MUTUAL BENEFIT ORGANISATIONS (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

3.55 p.m.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Affairs (Mr Chan Chee Seng): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The purpose of this Bill is to introduce several amendments to the Mutual Benefit Organisations Act (Chapter 254 of the Revised Edition) which are found necessary in the light of experience gained in administering the Act.

The proposed amendments seek to strengthen the hands of the Registrar in administering the Mutual Benefit Organisations Act which provides for the registration and control of all mutual benefit organisations in the Republic. At present, there are 427 such organisations with a total membership of 191,367. Many of the long established organisations have accumulated large surplus funds over the years. As the majority of the members of mutual benefit organisations are from the lower-income group and often illiterate, there must be adequate legislation to ensure that these mutual benefit organisations are properly managed and their activities consistent with the objectives of their organisations for the welfare and benefit of the subscribers. It is, therefore, necessary that the interests of the members be safeguarded by appropriate law against exploitation by unscrupulous persons.

Experience over the years has shown that the existing provisions in the Mutual Benefit Organisations Act relating to registration and cancellation of mutual benefit organisations are inadequate and restrictive. There is no provision at present empowering the Registrar to refuse registration of newly formed organisations if he has reason to believe that such organisations have been formed for the personal gain of the organisers. Nor has the Registrar the power to prevent mutual benefit organisations from being managed by persons of dubious character or used for any purpose contrary to the public interest. To remedy this, sections 5 and 6 of the Act will be repealed and two new sections re-enacted to provide the Registrar with wider powers in considering an application for the registration of a mutual benefit organisation.

Under the existing section 7, a person aggrieved by the refusal of the Registrar to register an organisation may appeal at any time to the Minister. It is desirable to stipulate a fixed period in which an appeal may be made. Section 7 of the Act is, therefore, being amended so that an appeal against the decision of a Registrar must be made within one month from the date of notification of such a decision.

In addition, a new section 1lA is being introduced for the purpose of prohibiting any person who has been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty or moral turpitude, or who has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year or to a fine of not less than $2,000 and who has not received a free pardon, from acting as an officer of a mutual benefit Organisation.

Subsection (1) of section 27 will be deleted and a new subsection re-enacted to give the Registrar wider powers to cancel the registration of any mutual benefit organisation.

Finally, the Bill also seeks to introduce a new subsection under section 45 to enable the Minister to exempt any organisation, person or class of persons, from any or all of the provisions of the Act. The purpose of this new subsection is to allow some flexibility in administering the Act under special circumstances.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Chan Chee Sengl.

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.