CCC – PG’s Great Folly

What is happening with the Calvary Convention Center (CCC)? 

Why has the construction of the CCC stopped? 

How much have the Church really collected for this project?

How much have actually been spent so far?

Who is responsible for this?

Many Calvarites have asked these questions to PG, the senior pastor of the Church, to some associate pastors and to the BOD. Some members have also written letters to them seeking answers and clarification. The answer given by both PG and his wife to members is that it is the work of Satan through the TTG people and the legal action taken by them. The CCC committee and other church leaders are also mimicking this same reply to members.

On the 4 June 2010, at the Friday night Prayer Meeting, Dato’ JK Han, an ex-deacon, gave a short announcement  on the three options available to the Church on the Calvary Convention Center (CCC).

1.  The Church can abandon the project and lose everything.
2.  The Church can continue with the development at an additional cost of RM36 million to the previously announced RM150 million upping the total construction to RM186 million not including the land cost of RM35 million.
3.  The Church can build the project themselves. We have no idea what he meant by this.

Option 1 and 3 are clearly non-starters so the members were really being told indirectly that the project would now cost a total of at least RM221 million when completed. This is not inclusive of furniture, fittings and AV system.

From past practices the BOD was not seeking for approval from the members on that Friday night.  They just wanted to have the justification, in case they are queried, that they had already informed the members.  

Why not call for an EGM for this to be discussed and approved by the members?  

It is because making an announcement at a prayer meeting is far safer for the BOD than having an EGM.  Members cannot ask questions and there will be no minutes to record what was said at a Prayer Meeting.  

However, at an EGM the BOD is obliged to give a full report on the CCC and would have to answer questions from the members.  They really cannot face the members on this great big fiasco.  So they stick to their usual practice.  Give the members the barest of information and then just carry on, holding members responsible later because they were already informed and they stood in prayer signifying agreement and acceptance of the Church Leadership’s decision. 

To PG and BOD, the members are only required to provide the funding.  They are not to ask any questions.  They must submit to the spiritual authority of PG and the BOD without question. This is the subtle way, the church leaders have always used. At a time when members least expect it, announcements will be made and through non-disclosure of material facts, members are asked to make a quick judgement call which will nonetheless seemed to be approved by the members present then. 

When something goes wrong, they are quick to blame the members (as witnessed by the BOD's reply to questions concerning the CC Constitution at the last year's AGM. Members were reminded that they themselves approved the Constitution back in 1985 so now they have to stick by it) and in the case of CCC now, they put the blame on TTG and the legal action.

This fiasco was not caused by TTG’s action.  The TTG is only asking for truth, transparency and godly governance.  The issue of the CCC was not in any of the TTG’s Resolutions submitted for the past EGM or AGM.  It is also not part of the injunction granted by the High Court.  PG and the BOD cannot blame the TTG for this fiasco.  It is a folly completely of their own making.

Who is the real culprit? 

The project was doomed from the start because it was not God’s vision but PG’s personal glory seeking vision.  Look around the big churches in the Klang Valley.  When inspired by God all the projects went smoothly.  DUMC raised all the RM40+ million through one appeal.  SIB was fully paid for because the senior pastor left the entire project management and fund raising to others in the church.  The same goes for FGA.  PJEFC and GT were fully paid for within a very short time.  The obstacles faced by Metro Tabernacle were overcome through divine intervention.  If it is of God, it will be done and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

What do we know about the CCC now?

The CCC shall continue to be a burden on the Church and the members for many more years to come.  Here are some observations for you to think about.

1. When the land purchase was approved we were told that construction cost would be about RM50 million at the first meeting.  It then escalated to RM80 million at a leaders' meeting and then at RM150 million when finally presented to the members.  Like the frog we were slowly being boiled alive.

2. The design was done by a freemason. Many have seen visions of cobras and other snakes when looking at the design. To some the design resembles the coffin of the pharaoh.

3. Jim Guneratnam was appointed the project director without an ounce of construction or development experience. 

4. The main contractor Nam Fatt was in very poor financial condition at the time when they were appointed. 

5. Nam Fatt had to ask for an advance of RM8 million.  The BOD approved the advance without even looking at Nam Fatt’s audited accounts.

6. The performance bond was secured by a guarantee from Nam Fatt Berhad instead of the usual bank guarantee.  So there is no way for the church to recover anything for non-performance. 

7. The extravagance was not in keeping with principles of Christian stewardship.  For RM200 million it should be a 20,000 seating church not a 5,000 seater only.

8. Work was stopped in April 2009, more than a year ago.  The BOD only informed the members in October 2009 through a short announcement by Steven Kum again at a Friday prayer meeting.  This was only after the contract period ended on 14 October and the BOD had no choice.  Even at the June 2009 AGM the BOD was still bluffing the members and claiming that everything was alright with the project.

