JUDGMENT

Roz Mawar Rozain J:

[1] At times, the court is entrusted with the task of determining disputes that traverse beyond the confines of ordinary contractual rights - into the more profound terrain where organisational governance intersects with the principles of natural justice and legality. The present case is one such instance. It concerns the internal governance of a long-established religious society - the Persatuan Catholic Santa Mariam, a Catholic society registered since 1950, which pursues religious, charitable, and community welfare objectives typical of such organizations. The dispute before this court involves the delicate balance between procedural regularity and substantive fairness within that Society.

[2] This court is to determine whether actions taken by the Executive Committee (EXCO) of the Plaintiff (Society) were within its constitutional mandate; whether the EXCO had acted within its constitutional authority in removing the Defendant from his position as Honorary Secretary. The Society seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to affirm the validity of that removal and to restrain the Defendant from continuing to hold himself out as Secretary or from convening an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).

[3] The crux of this dispute centers on the purported dismissal of the Defendant as the Honorary Secretary. The other issues include the appointment of the Acting Honorary Secretary and a proposed EGM that the Defendant was allegedly attempting to convene.

[4] The Defendant contends that the EXCO has no power, whether express or implied, under the Society's Constitution or the Societies Act 1966, to affect such removal, and any purported exercise of such power is therefore ultra vires and of no legal effect.

[5] The catalyst for the filing of this Originating Summons (OS) was the Defendant's conduct in issuing a second notice to convene an EGM on 13 July 2025, notwithstanding that, following clarification from the EXCO, the Defendant was informed that he could only requisition for an EGM but not convene or conduct one. This occurred after the Defendant had earlier circulated a notice for an EGM to be held on 2 June 2025.

The Case Proceedings

[6] The Society filed this OS on 9 July 2025 seeking various declarations and injunctive reliefs against the Defendant pursuant to cls 7.2, 8, 9.3, 9.5 of the Society's Constitution and O 92 r 4 of the Rules of 2012 (RoC). On the same day the plaintiff also filed an ex-parte application seeking urgent interim relief. On 10 July 2025, this court granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction with the following terms:

(i) Restraining the Defendant from holding himself out as the Honorary Secretary of the Society

(ii) Restraining the Defendant from calling or convening any Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)

[7] This matter came up before this court on 15 July 2025, and after hearing learned counsel from both sides, this court extended the ad- interim injunction until 27 August 2025 which was the hearing of the inter-partes arguments for the injunction application. The Defendant was ordered to deliver all records of the Society to the Society's office by 16 July 2025, and that he was to be a joint signatory for cheques of the Society until the disposal of the injunction application inter-partes.

[8] On 27 August 2025, as the Defendant had only just received the Society's Affidavit-in-Reply and applied for permission to respond, this court granted the request and directed parties to also file affidavits for the OS. This court was to hear arguments for the OS and the injunction application on 24 October 2025.

[9] Having heard the submissions, the persuasive arguments advanced by both learned counsel, the Society's constitution, the facts of this case, and the applicable laws, this court has given the matters in this OS due consideration and now pronounces its ruling as follows:

(i) The purported dismissal and termination by the EXCO of the Defendant's post as the Society's Honorary Secretary i