Exercise Your Statutory Rights Accorded To You In An AGM Or EGM
Every time a general meeting approaches, I see many Joint Management Bodies (JMBs)/Management Corporations (MCs) struggle. They are unsure of what documents to prepare, the time and method to circulate the notice of meeting, and what to include in the agenda.
Issues like that get more serious in self-managed buildings because they simply don’t know the laws that revolve around the general meeting of a JMB/MC.
Fortunately, the new Strata Management Act 2013 (SMA) gives some sort of guidance with the intention of assisting strata proprietors when it comes to calling a general meeting, whether it is an annual (AGM) or extraordinary general meeting (EGM).
WHEN TO CALL AN ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)?
For JMBS, the first Annual General Meeting must be within 12 months after the delivery of vacant possession.
For MCs, the first Annual General Meeting must be held within 1 month after the expiry of the initial period which is when the proprietors have registered the strata for at least ¼ of the aggregate share units.
After that, Annual General Meetings must be called once every year with not more than an interval of 15 months lapse in-between.
BEFORE AGM
Notice of Meeting
You can seek guidance from Form 5 or 14 of the Strata Management (Maintenance and Management) Regulations 2015. Note that Form 14 applies to the first AGM of a Management Corporation.
Ensure that you prepare a notice of general meeting at least 14 days before the AGM date.
The notice must have the place, date and time for the meeting, each proposed resolution to be considered at the meeting, a notification to each proprietor of his voting rights and that he may vote in person or by proxy at the meeting. In the case of AGMs, the notice should also contain minutes of the last AGM, audited accounts with the auditor’s report and any other matters be considered.
You must circulate the notice by way of registered post or deliver it by hand to their last known address.
PROXY FORM
A proxy is someone who is appointed to act on the behalf of another person. To appoint a proxy, you must do so in writing. If the proxy is appointed by a natural person, it must be done by the proprietor making the appointment or his lawyer. (A natural person is an individual person. In law there are various specific terms to define individuals and groups such as “legal persons” – which can also be public or private organisations.)
If it is a company appointing a proxy, the proxy form must be under the company seal or signed by an officer of the company, director or its lawyer.
Proxy Forms must be deposited at the registered address of the JMB/MC not less than 48 hours before the time of meeting.
AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)
The minutes of meeting must be prepared during the AGM. It is also important to note that a proprietor cannot vote if he owes the Management Corporation any charges 7 days before the meeting.
AFTER AGM
Fix the first Management Corporation meeting and nominate the office bearers (chairperson, secretary and treasurer). Within 28 days, ensure that you file with the Commissioner of Buildings, certified true copies of the audited accounts, resolutions passed, Form 5A (for JMBs) or Form 15 (for MCs), and minutes of the general meeting. You must also file and display the minutes of meeting as well as issue Form 5A or Form 15 to all proprietors.
This article is part of a series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
