Legal Action to seek fresh EGM

Last Sunday, the Deacons made an announcement in all the Church services regarding a legal suit taken by seven (7) members against the Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam (PG), the members of the previous Board of Deacons (BOD) and the Assemblies of God (AOG) Malaysia. The Deacons also announced that the Church has engaged lawyer KK Wong’s firm to represent PG and the previous BOD who are named as Defendants.

The announcement caught many by surprise and caused much confusion among the members and worshippers including PG supporters and TTG supporters.

Having obtained all the facts of the matter, CT now wishes to report as follows:

1. An Originating Summons (OS) was filed on 12 November at the High Court of Kuala Lumpur by seven (7) concerned members, namely Wong Hong Meng, Robert Ng, Teng Luen Foong, Lim Siew Chyuan, KC Lim, Liza Low and Joseph Gerard (Plaintiffs).

2. The OS filed by the Plaintiffs was a class action representing a class of members of Calvary Church. CT understands that a big group of members has recently signed the authorization and support for this cause of action to be taken.

3. The defendants named in the OS are PG, Deacons Phillip Tan, Edward Rajasingam, Patrick Wong, Han Joke Kwang, Stephen Liu and Bernadette Foo, and the AOG Malaysia (Defendants).

4. The OS is filed against the abovenamed Defendants and NOT against Calvary Church. This is also in line with what lawyer KK Wong had said at our 15 August 2008, EGM last year that the Church, being an unincorporated entity, cannot sue or be sued but the Pastors and Deacons can sue or be sued in their personal capacity.

5. The OS does not seek any monetary compensation or damages from the Defendants or the Church.

6. The purpose of the OS is to seek the Court’s ruling for the following:-

i. that the AGM held on 19th and 20th June 2009 be declared null and void;

ii. that the committee members appointed during the AGM held on 19th and 20th June.2009 be annulled and be declared void;

iii. that the Defendants convene an EGM within 30days from the date of the Court Order for the tabling of the resolutions which had been submitted by the Plaintiffs;

iv. that the removal of Dr. Lum Siew Heng as a member of Calvary Church on 20th March 2009 be annulled and to be declared void.

7. The OS has since been extracted from Court and served on all the Defendants personally with the exception of two ex-Deacons, who have been served by way of registered Postlaju, when efforts to effect personally service on them were unsuccessful.

8. The OS has been fixed for mention in Court on 17th December 2009.

The seven (7) plaintiffs have informed CT that they had earlier planned to hold a press conference to make public this legal action. However, after taking into consideration that this course of action was NOT against the Church but rather, it was an action to seek a higher authority’s interpretation of our Church Constitution, the Plaintiffs decided to keep a low lid on this matter.

As the members are fully aware, our BOD had, time and again, in the past, interpreted various sections of our Constitution, according to their whims and fancies, thereby denying the members their very basic fundamental right to have their say and ignoring the spirit behind the original intention of the Constitution. The Constitution is very clear that the members at a General Meeting have full powers of administration but as can be seen at the last AGM, the members' powers under the Constitution have been totally obliterated.

The action to seek legal redress by the group of concerned members was not unexpected, considering the fact that they have exhausted every possible means of resolving the many issues engulfing Calvary Church. From attempts at direct consultations with PG, the Deacons and also the Pastors right from the onset 2 years ago, up to seeking the intervention of the AOG Malaysia, all their efforts have failed. Even the recent mediation efforts by a high profile businessman-member together with the General Superintendent of AOG Malaysia (in his personal capacity) failed as PG backed out after agreeing to the date fixed for the meeting.

As the supreme overseeing body in Malaysia, the AOG council has failed miserably in this whole episode. In replies to letters from members seeking their intervention, they have admitted that some funds were transferred from WAGRA to CIM (personal ministry of PG) and they have also admitted that there was misrepresentation in the original registration of CIM with NECF but, sadly, no action has been taken against PG. Like Pilate during Jesus’ trial, the AOG Malaysia has replied that the current saga is an internal matter for the Calvary Church to resolve and they will not intervene.

If the AOG Malaysia as the ultimate governing body, refuses to intervene, can anyone fault the concerned members to look to the judicial system of the country to hear their plea?

The Bible is clear that as Christians, we are to obey and submit to the laws of the land. That was what Paul did when he submitted himself to the Roman law during his last days. And that is exactly what the concerned members have now done.

As mentioned earlier, the Church has appointed lawyer KK Wong's firm to represent and defend PG and the previous BOD in this matter. Since it is clear that the legal action taken by the Plantiffs is against PG and the previous BOD personally, CT hopes that PG and the current BOD will not commit further wrong by using Church funds to pay KK Wong's firm.