CHENG HOON TENG TEMPLE (INCORPORATION) ACT 1949

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple (Incorporation) LAWS OF MALAYSIA REPRINT Act 517 CHENG HOON TENG TEMPLE (INCORPORATION) ACT 1949 Incorporating all amendments up to 1 January 2006 PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIA UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968 IN COLLABORATION WITH PERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BHD 2006 1 2 CHENG HOON TENG TEMPLE (INCORPORATION) ACT 1949 First enacted … ... ... ... … … … 1949 (Ord. No. 34 of 1949) Revised 1994 (Act 517 w.e.f. 7 April 1994) … … … … … … … … PREVIOUS REPRINT First Reprint ... ... ... ... ... 2002 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 517 CHENG HOON TENG TEMPLE (INCORPORATION) ACT 1949 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section 1. Short title 2. Interpretation 3. Incorporation 4. Office 5. Membership of the Corporation 6. Register of Members of the Corporation 7. Termination of membership 8. Expulsion of members 9. Rights on incorporation 10. Objects and purposes 11. Standing Committee 12. Employment of Secretaries, Treasurers, etc. 13. Meetings of Standing Committee 14. Charges on funds of the Corporation 15. Advisory Committee 16. Annual Meetings 17. Extraordinary General Meeting 18. General Meetings 19. Chairman of the Corporation 19 A. Vice-Chairman of the Corporation 20. Proceedings at General Meetings 21. Notices 22. Seal of the Corporation Laws of Malaysia 4 Section 23. Documents of the Corporation 24. Vesting of properties 25. Investment of Corporation funds 26. Rules 27. Saving of rights FIRST SCHEDULE SECOND SCHEDULE THIRD SCHEDULE ACT 517 Cheng Hoon Teng Temple (Incorporation) 5 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 517 CHENG HOON TENG TEMPLE (INCORPORATION) ACT 1949 An Act to incorporate the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, Malacca. [28 September 1949] Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple (Incorporation) Act 1949. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “Advisory Committee” means the Committee referred to in section 15; “Register” means the Register of Members of the Corporation kept under section 6; “Standing Committee” means the Committee referred to in section 11. Incorporation 3. The persons whose names are from time to time inscribed in the Register shall be a body corporate (hereinafter called “the Corporation”) and shall have perpetual succession under the name of “The Cheng Hoon Teng Temple”. Office 4. The Corporation shall have an office at the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple in Jalan To’ Kong (Temple Street), Malacca, or at such other place as may, from time to time, be specified by the Corporation. 6 Laws of Malaysia ACT 517 Membership of the Corporation 5. (1) The Corporation shall have at least thirty-one members of whom— (a) four shall be members of the Standing Committee; (b) seventeen shall be members of the Advisory Committee; and (c) ten shall be elected by the Standing Committee: Provided that the Standing Committee may by special resolution increase the minimum number of members of the Corporation as they think fit. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1) “special resolution” means a resolution passed by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the members present at a meeting of the Standing Committee duly convened. (3) If the number of the members of the Corporation shall at any time be less than thirty-one, no business shall be transacted by the Corporation except for the purpose of filling vacancies. (4) As soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, the Standing Committee shall elect not less than ten persons to be members of the Corporation. (5) No person shall be eligible for membership of the Corporation unless— (a) he is of Chinese origin; (b) he has attained the age of thirty years; (c) he was born in the Federation or the Republic of Singapore or has ordinarily resided in those territories for a period of ten years immediately preceding his election as a member; and (d) immediately prior to his election as a member, he is not a person professing the Christian or Islamic religion. (6) Every person shall immediately after election as a member of the Corporation, sign the form of consent set out in the Third Schedule, and his name shall not be inscribed in the Register until he shall have signed such form. Cheng Hoon Teng Temple (Incorporation) 7 (7) The Standing Committee may refuse to admit a person as a member of the Corporation and shall not be bound to give its reasons for such refusal, and in any event the fact that there are already thirty-one members of the Corporation (inclusive of the members of the Standing Committee and of the Advisory Committee) shall be a sufficient reason for refusing to admit a person as a member of the Corporation. (8) Where the application (the proposal) of a person for membership of the Corporation has been rejected by the Standing Committee, that person shall not apply (be proposed) for membership until the expiration of one year from the date of such rejection. Register of Members of the Corporation 6. The Standing Committee shall within three months after the commencement of this Act cause to be kept a Register of Members of the Corporation and to be inscribed therein the name, address and occupation of every person elected to be a member of the Corporation and the date of his election. Termination of membership 7. A member shall cease to be a member of the Corporation in any of the following events: (a) if he shall give seven days’ notice in writing of his intention to resign by delivering such notice or by sending the same by prepaid registered post addressed to the Corporation at its registered office; (b) if he shall be adjudicated bankrupt or have a receiving order in bankruptcy made against him; (c) if he shall be found guilty by any Court of an offence punishable with a maximum sentence of imprisonment for a term of six months or upwards and shall by that Court be sentenced to any term of