EOGM later moved due to 'law-and-order' reasons

Net fury over venue for Aware meeting
EOGM later moved due to 'law-and-order' reasons
THE Aware saga has taken yet another twist, in the run-up to the highly-anticipated extraordinary general meeting (EOGM) scheduled for Saturday.
By Ng Tze Yong
01 May 2009

THE Aware saga has taken yet another twist, in the run-up to the highly-anticipated extraordinary general meeting (EOGM) scheduled for Saturday.

Netizens are incensed after finding out that the meeting would have been held virtually next door to a Christian conference.

The conference, called Transformation 2009, is organised by a conglomerate of churches which includes Church of our Saviour, which several members of the new exco attend.

The brochure for the conference states that it aims to 'inspire and challenge us to rise up and transform the marketplace' and urges participants to 'get set for God's agenda in transforming Singapore for His Kingdom'.

The conference will held from 9am to 6pm on Friday and Saturday at Hall 10.

The Aware EOGM was scheduled to be held at Hall 2 from 2pm to 5pm.

Upset netizens wasted no time in connecting the dots.

An article on socio-political blog The Wayang Party ranted: 'It doesn't take a genius to know that this change of venue is to 'facilitate' participants of the Transformation Conference to 'hop by' next door to vote at the EOGM!'

For many, the revelation smacks of the same alleged sneakiness that marred the victory of the new exco, however legitimate.

Others, however, voiced caution, saying that participants of the Christian conference would be busy with their own programmes.

Wrote wonderswiss on the Wayang Party blog: 'If you look at the Transformation Conference schedule, from 2pm, they will have just finished their lunch breaks and will be returning to Hall 10 for the afternoon session of their conference on 2nd May 09.'

Nonetheless, Aware announced late last night that it is changing the venue for the EOGM again - this time to Suntec exhibition hall 402, which can seat 2,000.

Its press release read: 'Aware was informed yesterday afternoon of Singapore Expo's decision to withdraw the venue through its event management company, Ape Communications, and no reasons were given until this afternoon.

'Aware understands that its meeting cannot be held at the Singapore Expo for 'law-and-order' reasons.'

When pressed for more answers, Aware was not forthcoming.

Ape Communications too, declined comment.

A police spokesman said the police advised the Singapore Expo management to turn down Aware's application to hold its EOGM there.

'The police received information that a member of the former Aware exco has approached the Singapore Expo management for a venue to hold a meeting there at the same date and time,' he said.

'The police have also advised the Expo management to similarly turn down this application if it is submitted.'

Ex-vice-president Margaret Thomas confirmed that the old exco tried to book three conference rooms at the Expo as administrative areas for its supporters.

'We don't know how many will turn up so we just want to make sure there is order,' she said.

The request, however, seemed to have been the motivating factor for the police to step in.

It cited the 'strong possibility that a coming together of members and supporters of the opposing camps at the same venue may result in law-and-order problems'.

The police spokesman did not elaborate on why the police would not oppose having the EOGM held somewhere else.

Registration for admission into Saturday's EOGM at Suntec will begin at noon. Attendees must show their identity cards or passports to enter.

On-site registration for new members is allowed but it will close at 2pm, when the meeting begins.

Aware says: No comment

THE New Paper asked the new Aware exco, among other things, why it decided to hold the EOGM at S'pore Expo, despite knowing that Transformations 2009 was being held there.

The exco declined to comment.

It also declined to respond to netizens' questions on whether the choice of venue was just coincidence, given that a Christian conference was to be held at the same venue.

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