Constitution

(Incorporating amendments adopted at the 52nd SMA Annual General Meeting and approved by the Registrar of Societies.)

Article I

Name
The name of the Association shall be the 'SINGAPORE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION', hereinafter referred to as ‘The Association'.

Motto
The motto of the Association shall be, 'Jasa Utama' (‘Service before Self').

Emblem
The emblem of the Association shall be the outline of Singapore over which shall be imposed a conventional staff of Aesculapius the whole being encircled by the words ‘SINGAPORE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION'.

Article II - Objects and powers

To promote the medical and allied sciences in Singapore.
To maintain the honour and interests of the medical profession.
To foster and preserve the unity and aim of purpose of the medical profession as a whole.
To voice its opinion, and to acquaint the Government and other bodies with the policy and attitude of the profession.
To arrange and hold periodical meetings of the members of the Association for scientific and social purposes.
To support a high standard of medical ethics and conduct.
To promote social, cultural and professional activities among members of the Association.
To enlighten and direct public opinion on problems of health in Singapore.
To publish papers, journals and other materials in furtherance of the above object.
To acquire by purchase, lease or otherwise, land, buildings, tenements or hereditaments and any movable or immovable properties for any of the objects of the Association.
To construct, maintain and alter any houses, buildings or works for the objects of the Association.
To sell, manage, lease, mortgage, dispose of or otherwise deal with all or any part of the property of the Association.
To borrow and raise money and to invest any monies of the Association not immediately required for any of its objects in such manner as the Association may from time to time think fit.
To collect or otherwise acquire sums of money for charitable purposes and to establish and maintain a Trust Fund for the said charitable purposes.
To incorporate a limited company to carry out commercial activities and to hold property.
To incorporate a company limited by guarantee to carry out charitable activities as the Association may from time to time decide.

Article III - Membership

The Association shall consist of Honorary, Ordinary, Life, Spouse, Overseas and Associate Members.

Ordinary Membership shall be open to every medical practitioner registered or provisionally registered in the Register of the Medical Council of Singapore.
Life Membership may be granted to:
- Ordinary Members who have been in continuous membership for at least five years, who have reached the age of 55 years and who have retired from active professional practice in Singapore; &
- Ordinary Members who have been in continuous membership for at least twenty years, on payment of a sum equivalent to ten years' annual subscription at Ordinary rate.
- Ordinary Members who have been in continuous membership for 30 years without any further payment of subscriptions.
Honorary Membership may be conferred on persons who are distinguished in public life or who have rendered meritorious service to the medical profession or to this Association.
- Honorary Members shall remain on the Honorary Members Roll in perpetuity.
- Honorary Membership may be conferred posthumously.
All practitioners who are members of the Malaya Branch of the British Medical Association on the 2nd August, 1959 and are resident in Singapore, and all practitioners applying for membership before January 1st, 1960 shall be deemed to be Founder Members.
Student Membership shall be open to all medical students upon application and payment of annual subscription.
Spouse Membership shall be open to every spouse of a current Ordinary Member of the Association, such spouse being a person who is registered or provisionally registered in the Register of the Singapore Medical Council.
Overseas Membership shall be open to any medical practitioner, who having been an SMA Ordinary Member leaves Singapore and takes up permanent residence outside Singapore, or to any medical practitioner ordinarily residing outside Singapore who possesses qualifications as scheduled in the Medical Registration Act of Singapore. In cases of qualifications that are not scheduled in the Medical Registration Act of Singapore, these may be considered on a case to case basis.
Overseas Membership shall be open to any medical practitioner, who having been an SMA Ordinary Member leaves Singapore and takes up permanent residence outside Singapore, or to any medical practitioner ordinarily residing outside Singapore who possesses qualifications as scheduled in the Medical Registration Act of Singapore. In cases of qualifications that are not scheduled in the Medical Registration Act of Singapore, these may be considered on a case to case basis.

Article IV - Election of members

Election of Life, Ordinary, Spouse or Overseas Members shall be made by the Council of the Association.
Every candidate for admission as an Ordinary, Spouse or Overseas Member shall complete and sign such application form as the Council may from time to time determine.
Upon the election of a member, notice in writing thereof shall be given to him, and he shall be furnished with a copy of this Constitution, and a request to remit the amount of his first subscription to the Honorary Treasurer within fourteen days of such request. Upon the payment of his first subscription, but not before, he shall become a member of the Association, and be bound by this Constitution and Rules, and be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of membership.
Honorary Members shall be elected at a General Meeting on the recommendation of the Council.

