not in the service of the Government from time to time appointed by the Minister.
(3)  Should any person appointed a trustee by the Minister resign or be absent for 9 months from Singapore or fail to attend to the duties of his trusteeship the Minister may consider him to have vacated his membership of the Corporation and may appoint another person as a trustee in his place.
(4)  No salary, fee or honorarium shall be paid to any trustee of the Fund.
Chairman and keeper of seal
4.  The Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Finance shall be ex-officio chairman of the Corporation and shall have the custody of the seal of the Corporation.
Sealing documents
5.  All deeds, documents or other instruments which are by law required to be sealed shall be sealed with the seal of the Corporation in the presence of the chairman and one other trustee and also be signed by each of them and their signing shall be taken as sufficient evidence of the due sealing of those deeds, documents and other instruments.
Fund vested in Corporation
6.  The Fund shall be vested in the Corporation for the purpose of this Act.
Money to be banked
7.  All moneys received from subscribers and all other moneys belonging to or collected or received by the Corporation shall be deposited in the bank of the Corporation.
Signing of cheques
8.—(1)  All cheques drawn upon the bank account of the Corporation shall be signed by the chairman and shall be countersigned by one other trustee.
(2)  The bank may pay all cheques drawn against the account which are so signed and countersigned.
Investment
9.  Moneys belonging to the Fund may be invested by the Corporation in any security in which trustees are authorised by law to invest trust funds. All investments shall be held by the Corporation or on behalf of the Corporation by an agent appointed by the Corporation with the approval of the Minister.
Payment of income to Committee of Management
10.—(1)  The Corporation may pay such donations and subscriptions as it may receive and the income derived from the Fund to the Committee of Management constituted under section 12.
(2)  Nothing in this section shall restrict or limit the power (which the Corporation is hereby declared to have) to invest such part of the income of the Fund and of the donations and subscriptions to the Fund as it considers fit.
Accounts of Corporation to be audited
11.—(1)  The accounts of the Corporation shall be audited by an auditor who shall be appointed by the Minister and may in like manner be removed.
(2)  The auditor shall be entitled to have full accounts of all investments in which the Fund is invested.
(3)  A statement of the accounts of the Corporation shall be published annually in the Gazette after audit.
Committee of Management
12.—(1)  There shall be a Committee of Management composed of 12 persons appointed by the Minister.
(2)  No Member of Parliament shall be eligible for appointment as a member of the Committee.
(3)  Subject to subsections (4) and (5) each member of the Committee shall hold office for a period of 3 years from the date of his appointment and shall be eligible for reappointment.
(4)  Any person appointed as a member of the Committee shall cease to hold the appointment —
(a)on his death;
(b)on his resignation in writing addressed to and accepted by the Minister;
(c)on his becoming a Member of Parliament; or
(d)if the Minister revokes the appointment,
and any vacancy so occurring in the Committee shall be filled by a fresh appointment made in accordance with this section.
(5)  If a person is appointed a member of the Committee as the person discharging the duties of an office, the person for the time being discharging those duties shall be and remain a member of the Committee, but nothing in this subsection shall limit or restrict the power of the Minister to make a different appointment at the end of any triennial period.
(6)  Subject to subsections (1), (2) and (3) every trustee shall be eligible for appointment as a member of the Committee.
(7)  The Committee shall not be incapable of acting by reason only of there being a vacancy in its membership.
Officers, sub-committees and quorum
13.—(1)  The Committee shall appoint a chairman from among its members.
(2)  The Committee may appoint a treasurer, a secretary and other officers and may remove any officer so appointed.
It shall not be necessary that a person appointed as treasurer or secretary be a member of the Committee.
(3)  The Committee may appoint sub-committees consisting of members of that Committee with the addition of such other persons as the Committee may desire and may delegate such powers as it thinks fit to the sub-committees. The Committee may at any time remove any such other person from a sub-committee and may if it sees fit appoint another person in his place.
(4)  The Committee may make rules for the duties and procedure of the Committee and of sub-committees.
(5)  At any meeting of the Committee 5 members present at the meeting shall form a quorum.
(6)  No salary, fee or honorarium shall be paid to any member of the Committee.
Bank account of Committee
14.  All moneys received from the Corporation shall be deposited in the bank of the Committee.
Signing of cheques
15.—(1)  All cheques drawn upon the bank account of the Committee shall be signed by the chairman and countersigned by the treasurer of the Committee.
(2)  The bank may pay all cheques drawn against the account which are so signed and countersigned.
Accounts to be kept and audited
16.—(1)  The treasurer of the Committee shall keep the accounts of the moneys received by the Committee which shall be audited at regular half yearly intervals by an auditor who shall be appointed by the trustees and may in like manner be removed.
(2)  It shall be lawful for the Committee to direct the payment to any auditor so duly appointed and to the treasurer and also to the secretary (not being a member or members of the Committee) of such remuneration as the trustees may approve.
(3)  A statement of the receipts and expenditure showing the totals for each month separately shall be published in the Gazette after audit.
Disposal of moneys
17.—(1)  The Committee shall have full power to manage and to spend the moneys received by it for the purposes set out in this Act and to delegate such powers other than the signing of cheques as it thinks fit to sub-committees appointed by it.
(2)  The Committee may pay the actual cost of administration out of moneys at its disposal.
Committee to inquire and grant relief
18.  The Committee shall inquire into cases or classes of distress brought to its cognizance and may at its discretion grant relief or assistance out of moneys at its disposal.
Members of Committee public servants for purposes of Penal Code
19.  Every member of the Committee and every member of a sub-committee shall be deemed to be a public servant for the purposes of the Penal Code [Cap. 224] while discharging any duty under this Act.