People’s Association Act

(CHAPTER 227)

(Original Enactment: Ordinance 35 of 1960)

REVISED EDITION 2012

(30th November 2012)

An Act to incorporate the People’s Association for promoting community recreation in Singapore and for matters incidental thereto.

[1st July 1960]

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the People’s Association Act.

Establishment and incorporation of People’s Association

2.—(1) There is hereby constituted a corporation to be known as the People’s Association (referred to in this Act as the Association).

(2) The Association shall have perpetual succession and a common seal.

(3) The Association may sue and be sued in its corporate name and perform such other acts as bodies corporate may by law perform.

Powers of Association to be vested in Board of Management

3. The powers of the Association and the management and control of the Association and of its property and affairs shall be vested in a Board of Management (referred to in this Act as the Board).

Constitution of Association

4.—(1) The Association shall consist of —

(a)	the Prime Minister as Chairman;
(b)	a Minister to be appointed by the Chairman as Deputy Chairman;
(c)	8 members to be appointed by the Chairman; and
(d)	one member to be appointed by the Chairman in consultation with each of the organisations mentioned in the Schedule.

(2) All letters of appointment to the persons mentioned in subsection (1)(b), (c) and (d) shall be issued by the Chairman, who may revoke any appointment at any time without assigning any reason.

(3) Members of the Association appointed by the Chairman in accordance with subsection (1)(b), (c) and (d) shall —

(a)	hold office for a period of 3 years from the dates of their respective appointments; and
(b)	be eligible for reappointment on completion of that period.

(4) There shall be a Secretary-Treasurer, who shall be a person appointed by the Chairman from among the members appointed under subsection (1)(c).

(5) The Board may, from time to time, by notification in the Gazette —

(a)	vary the number of its members and provide in what manner additional members, if any, shall be appointed; and
(b)	add to or amend the Schedule. [7/97]

(6) If a vacancy occurs in the membership of the Association under subsection (1)(b), (c) or (d), by reason of death, resignation, revocation of an appointment under subsection (2) or for any other cause, the Chairman shall —

(a)	in the case of a vacancy under subsection (1)(b) or (c), appoint a person to fill the vacancy; and
(b)	in the case of a vacancy under subsection (1)(d), in consultation with the organisation concerned, appoint a person to fill the vacancy.

(7) Any person appointed under subsection (6)(a) or (b) shall hold office for so long as the member in whose place he is appointed would have held office.

Constitution of Board

5.—(1) The Board shall consist of —

(a)	the persons mentioned in section 4(1)(a) to (c); and
(b)	4 members to be elected from among themselves by the persons mentioned in section 4(1)(d) at a general meeting of the Association. [5/93]

(2) The Secretary-Treasurer of the Association shall be the Secretary-Treasurer of the Board.

(3) Members of the Board elected under subsection (1)(b) shall hold office for a period of 3 years from the date of their election and shall be eligible for re-election.

(4) The term of office of a member of the Board elected under subsection (1)(b) shall cease upon the revocation of his appointment as a member of the Association under section 4(2), or if his appointment as a member of the Association has expired and he has not been reappointed under section 4(3).

[5/93]

Meetings

6.—(1) The Board may meet as often as it considers necessary, but it shall in any case meet at least once in 3 months to discuss the management and affairs of the Association.

(2) General meetings of the Association may be held as often as the Board considers necessary, but the Board shall in any case convene a general meeting once in every 3 years.

[5/93]

(3) Before the holding of a general meeting of the Association, the Board shall cause a notice to be sent to all members of the Association giving them at least 7 days’ notice of the holding of the general meeting, and specifying the date, time and place of the meeting and the business to be transacted thereat.

(4) The notice referred to in subsection (3) shall be deemed to have been received by a member if sent by ordinary post or despatched by messenger to the address of the member as stated in the records of the Association.

[5/93]

(5) The Chairman shall —

(a)	preside at all meetings of the Association and of the Board; and
(b)	have the right to vote on any question coming before or arising at any meeting of the Association or of the Board.

(6) The Deputy Chairman shall, in the absence of the Chairman, preside at all meetings of the Association and of the Board and when so doing shall have and may exercise all the powers and functions of the Chairman.