As stewards of God’s money, members must ask for an EGM to know what is really going on and hold PG and the BOD accountable for this multi million Ringgit fiasco.

An Open Letter to Pastors and Christian Leaders

To brothers and sisters from other churches, especially from AOG churches, please PRINT A COPY for your Pastors and Leaders to read.

This is an Open Letter addressed to Pastors and Christian Leaders. By now we believe the Calvary Church Crisis (CCC) is no longer confined to Calvary Church members and friends alone. It is now known all over Malaysia and abroad. While we have received many encouragements and support from the general Christian community, we also understand that there are many Pastors and Christian Leaders who does not agreed with the TTG people for using the public channel to seek justice for Calvary Church members. Our appeal to you is that you will read this Letter with an open mind and answer the questions  with all honesty as unto God.  

AFTER THAT, try to place yourself in our shoes as Ordinary Members in the Church, who have supported the Church with your TIME, your TALENTS and your FINANCES and to find your Pastors have abused your trust and have lied to you - WOULD YOU HAVE DONE THE SAME? 

If for the past two years you have run around looking for help from Pastors, Christian Leaders and even looked to the Christian Organizations in and out of the country to help but no one cared enough to do something - WHO ELSE CAN YOU GO TO?


If you are just an Ordinary Member who have been serving and supporting your Church and your Pastors since becoming a Christian, then together with other faithful Christian brothers and sisters many whom you did not know before, feel this strong passion in your heart to stand up for what is right - not just as a Christian but as a person in general living in a community - WOULD YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE SATANIC?


If all you are asking for is that Truth, Transparency and Good (Godly)  Governance is practiced in the Church - DO YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE PLANNING TO BECOME THE NEXT PASTOR? 

****************************************************

Dear Pastors and Christian Leaders in Malaysia,

What is happening in Calvary Church must grieve our Lord Jesus and you, as a pastor, must be deeply saddened too.  But before you throw bricks at the concerned members perhaps you should ask why and how this came about.  What is this really all about?  Some have condemned us for bringing Christianity into disrepute.  Are Christians to cover up our internal wrongdoings and sins or are we to deal with it openly, decisively and righteously?  The Catholic Church covered up the sexual abuses within their Church for more than 30 years.  Well, it is now fully exposed and the cover up made it all the more sordid.  Just as we would not judge all pastors by what we have experienced, we ask that pastors not judge us without knowing what we have gone through. 

This Open Letter is to set the record straight and to give pastors a better understanding of the situation in Calvary Church.  A complete chronology of events is beyond the scope of this letter.  However, such information is available either from the worldwide web or from any of the concerned members.  Then you can judge rightly and perhaps more fairly.  

We had not intended to make it public.  We had tried to keep it within the Kingdom of God.  But we discovered that all those who had advised us, to keep it within the Kingdom of God, were more interested to keep things under wraps than solving the underlying problems.  We found no help from the Christian leadership in this country.  The religious establishment is dominated by pastors.  From where can aggrieved members seek help?  Therefore we had to seek redress from the civil court.  When we were “sacked” from membership, we knew we could not hope to get help from any Christian organisation or Christian leader.  We had to make the protest ourselves.

Please allow us to ask you a few questions to put things in perspective.  Would you, as a pastor, do the following?

#1 - Set up a personal ministry, under yours and your family’s control, and then divert funds from missionary offerings into your personal ministry without the knowledge of the members?

#2 - Make a collection from the congregation for an overseas disaster relief and then not send it to the victims but divert the collection into your own personal ministry?

#3 - Misrepresent the nature of your personal ministry to gain membership in NECF?

#4 - Remove key ministries which are integral to the wholeness of the Church from out of the Church ownership, calling them independent, and placing them under the control of your children and their spouses?

#5 - Place your children and their spouses in high positions in these “independent” ministries and remove their job evaluations, salaries and other terms of employment from the purview of the Board of Deacons?

#6 - Remove whole families from the Church membership roll if one of them is deemed to be against you in any way?

#7 - Remove members from serving, some from leadership positions, because they voted for a resolution which you did not favour?

#8 - Require that all other pastors in the Church declare love gifts received and exempt yourself and your wife and children from this requirement?

#9 - Allow yourself and your family special privileges not available to other pastors in the Church?

#10 - Ensure that all copies of the Minutes of the Board of Deacons’ meetings are destroyed except for the copy under your sole custody?

#11- Devise a structure that you would have veto power over all decisions made by the Board of Deacons, Committees and Sub-committees in the Church?

