SMF leadership had planned to remove Board of Governors: sources

MEMBERS of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) have shed some light on events that may have led to the stepping down of its president Douglas Foo.

On Monday (Mar 7), sources told The Business Times (BT) that Foo had stepped down as president of SMF - a role he had held since 2014 - and that Ryan Chioh, who is now deputy president, will be acting president in the interim.

But according to sources, it appeared that prior to Foo's departure from his role, there had been a planned attempt to remove the SMF's Board of Governors (BOG) through an extraordinary general meeting (EGM).

Foo had announced his leaving on Feb 25, along with the cancellation of the EGM that was supposed to occur on Mar 1.

Among other things, the EGM was meant to pass a resolution that would amend the constitution to discontinue the BOG - an entity formed in 2013.

The current BOG members are former Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo; managing director of Amoy Canning Corporation George Huang; and executive chairman of the Excellent Family Lifestyle Group Robert Chua.

Former SMF deputy president Sunny Koh told BT: "The BOG are there as a check and balance, and to resolve disputes if any in the council or secretariat. If you try to remove them, then everybody will question what is the council's ultimate motive."

Another source, who was privy to council meetings in the past but declined to be named, said that the SMF executive committee had been at odds with the BOG at many times.

"The core issue is a lack of transparency and clarity. Most members will accept the outcome of things, even if they disagree with it, as long as there was discussion and debate on matters beforehand," added the source.

Matters had started heating up in the lead up to SMF's council elections in 2021, in which Foo was running for re-election. This was despite having already served 3 terms - the maximum tenure allowed for an office bearer, according to the SMF constitution.

An agenda item was added to the 2021 annual general meeting (AGM) - held after voting ended for the council elections - to adopt certain legal opinions that would basically "reset" the terms of the constitution and allow Foo to consider his presidency as being in its first term, said sources that spoke to BT.

The BOG had recommended that said agenda item should be withdrawn from the AGM. This recommendation was sent out to council members on Sep 27, before the AGM on Sep 30.

Koh, who is managing director of Chinatown Food Corporation, said that never before in the history of SMF had elections been held the way they were last year.

He, together with other SMF members who wish to remain anonymous, raised concerns about the voting process for the 2021 elections.

"There are many unanswered questions," said Koh. "How many legal voters received the voting paper through SingPost registered mail, due to Covid-19 and working from home now; how many of those were returned; how many were considered spoiled votes - the numbers are not shared transparently."

Koh, who left SMF in 2018, said that he has always been a vocal critic of SMF, and was always critical of Foo's leadership.

Sources also noted that many of the long-serving council members did not receive a notification to renew their yearly memberships, sparking concerns about the operational processes at SMF.

"Review of the constitution is good, but it must be properly and carefully considered - seeking council approval and not just made to suit the sitting leader," said Koh.

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