(7) In the absence of both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman at any meeting of the Association or of the Board, such member as the members present may select shall act as Chairman.

(8) The quorum at all meetings of the Association shall be one-third of the total number of members of the Association, and no business shall be transacted unless a quorum is present.

(8A) The quorum at every meeting of the Board shall be 5 members of the Board, and no business shall be transacted unless a quorum is present.

[25/2009]

(9) All questions coming before or arising at any meeting of the Association or of the Board shall be decided by a majority of the members present and voting thereon at that meeting of the Association or of the Board, and in the case of an equality of votes, the person presiding at the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

Disclosure of interest

7.—(1) If a member of the Association or of the Board is, directly or indirectly, interested in any contract, proposed contract or other matter and is present at a meeting of the Association or of the Board at which the contract, proposed contract or other matter is the subject of consideration, the member —

(a)	shall, at the meeting and as soon as practicable after it commences, disclose the fact; and
(b)	shall not thereafter be present during the consideration or discussion of, and shall not vote, on any question with respect to, that contract, proposed contract or other matter.

(2) Subsection (1) shall also apply to any member of a committee appointed in accordance with section 9(b) when the member is present at a meeting of any committee.

Objects of Association

8. The objects of the Association are —

(a)	the organisation and the promotion of group participation in social, cultural, educational and athletic activities for the people of Singapore in order that they may realise that they belong to a multiracial community, the interests of which transcend sectional loyalties;
(b)	the establishment of such institutions as may be necessary for the purpose of leadership training in order to instil in leaders a sense of national identity and a spirit of dedicated service to a multiracial community;
(c)	the fostering of community bonding and strengthening of social cohesion amongst the people of Singapore;
(d)	the performance of such other functions as may be conferred upon the Association by any written law; and
(e)	the carrying out of such activities as appear to the Board to be advantageous towards, or necessary or convenient for, the furtherance of the objects of the Association as set out in paragraphs (a) to (d). [39/96]

Powers of Board

9. In order to achieve the objects set out in section 8, the Board may —

(a)	make rules to regulate the proceedings of the Association and of the Board and generally to carry out the purposes of this Act;
(b)	appoint committees and allocate duties to and regulate the exercise of executive power by the committees and the members of the Board;
(c)	appoint such officers and employees as it thinks fit for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act, and regulate the conduct and dismissal of those officers and employees;
(d)	enter into contracts, establish trusts and generally regulate the transactions of all business connected with the Association;
(e)	receive fees from persons participating in recreational activities organised by the Association, contributions from the Government and from other sources and raise funds by all lawful means to carry out the purposes of this Act, and moneys so received or raised shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this Act;
(f)	manage or run community centres, clubs, institutes and such other bodies as the Board thinks fit;
(g)	assist other bodies by contributions or otherwise to promote recreational activities for children, young persons and adults;
(h)	acquire, purchase, lease, take, hold and enjoy movable and immovable property of every description, and sell, convey, assign, surrender and yield up, mortgage, demise, reassign, transfer or otherwise dispose of any movable and immovable property vested in the Association upon such terms as the Board considers fit;
(i)	award certificates of proficiency to persons who attend any of the courses or activities organised by the Association, after tests approved by the Association;
(j)	authorise the governing body of any institution established under section 8(b) to carry out such activities as are not inconsistent with the objects of the Association as set out in section 8 and as are in accordance with the constitution of the institution; and
(k)	generally do all such other acts as may be necessary to achieve the objects of the Association. [5/93]

Protection from personal liability

10. No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against —

(a)	any member, officer or employee of the Association or any other person acting under the direction of the Association;
(b)	any member of the Board or any person acting under the direction of the Board; or
(c)	any member or officer of any committee appointed by the Board or any person acting under the direction of such committee,

for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in the execution or purported execution of this Act.

[39/96]

Execution of documents

11.—(1) All deeds, documents or other instruments requiring the seal of the Association shall be sealed with the common seal of the Association in the presence of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman and one other member of the Board, who shall sign every such deed, document or other instrument to which the common seal is affixed.

(2) The signature of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and the member of the Board referred to in subsection (1) is sufficient evidence that the seal was duly and properly affixed and that it is the lawful seal of the Association.

Annual report

12. The Secretary-Treasurer of the Board shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year, submit to the Board a report of the activities of the Association during that financial year.