Article V - Subscriptions

The Financial Year shall start on January 1st and end on December 31st. The annual subscriptions for Ordinary Members shall be:
- 1st year after graduation - 25% of full rate
- 2nd to 4th year after graduation - 50% of full rate
- 5th to 7th year after graduation - 75% of full rate
- 8th year onwards - 100% of full rate
The annual subscription for full-paying Ordinary Members from 8th year after graduation will be $250.00.
The Annual Subscription shall be waived for Spouse Members and 75% of the full-rate for Overseas Members. Spouse Members will not receive hard copies of publications by mail.
An Ordinary member joining the Association during the second half of the Financial Year shall pay only half the annual subscription in respect of that year.
An Ordinary Member who is temporarily absent from Singapore for six months or more is entitled to a reduced subscription of half the ordinary rate for that year, if he so notifies the Honorary Secretary.
An Ordinary Member who is temporarily absent from Singapore for an extended period of one year or above is entitled to request for suspension of membership, and membership subscription for that period will be waived, if he so notifies the Honorary Secretary before his departure.
The accompanying Spouse Member shall similarly be entitled to waiver of membership subscription for the same period, if he/she so notifies the Honorary Secretary.
A member who applies for suspension of membership in this manner will not receive hard copies of publications by mail.
The Council shall have the power to waive membership dues for one financial year in specific cases where an Ordinary Member, because of circumstances beyond his control, is unable to enjoy the rights and privileges of membership. Extension of such waiver beyond one financial year shall require endorsement by succeeding Councils at their discretion. Temporary illness and temporary absences from the State, including study leave, shall not qualify a member for waiver under this Section.
Honorary and Life Members shall not be required to pay any annual subscription.
The Council shall have the power to delete the names from the membership list of those who have died. The Council shall also have the power to suspend membership privileges and rights (including the right to vote) of those members who persistently do not pay up their subscription after one year, provided that two registered reminders have been served on them by the Honorary Treasurer. However, their names shall be deleted from the membership list only after they have been in arrears of subscription of more than two years.
Any member of the SMA who desires to give a subscription over and above the annual subscription shall be permitted to do so. A person can reapply for membership after having been deleted provided he pays up all his arrears.
The Annual Subscription for Student Members shall be $20.00. The Council shall have the power to waive membership dues for Student Membership for one financial year. Extension of such waiver beyond one financial year shall require endorsement by succeeding Councils at their discretion.
The Council shall have the power to waive membership dues and arrears for undischarged bankrupt for one financial year. Extension of such waiver beyond one financial year shall require endorsement by succeeding Councils at their discretion.

Article VI - Privileges of membership

Honorary Members who are medical practitioners registered or provisionally registered in the Register of the Medical Council in Singapore shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of Ordinary Members, including the right to vote and hold office. Honorary Members who are not medical practitioners registered or provisionally registered in the Register of the Medical Council in Singapore shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of Ordinary Members, except that they shall not be eligible to hold office or to vote.
Life Members shall be entitled to all rights and privileges of Ordinary Members, including the right to vote and hold office.
- A Spouse Member shall be entitled to the same benefits and privileges of the Member with whom the Spouse Membership is derived from, including the right to hold office or to vote, except for that stated in Article V Section (iii).
- Student Members shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of Ordinary Members, except that they shall not be eligible to hold office or to vote.
- Any Member of the Association may resign by giving to the Honorary Secretary of the Association notice in writing to that effect, providing that any member giving such notice shall be liable to pay his subscription up to and including the current year in which such notice was given.
- Overseas Members shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of Ordinary Members except that they shall not be eligible to hold office or to vote

Article VII - Termination of membership

The Council shall have power to terminate the membership of any Ordinary or Overseas Members if he has not paid his subscriptions and/or any levies imposed by the SMA Council for more than two years, provided that the Council may at any time in their discretion, restore him to membership upon payment of all arrears of subscriptions, levies, and/or monies then due to the Association. The Council shall have the power to terminate the Spouse membership if the Membership with whom the Spouse Membership is derived from has been terminated.
The Council shall have power to expel from membership of the Association any Member:
- who has been convicted in a court of law and sentenced to imprisonment for a period of over one year without the option of a fine, or
- whose name has been erased from the Medical Register of Singapore in accordance with Section 23 of the Medical Registration Act (Chapter 174), or
- whose conduct is detrimental to the honour and interests of the Medical Profession or of the Association or calculated to bring the Profession into disrepute, or
- who has willfully and persistently refused to comply with the Constitution of the Association and/or resolutions passed by the general body.
Any member aggrieved by the decision of the Council shall have the right to appeal to an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting called for this purpose. The Council shall call an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting if requested to do so by an aggrieved member within 21 days of receiving such request. The procedure at such a meeting shall be in accordance with Article XI Section 2.
Any member who has passed away will cease to be a member of the Association. Such a member will also be freed from any encumbrances of membership from the date of demise.