#12 - Devise a process whereby on the surface there is free and fair elections of deacons whereas in effect you control the entire process ensuring that the Board of Deacons is completely under your control?

If you would not, then you can empathise with us on what we are facing.  The main and real issue is about absolute power in one man’s hands and the lack of check and balance in the Church.  Transparency and Good Governance must be practised in our Church.  

If there is no Accountability and Transparency in our Church, then we have no right to ask for the same from the government or the world.  For we would have lost our moral authority to impact the world and to be its transforming agent, and we ought to be cast out and stamped underfoot like salt that has lost its saltiness.

What Some Pastors Say...

“They should not have taken the case to court.

They have not exhausted all avenues!!!”

It has come to our attention that some AOG pastors are saying that the TTG is wrong in going to the Court as they have not exhausted all avenues available to them. The “available avenue” that these pastors said the TTG should have taken was to have requisitioned for an EGM and then put in the Resolutions for the members to vote on. As the TTG did not do this “necessary available” step, they felt that it was wrong for the TTG to go to court.

There could only be several reasons why these pastors said what they said. One reason could be that they have not read or chosen not to read this blog and therefore, are still totally ignorant of what has taken place in Calvary Church (CC) or all the actions which the TTG group has taken to resolve the issues amicably. Another reason could be that they are just mimicking the justification response of the AOG Executive Committee (Exco) members since it has now been highlighted that the CC Constitution DOES NOT comply with the AOG Constitution.

Calvary Church’s existence is derived from the Trustees (Incorporation) Ordinance 1952 under which the AOG Malaysia was set up. In other words, Calvary Church exists under the umbrella of the AOG Malaysia. Calvary Church is technically a sub-trustee of AOG Malaysia. Any offence of breach of trust within Calvary Church or by its leaders, if charged by the authorities, may have serious material impact on the continued existence of AOG itself.

Since it is now obvious that the CC constitution is not in compliance, besides been seriously flawed, to the requirements as spelt out in the AOG Constitution, the present Exco is in a fix on how to explain or justify why the CC Constitution was approved by their predecessors back then. However, due consideration must be given to the fact that the CC Constitution was approved by the then Exco when Pastor Prince Guneratnam (PG) was its General Superintendent (GS). With PG sitting in the Exco as the GS, who in the Exco then, would be courageous enough to question or not approve PG’s Church Constitution?

Coming back to these pastors, they feel that the TTG should have exhausted the “available” step before going to Court. Do they really understand or know what this “available” step is? Do they know exactly what the requirements are in order for the TTG to requisite for an EGM? We will try to explain the requirements in simple terms.

Firstly, we must understand that there are only two Meetings in which the Church Members can vote on Resolutions.

1. Annual General Meeting (AGM). This can only be called for by the Board of Deacons.

2. Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). This can be called for by the BOD or by Voting Members by way of a “requisition”.

Now this is the “available avenue” that the pastors are saying that the TTG should have taken. Convene an EGM by way of requisition.

Secondly, we need to understand what CC Constitution states with regards to convening an AGM and EGM.

1, Rule IX (1). states that, "the quorum for a General Meeting is ¼ of the total Voting Members." This means, if the Church has 880 members, there should be 220 members in attendance before the Meeting can proceed.

2. Rule IX (2). states that, “If within half an hour from the time appointed for a General Meeting a quorum is not present at the said meeting, the voting members so present shall by a two thirds majority vote resolve that all Voting members so present shall duly constitute a proper quorum for such a general meeting…”

This simply means that if a General Meeting is convened (called for) by the BOD and after half an hour only one Voting Member turns up, that one member can vote to proceed and the Meeting can actually proceed technically with just one Voting member present, as allowed by the CC Constitution now.

3. Rule IX (7) states that members may requisite for an EGM with signatures from ¼ of the voting members. This means, if the Church has 880 members, we would need 220 signatures before we can requisite for an EGM.

Assuming 220 signatures have been obtained, 3 things can happen depending on the Board of Deacons (BOD) decision.

1. The BOD on receiving the requisition can convene (call for) the EGM within 30 days. If the BOD convenes (calls for) the EGM, the quorum is ¼ of the Voting Members as required in Rule IX 1.

2. The BOD can also refuse to convene (call for) the Meeting.

3. In such case, the requisitioning members can convene the Meeting as provided by Rule IX (7b). It sounds very nice and democratic but Rule IX (7b) imposes an unfair condition on the requisitionists (the 220 signatories). The rule says, “In such an event and notwithstanding Rule IX (1) & Rule IX (2), the total number of VM present to form a quorum shall not be less than one-half of the existing voting membership.”

This means that, if the church has 880 VM, there must be 440 VM present to form a quorum to convene the EGM.

