Josie Lau's exco resigned 'for the sake of Aware'

Josie Lau's exco resigned 'for the sake of Aware'

Weekend • May 3, 2009

Alicia Wong
alicia@mediacorp.com.sg

They decided to "graciously resign" from the exco although they were not legally bound to do

so, said the Aware exco which lost a no-confidence vote at its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Saturday.

"We need not step down, but we considered it and came to the conclusion that for the sake of

Aware, we would step down," said Ms Maureen Ong who had been the honorary treasurer of the

Association of Women for Action and Research.

Even so, at a late-night press conference held after the EGM, some of the just-ousted exco

members raised concerns over Aware's future.

Based on the “expressions of thoughts” at the EGM, said outgoing honorary secretary Jenica

Chua, she wondered if Awares suddenly-expanded membership was an accurate representation of

women in Singapore.

After all as a women's advocacy group, she pointed out, Aware was a “very strong vehicle” in

pushing for womens interests and rights, for instance, by providing feedback to the United

Nations.

The outgoing exco's own ability to lead had earlier questioned at the EGM, and in response to

such criticism they cited members' experience in civil society work, telling the press they

did not "see how we're not equipped to run the exco".

An upset Ms Ong also felt there was “room for improvement” in Awares corporate governance and accounting.

"The legal position is very clear. We need not step down, but we considered it and came to the

conclusion that for the sake of Aware, we would step down," said Ms Ong.

Wishing the new exco "all the best," Aware president of less than two months Josie Lau said

she hopes Aware will return to its original roots in accordance to its constitution and

continue to contribute to the advancement of women.

Ms Lau, who said she would "reflect" on this expericence before deciding if she would run for

office again, responded to criticism over the $90,000 spent in the past month under her watch,

of which some $23,000 went to renting the exhibition halls at the Suntec convention centre for

Saturday's meeting.

Ms Lau said: "I am sure we are very above board in those expenditures, given the circumstances

surrounding events in the last few days. We had to spend what was spent."

Going forward, Ms Charlotte Wong Hock Soon, who stepped down as vice-president, said she would be happy to contribute to Aware in the area of education if invited to do so by the newly

elected exco.

Ms Wong is a former sociology lecturer at the National University of Singapore.

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