Article VIII - Management of the association

The Association shall be managed by a Council consisting of the President, 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Assistant Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Assistant Treasurer and a maximum of 13 Ordinary Council Members.
The members of the Council shall hold office for a period of two years. Ten members of the Council shall retire each year and ten new Council Members shall be elected to fill their vacant posts for a term of two years, not exceeding a total of 20 members in the Council. A retiring Member shall be eligible for re-election.
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- Nominations of candidates to fill vacancies in the Council shall be signed by two Ordinary/ Life Members and contain a consent to act, if elected, signed by the person nominated and shall be left with or forwarded by post to the Honorary Secretary so as to reach him at least thirty days before the annual general meeting. Nominations shall be circulated to the members fourteen days before the annual general meeting.
- If the number of nominations for the vacancies in the Council does not exceed the number of vacancies, the persons so nominated shall be duly elected at the annual general meeting, and any remaining vacancies shall be filled by election at the annual general meeting. If the number of nominations exceeds the vacancies, voting shall be carried out by secret ballot at the annual general meeting - balloting lists of the names of the candidates in alphabetical order shall be prepared and one such list shall at the annual general meeting be given to each Member who shall be entitled to vote for as many candidates as there are vacancies to be filled and no more. The candidates, up to the number of vacancies, who shall receive the most votes shall be declared elected and in the case of two or more candidates receiving an equal number of votes another voting by secret ballot shall be carried out at the annual general meeting with the names of only the affected candidates placed in alphabetical order.
After the election of the Council has been completed, the annual general meeting shall elect the President, the 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Assistant Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Assistant Treasurer among those elected to the Council.
The President shall hold office for one year and shall become an ordinary Council Member in the 2nd year of his term of office unless he is re-elected to the same or any other position. He is eligible for re-election up to a maximum of 3 consecutive years. No member can stand for election to the Presidency unless he has served in previous Councils for at least 2 years, and has been fully registered in the Register of the Singapore Medical Council for at least 10 years.
The newly-elected President shall take over office after the annual general meeting either on 1 May of the same year or any other date when the installation of the new President is held, whichever is earlier.
The 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Assistant Secretary may be re-elected year after year to hold office. The Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Assistant Treasurer shall be eligible for up to two terms of one year each consecutively.
In the event of any casual vacancy arising in respect of the office of President, 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Assistant Secretary, or Honorary Treasurer or Honorary Assistant Treasurer, the Council shall at its next meeting or as soon as possible thereafter elect one of its members to fill the vacancy.
Any member of the Council who fails to attend 3 consecutive meetings of the Council shall automatically cease to be a member of the Council unless the failure to attend is due to physical disability or to absence from Singapore at the time of the meetings, or to any other reasons considered valid by the Council. Any member disqualified from serving on Council under this clause shall only become eligible to serve again if elected at the next annual general meeting.

Article IX - Power and duties of the officers of the association

1. The President

The President shall take the Chair at all General Meetings of the Association and at all meetings of the Council.
The President shall have the right to call meetings of the Council.
The President shall have a casting vote in addition to his vote as a member.

2. The Vice Presidents

All duties, powers and responsibilities of the President shall, in his absence, devolve upon the 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents.

3. The Honorary Secretary

The Honorary Secretary shall be responsible for summoning all General Meetings of the Association, and all meetings of the Council.
The Honorary Secretary shall keep minutes of the General Meetings of the Association and of the meetings of the Council. He shall keep all members informed of all the important activities of the Association.
The Honorary Secretary shall conduct the correspondence of the Association under the direction of the President and Council and shall keep a register of all members of the Association.
At least one calendar month before the date fixed for the Annual General Meeting of the Association, the Honorary Secretary shall inform all members of the Association in writing of the days fixed for such Annual General Meeting, and draw their attention to Article XI Section 1, Sub-Section (iii).
At least two weeks before the date fixed for the Annual General Meeting of the Association, the Honorary Secretary shall send to all members of the Association:
- a report of the Council on the activities of the Association during the year preceding;
- a list of the names of members of the Association who joined in the past year, and
- an audited statement of accounts for the year preceding.