[5/93]

Bank accounts and application of funds

13.—(1) The Board may deposit all moneys belonging to the Association in such account or accounts which it may open with —

(a)	any bank or banks licensed under the Banking Act (Cap. 19); or
(b)	any finance company or companies licensed under the Finance Companies Act (Cap. 108). [5/93]

(2) The account or accounts in which the moneys belonging to the Association are to be deposited may be opened in the name of —

(a)	the Association; or
(b)	the management committee or any other approved constituent committee of any community centre, club, institute or other body managed or run by the Board.

(3) Each bank account shall be operated by such person as may, from time to time, be authorised in that behalf by the Board.

[27/2002]

(4) The Board may invest the funds of the Association in accordance with the standard investment power of statutory bodies as defined in section 33A of the Interpretation Act (Cap. 1).

[45/2004]

Issue of shares, etc.

13A. As a consequence of the vesting of any property, rights or liabilities of the Government in the Association under this Act, or of any capital injection or other investment by the Government in the Association in accordance with any written law, the Association shall issue such shares or other securities to the Minister for Finance as that Minister may from time to time direct.

[5/2002]

Accounts and audit

14.—(1) The financial year of the Association shall begin on 1st April of each year and end on 31st March of the succeeding year.

[5/93]

(2) The Board shall —

(a)

cause proper accounts and records of the transactions and affairs of the Association to be kept; and

(b)

do all things necessary to ensure that —

(i)	all payments out of its moneys are correctly made and properly authorised; and
(ii)	adequate control is maintained over the assets of, or in the custody of, the Association, and over the expenditure incurred by the Association.

(3) The Board shall, as soon as practicable after the close of each financial year, prepare and submit to the auditor of the Association, financial statements in respect of that financial year.

(4) The accounts of the Association shall be audited by the Auditor-General or by an auditor appointed annually by the Board in consultation with the Auditor-General.

(5) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as an auditor under subsection (4) unless he is a public accountant within the meaning of the Companies Act (Cap. 50).

(6) The remuneration of the auditor of the Association shall be paid out of the funds of the Association.

(7) The auditor or any person authorised by him shall be entitled at all reasonable times to full and free access to all accounting and other records relating, directly or indirectly, to the financial transactions of the Association.

(8) The auditor shall in his report state —

(a)	whether the financial statements show fairly the financial transactions and the state of affairs of the Association;
(b)	whether proper accounting and other records have been kept, including records of all assets of the Association whether purchased, donated or otherwise;
(c)	whether the receipt, expenditure and investment of moneys, and the acquisition and disposal of assets by the Association during the financial year were in accordance with the provisions of this Act; and
(d)	such other matters arising from the audit as he considers should be reported.

(9) The auditor shall, as soon as practicable after the accounts have been submitted for audit, send a report of his audit to the Deputy Chairman, and shall also submit such periodical and special reports to the Deputy Chairman as may appear to the auditor to be necessary or as the Deputy Chairman may require.

(10) The auditor or any person authorised by him may require any person to furnish him with such information in the possession of that person or to which that person has access as the auditor considers necessary for the purposes of his functions under this Act.

(11) Any person who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with any requirement of the auditor under subsection (10) or who otherwise hinders, obstructs or delays the auditor in the performance of his duties or the exercise of his powers shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.

(12) As soon as the accounts of the Association and the financial statements have been audited in accordance with the provisions of this Act, a copy of the audited financial statements signed by the Secretary-Treasurer of the Board, together with a copy of the auditor’s report, shall be submitted to the Deputy Chairman.

(13) Where the Auditor-General is not the auditor of the Association, a copy of the audited financial statements and any report made by the auditor shall be forwarded to the Auditor-General when they are submitted to the Deputy Chairman.

Association’s symbols

15.—(1) The Association shall have the exclusive right to the use of such symbols (referred to in this section as the Association’s symbols) as it may devise or adopt from time to time and thereafter display or exhibit in connection with its activities or affairs.

[27/2002]

(2) The Association shall publish the Association’s symbols in the Gazette.

[27/2002]

(3) Any person who uses a symbol identical with, or which so resembles, any of the Association’s symbols as to be likely to deceive or cause confusion, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.

[27/2002]

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