Jeffrey Tan J:

[1] This is an action, brought by plaintiffs who are members of a registered society known as Sri Mariamman Temple Paripalana Saba Batu Pahat ('the society') against the society in the names of its office-bearers - the defendants are respectively the president (up till 6 May 1999), the honorable secretary, the honorable treasurer, and, the deputy president (he died on 30 August 1999, ie after this action was filed) - for the following orders:

(a) a declaration that the annual general meeting ('AGM') held on 1 July 1998 and the election of the president, deputy president, honorable secretary, assistant honorable secretary, honorable treasurer, committee members, trustees and auditors, are all null and void and of no effect;

(b) an injunction restraining the defendants and or their servants or agents, executive committee members, trustees and auditors, all elected on 1 July 1998, from carrying out the duties and functions to which they were elected, until the disposal of this action;

(c) an injunction restraining the defendants and or their servants or agents, executive committee members, from bringing into or erecting an image of the Goddess of Mercy in the temple premises;

(d) an order ordering the defendants, within 24 hours of service of the order, to surrender all cheque books, fixed deposits and savings account books, receipt books, minutes books and register of members to the Registrar of the High Court, Muar;

(e) an order ordering the society, and or the defendants, their servants and or agents to hand all properties of the society over to the executive committee elected on 18 February 1996 or to such other person as the Court deems proper;

(f) an order ordering the executive committee elected on 18 February 1996 to convene an annual general meeting of the society before 30 October 1999;

(g) an injunction restraining the society and or defendants and or their servants or agents from locking the temple or other buildings of the society and from stopping the management of the assets of the society by the executive committee elected on 18 February 1996 or person appointed by the Court.

[2] Evidently, the plaintiffs' challenge the very legality of the annual general meeting held on 1 July 1998. The plaintiffs pleaded that contrary to the Constitution of the society, the first, second and third defendants: (i) had not given ten days prior notice of the AGM; (ii) had not submitted a report of the activities of the society or audited statement of the income and expenditure of the society to the committee for its acceptance and approval; (iii) had not permitted qualified members to cast their votes at the AGM; (iv) instead, had permitted not qualified persons to vote at the AGM; (v) had not submitted accounts to the honorable Auditors for audit; (vi) had failed to deposit all monies of the society in an account of the society; (vii) had not permitted the second plaintiff to speak at the AGM; (viii) had appointed an undischarged bankrupt as an advisor of the society; and (ix) had expended, without the prior approval of the general body, a sum in excess of RM10,000.

[3] Denying those allegations, the second and third defendants (the action against the first defendant was discontinued on 15 March 2000) pleaded: (i) that all due notice of the AGM was given; (ii) that the members were informed of the activities of the society and accounts of the temple, but because the first plaintiff and some other committee members had walked out from the committee Meeting held on 17 June 1998, they submitted those reports to the members present at the 1 July 1998 AGM, who approved those reports; (iii) that all who voted at the 1 July 1998 AGM had been scrutinized by scrutineers elected at the 1 July 1998 AGM, and were members; (iv) that accounts were audited by auditors appointed by the executive committee and not by auditors appointed by the general body who had not taken action to audit the accounts and whose membership had lapsed;