What does this mean in simple terms?

1. When BOD calls for a General Meeting, only 220 VMs need to be present. However, they have an escape clause to carry on the meeting even if less than 220 VM turn up. Technically, even if  one VM turns up, the BOD can convene the Meeting.

2. However, the requisitionists or the 220 signatories will need 440 VM present before the EGM can proceed. There is no escape clause provided.

How can the AOG Exco approve such unfair and biased provisions in a Church Constitution?

It has an apparent form of democracy and fairness but it is really a camouflage. The Constitution does provide for the rights of members to requisite for an EGM but the same Constitution also makes it almost impossible for the members to do so. The members are made to feel happy at first glance but will be made to face a mountain when exercised.

This is all part of the great deception. Make the members believe that they enjoy democratic rights and responsibilities of a Congregational Church but in reality, it is a Dictatorial Structured Church disguised as a Democratic Structured Church.

Does the present EXCO members and pastors really think that TTG would have been successful in trying to requisite for an EGM as the “available avenue” to propose any Resolutions with PG and the present BOD in control?

Let us do a flashback.

The TTG submitted 7 Resolutions for tabling at the August 2008 EGM. As it happened, the BOD threw out the resolutions. The reasons given were two fold:

1. The first reason given by the Church Secretary was that the explanations from the lawyer and forensic accountants would address the issues. What a ridiculous answer! What has the explanations from the lawyer and accountant to do with the tabling of resolutions?

2. Perhaps recognising that the reason given sounded ridiculous, she then said that since no Preliminary Notice of meeting was given for the said EGM, the BOD would not entertain any resolution.

Since Rule IX (5) states, “within 7 clear days after preliminary notice is given…”, the TTG accepted her interpretation of the Constitution at that time and waited for the AGM instead. This was the TTG’s FIRST ATTEMPT to submit Resolutions for tabling.

Then at the 2009 AGM, the TTG made a SECOND ATTEMPT and submitted the same Resolutions based on Rule IX (5) which states,

RESOLUTION

a) No matter or resolution shall be brought forward at any GM unless written submissions has or have been received by the Secretary of the Board of Deacons within 7 clear days after preliminary notice is given of such meeting or meetings.


b) Subject to para (5a) of this Rule, any matter or resolution, notice of which has been received, shall if received in sufficient time before such meeting, be included in the notice convening the meeting.

Even this time when the TTG submitted their resolutions in absolute compliance with the requirements stated, the resolutions were “thrown out”. The reason given was it was unconstitutional. What does ”unconstitutional” means, up till today no one can explain it properly. The best “award winning” explanation given at this 2009 AGM was that tabling the members’ resolutions were likened to tabling the purchase of Manchester United in a church AGM. This analogy was actually suggested by a young lawyer who was voted in as Deacon at that AGM. This ridiculous analogy was actually accepted by the Resolution Chairman, Pastor Ronnie Chin who is also the Assistant General Superintendent of AOG today. Is this the quality or integrity of our Christian leaders today?

Once bitten, twice shy. After the bitter experience at the 2009 AGM, no one in the right frame of mind would attempt to propose any Resolutions based on the current flawed Constitution. Please listen to the recordings of the 2009 AGM to feel the heartache and intimidation members were subjected to.

Please listen to CLIP 6.
Click here to listen : 2009 AGM

Anyway, this is water under the bridge. With the mastery stroke of a pen, PG has recently axed more than 400 suspected TTG supporters (with many innocent members included as well) from Voting and Associate membership. This despicable act of dictatorship has effectively stopped all possibilities of any requisition for an EGM by any remaining TTG supporters or concerned members.

So have the TTG exhausted all avenues?
The TTG/Concerned Members have exercised great patience and tolerance in trying to engage the BOD to be fair to all the members of the church. The pastors who make comments such as these,

“They should not have taken the case to court.
They have not exhausted all avenues!!!”

have very little or have not understood the camouflage and deception that are embedded in the CC constitution.

Can we fault the pastors?
The camouflage and deceptions in the CC Constitution are very difficult to detect by mere reading. The true spirit of the CC Constitution can only be seen and felt when it is exercised or put to a test like what is happening now….the ongoing CCC, short for Calvary Church Crisis.

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We thank God for wisdom upon our administrators. As we have dedicated the entire month of May to concentrate on Praying together with Christians across our nation for Malaysia, God is faithful and He has given us the wisdom and His favour for us to be able to put together this Mirror site on this first day of June. We have learned that God is never early and He is never late. He is always JUST ON TIME.

We will continue to be in existence until we hear from God to cease.

God Bless and continue to Rejoice in the Lord Always.

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