4. The Honorary Assistant Secretary

The Honorary Assistant Secretary shall assist the Honorary Secretary in his duties and responsibilities.
All duties, powers and responsibilities of the Honorary Secretary shall, in his absence, devolve upon the Honorary Assistant Secretary.

5. The Honorary Treasurer

The Honorary Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection and accounting of all the funds of the Association, and shall issue receipts for all payments made to the Association.
The Honorary Treasurer shall open such banking account as the Council may direct, and shall deposit therein all monies received by him on behalf of the Association. All cheques issued by the Association shall be signed by:
- The Honorary Treasurer OR the Honorary Assistant Treasurer AND by the President OR the Honorary Secretary OR the Honorary Assistant Secretary.
- For expenses related to the Singapore Medical Journal (SMJ), the Honorary Treasurer OR the Honorary Assistant Treasurer AND the President OR the Honorary Secretary OR the Honorary Assistant Secretary OR the Editor of the SMJ.
At the end of January of each year, the Honorary Treasurer shall give notice to all members whose subscriptions are in arrears.
The Honorary Treasurer shall be responsible for the preparation of the audited Statement of Accounts referred to in Section 3, Sub-Section (v) (c) above.

6. The Honorary Assistant Treasurer

The Honorary Assistant Treasurer shall assist the Honorary Treasurer in his duties and responsibilities.
All duties, powers and responsibilities of the Honorary Treasurer shall, in his absence, devolve upon the Honorary Assistant Treasurer.

7. Honorary Editor

The Honorary Editor shall be responsible for the publication of such journals, periodicals and proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Association, as the Council may from time to time decide.
The Honorary Editor shall be appointed by the Council for a two-year term and shall assume office on the completion of the current volume.
The Honorary Editor shall be assisted in his duties by an Editorial Board, which shall be appointed by the Council.

Article X - Power and duties of the council

The Council of the Association shall meet at least once in every three months.
Five members of the Council shall form a quorum.
The Council of the Association shall elect Ordinary Members in accordance with Article IV.
The Council shall have power to appoint a member to fill any vacancy in the Council until the next Annual General Meeting.
The Council shall have power to appoint, pay and dismiss any servants employed by the Association.
The Council shall delegate to a paid Secretary-Treasurer such duties of the Honorary Secretary and of the Honorary Treasurer as the Council shall from time to time decide.
The Council may from time to time make repeal and amend any rules, regulations and constitution of special groups or the Charitable Trust Fund (not inconsistent with these Articles) as the Council shall think expedient for the good management and well-being of the Association and the conduct of business. All such rules, regulations and Constitution made by the Council shall be binding upon the members until repealed by the Council or set aside by a resolution at a general meeting of the Association.
The Council shall act on behalf of the Association in all matters whereon this Constitution and Rules do not expressly provide otherwise. Any such action shall be brought before the next Annual General Meeting for ratification.
The Council shall have power to form (and to dissolve) special groups of members having distinctive professional interest. The Constitution, finance, membership and administration of the special groups shall be subject to the control of the Singapore Medical Association, provided that the Council may delegate to them powers on such professional and other matters as the Council thinks fit.
The Council shall on any question of major importance decide whether a postal vote shall be taken to assess the opinion of the general body of members.
The Council shall be empowered to nominate one of its officers to swear an affidavit against a doctor who is infamous or unethical in a professional capacity.
The Council shall have power to appoint trustees for the management of the Charitable Trust Fund.

Article XI - General Meetings of the association

1. The Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held during the first 4 months of each year for the following purposes:
1. To receive from the Council and to adopt a report of the activities of the Association during the year preceding.
2. To receive from the Council and to adopt an audited Statement of Accounts for the year preceding.
3. To elect the other office-bearers for the coming year.
4. To elect Trustees as and when necessary.
5. To appoint a professional Auditor for the coming year.
6. To decide on any resolution which may be duly submitted to the meeting as provided for under Section 1, Sub-Section (iii) of this Article.
At least forty (40) days before the date fixed for the Annual General Meeting of the Association, the Honorary Secretary shall inform all members in writing of the date, the time, and the place fixed for the Meeting, and he shall draw their attention to sub-section (iii) of this Article.
Any member desirous of moving any resolution at the Annual General Meeting shall give notice in writing thereof to the Honorary Secretary not less than thirty (30) days before the date of such Meeting.
At least fourteen days before the Annual General Meeting of the Association, the Honorary Secretary shall notify all members of the agenda to be transacted at the Meeting and this shall include any resolutions which members have indicated their intention of proposing under the previous sub-section of this Article.
The Annual General Meeting may be held in person, electronically, or a combination of both.