imprisonment: Provided always that the Standing Committee shall have power by special resolution to re-elect such member immediately in cases arising from motoring and traffic offences and offences of a like nature; (d) if he shall become a lunatic; 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 517 (e) if he shall cease to be ordinarily resident in Malacca or become a Christian or a Muslim; (f) if, being a member of the Standing Committee, he absents himself from the meetings of such Committee, of which due notice has been given, without special leave of absence obtained from the Chairman of the Corporation on six consecutive occasions and a resolution is passed to that effect at a meeting of the Standing Committee; (g) if, being a member of the Advisory Committee and having been duly called upon to do so, he fails, without special leave obtained from the Chairman of the Corporation, to attend meetings of the Advisory Committee on six consecutive occasions and a resolution is passed to that effect at a meeting of the Standing Committee. Expulsion of members 8. If in the opinion of the Standing Committee any member of the Corporation shall misconduct himself or his affairs, or otherwise be or become unfit to continue to be a member he may, by the vote of two-thirds of the members personally present at a General Meeting of the Corporation specially called to consider the matter, be expelled from the Corporation but he shall at such meeting be given an opportunity of explaining his conduct or the matter giving rise to the calling of the meeting, and no vote shall be passed at such meeting unless such opportunity aforesaid shall have been given. For the purposes of this section, a member shall be deemed to have had an opportunity of attending the said meeting to explain his conduct as aforesaid, if seven clear days’ notice of the said meeting specifying the place, the day and the hour of meeting shall be served upon such member either personally or by sending it by registered post addressed to such at his address as is, for the time being, stated in the Register. Rights on incorporation 9. (1) The Corporation shall have and may use a corporate seal which may, from time to time, be broken, changed, altered or made anew as the Corporation shall deem fit. (2) The Corporation may sue and be sued in respect of its property and otherwise in all courts. Cheng Hoon Teng Temple (Incorporation) 9 (3) The Corporation may acquire, purchase, lease, take, hold and enjoy for valuable consideration or by way of gift or otherwise movable and immovable property of every description and may sell, exchange, convey, assign, surrender and yield up, mortgage, demise, re-assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of and deal with any movable and immovable property vested in the Corporation upon such terms as the Corporation shall deem fit and shall do and perform all other acts, deeds and things as are conducive to the attainment of the objects and general purposes of the Corporation hereinafter mentioned or are incidental thereto or connected therewith in any manner whatsoever or are likely in any respect to be advantageous to the Corporation. Objects and purposes 10. The objects and general purposes of the Corporation shall be— (a) the promotion, propagation and observance of the doctrines, ceremonies, rites and customs of the Buddhist and other religions (including Confucianism and Taoism, but not including the Christian or Islamic religions) commonly professed or maintained in Malacca by the Chinese Community; (b) the maintenance, administration and improvement of and, if necessary, the enlargement and rebuilding of the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple and other Temples which may belong to or be acquired by or under the care or control of the Corporation; (c) the maintenance, administration and improvement and, if necessary, the enlargement and development of all burial grounds and other property of whatever description belonging to or acquired by the Corporation whether by way of gift, surrender, purchase, or in any other manner and the development for building or other purpose any land belonging to or under the control of or acquired by the Corporation as aforesaid and the rebuilding or improvement of properties belonging to or under the control of or acquired by the Corporation which is not required for use as a burial ground; (d) the establishment of a register of Chinese marriages; the provision and maintenance of a place to be set apart for the solemnization of marriages in accordance with Buddhist Laws of Malaysia 10 ACT 517 or Chinese practice; the establishment and maintenance of a crematorium for use in accordance with the doctrines of Buddhism, or any other religion commonly professed by the Chinese Community in Malacca; (e) such other charitable, humanitarian and religious purposes or objects for the benefit of the Chinese Community of the Federation and the Republic of Singapore including the relief of distress among the Chinese Community of these territories and the provision of adequate facilities for burial of the dead as shall be considered desirable by the Corporation. Standing Committee 11. (1) The affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by a Standing Committee consisting of not less than four and not more than six members to be styled Thye Lees or Managing Trustees who may exercise all such powers of the Corporation as are not by this Act or any other law in force for the time being required to be exercised by the Corporation in General Meeting. (2) No person shall be eligible for the office of Thye Lee or Managing Trustee unless— (i) he is a member of the Corporation; and (ii) his nomination for election is approved by a majority of the Standing Committee. (3) The first members of the Standing Committee shall be Poh Kim Tiong of No. 55, Jonker Street, Malacca, Chan Teck Chye of No. 30, Second Cross Street, Malacca, Tan Cheng Lock of 96, First Cross Street, Malacca and Loh Kim Swi of 317C, Klebang Besar, Malacca. (4) The members of the Standing Committee (othe