Tatt Khalsa postpones AGM as auditor declined to sign off accounts

| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 26 Sept 2016 | Asia Samachar |

Tatt Khalsa Diwan Selangor, manager of one of the largest gurdwara size-wise in Southeast Asia, was forced to postpone its annual general meeting (AGM) yesterday when one of its internal auditors declined to sign the accounts.

About half-an hour into the meeting in Kuala Lumpur, it was brought to the attention of the house that internal auditor Dr Jaspall Singh did not sign off the accounts.

The other three signatories – Tatt Khalsa Diwan President Inder Singh Khosa, Honorary Treasurer Gurdarshan Singh and the other elected internal auditor Kulwant Singh – had put their signature to the document.

The space for Dr Jaspall, who is himself a former treasurer of the organisation, was blank when copies of the accounts were presented to members in attendance.

“For the past many months, I’ve been asking for the receipt books and cash book. How can I simply sign without sighting the documents,” he told Asia Samachar when contacted today.

When contacted, Tatt Khalsa Secretary Harbans Singh Gill Kaleke confirmed that the meeting had been postponed and will fix a new date for the AGM.

In a text message to Asia Samachar, he said the committee would ‘give more time for the auditor to go through the prepared accounts’.

Explaining the delay, Harbans said it was due to the shifting of the accounts from the previous system to a new one.

“The current treasurer only assume the post in september 2014 replacing the previous treasurer who have served more than 10 years in that position.

“Where the other auditor worked tirelessly within a short span of time to complete the audit, Dr Jaspall said the limited time was impossible for him to complete the task on his part. Furthermore both auditors work independently instead of segregating the audit work,” he said.

As this year’s AGM is an election year, Dr Jaspall said he was considering running for the Tatt Khalsa presidency.

Every two years, Tatt Khalsa elects a new committee.

“I want to run for [the] presidency. We want to bring back things to orde, including the maintainence and the way the building is run. Sanggat is moving away to other gurdwaras. The crowd is only there during bhog and wedding,” he said.

Dr Jaspall, who joined the Ministry of Health in 1974 and left in 1980 to start a private practice in Kuala Lumpur, had also served as the deputy president of The Sant Sohan Singh Ji, Malacca Memorial Society, treasurer of the Tatt Khalsa Diwan Selangor and chairman of the Malaysian Sikh Union (F.T. Branch).

In October 2015, Asia Samachar reported that the Malaysian Private Dental Practitioners Association (MPDPA) had presented the ‘Outstanding Services Award’ to Dr Jaspall Singh, a senior dental practitioner and then president of the Sikh Welfare Society Malaysia (SWSM).

But some members spoken to believe Dr Jaspall may not command the majority support of the general house.

Some of the earlier presidents included Gurdeep Singh Hunter, late Ranjit Singh Longodewa and the late Ranjit Singh Kaleke.

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