2. Extraordinary Meetings

An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association shall be convened by the Council at any time for considering amendment to the Constitution or Rules of the Association and/or any special reason. Upon receipt of a requisition in writing from any 50 Ordinary Members of the Association stating the purpose for which they require an Extraordinary General Meeting to be convened, the Council shall convene an Extraordinary General Meeting within thirty days.
Notice summoning an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be sent to all members not less than fourteen days before the date fixed for such a Meeting and shall state the business of the Meeting.
No business shall be dealt with by an Extra-Ordinary Meeting other than that for which it is specifically convened.

3. Quorum

The quorum at all General Meetings (AGM or EGM) of the Association shall be fifty members.
In the event of a lack of quorum thirty minutes after the stated time of commencement on the day fixed for the AGM or EGM, the President shall postpone the meeting for thirty minutes, after which the members present (whatever their numbers) shall constitute a quorum for the meeting. Such a postponed General meeting (AGM or EGM) shall not be permitted to amend the Constitution or Rules of the Association.
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- In the event of a lack of quorum at an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting called by the Council, the procedure shall be as in Article XI, Section 3(ii).
- In the event of a lack of quorum at an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting summoned at the request in writing by fifty Ordinary Members, the President shall declare the meeting dissolved, and no such Extra-Ordinary General Meeting shall be convened for the same purpose for a period of six months.

4. Minutes

Minutes of all General Meetings shall be circularised to all members within one month and shall be taken as adopted if there are no objections from members who attended the meetings within two weeks of the date of the circular. Any amendments to the minutes shall be circularised and considered at the next Annual General Meeting.

Article XII - Amendments to the constitution and rules

Amendments to the Constitution and Rules shall either be made at the Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association.
The proposed amendments to the Constitution and Rules shall be made in writing to the Honorary Secretary at least thirty (30) days before the date of the Annual General Meeting or the Extraordinary General Meeting.
The proposed amendments shall be circulated to all members of the Association not less than fourteen days before the date of the Annual General Meeting.
Any resolution proposing any amendment of the Constitution and Rules of the Association shall be null and void unless at least two-thirds of the members present vote in favour of such resolution.
No amendments shall take effect until such amendments have been approved by the Registrar of Societies.

Article XIII - Property and trustees

All property and all income of the Association however derived shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the objects of the Association as set forth in Article II.
All property acquired by the Association shall be held by the limited company incorporated by the Association or vested in three trustees, who shall be recommended by the Council for appointment by the General Meeting of the Association. Their appointment shall be approved at the next General Meeting of the Association. Such trustees so appointed shall deal with the said property in the manner and under the direction of the Council, and shall serve for a period of five years. The General Meeting of members shall decide on which party – the limited company or the trustees – to hold the Association's property.
Any trustee may be removed from Office by a resolution passed and carried by three-fifths of members present and voting at an Annual General Meeting.

Article XIV - General

No press release and no communication to any public body, Government or otherwise, may be made in the name of the Association except by the President of the Association or by the Honorary Secretary with the approval of the Council.

Article XV - Affiliation

The Association shall be affiliated with the Malaysian Medical Association, the British Medical Association and with any other organisation having objects similar to those of the Singapore Medical Association.

Article XVI - Dissolution

The Association shall not be dissolved, except with the consent of not less than 3/5 of the members of the Association expressed, either in person or by proxy at a General Meeting convened for the purpose or by postal vote.
In the event of the Association being dissolved as provided above, all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf of the Association shall be fully discharged and the remaining funds will be either divided equally amongst the members or transferred to a professional medical body or charitable organisation in Singapore as decided by the majority of members at a General Meeting convened for the purpose of dissolving the Association or decided by a postal vote of all the members.
In the event of dissolution of the Association or the dissolution of the Charitable Trust Fund, all monies belonging to the Charitable Trust Fund by whatever name called shall be transferred to one or more charitable organisations in Singapore.
Notice of dissolution will be given within 14 days of the dissolution to the Registrar of Societies.

Updated as of 16 Jun 2023

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