NAME

1. The name of the Association shall be “PERSATUAN VETERVINAR MALAYSIA”, also known as the “VETERINAR ASSOCIATION MALAYSIA”’ abbreviated as PVM and VAM respectively and
hereinafter referred to as the “Association”.

EMBLEM

2. The emblem of the Association shall be a serpent twining the conventional staff of Aesculapius against a diamond shaped blue background and encircled by the words, “PERSATUAN VETERINAR MALAYSIA” and “VETERINAR ASSOCIATION MALAYSIA”.

PATRON

3. Any distinguished person may be invited by the General Meeting to become patron of the Association.

PLACE OF BUSINESS

4. The place of business of the Association is at Regional Veterinary Laboratory, Persiaran Barat, 46630 Petaling Jaya, Selangor or at any place by the Executive Committee. The place of business shall not be changed without the approval of the Registrar of Societies.

INTERPRETATION

5. In this constitution unless the context otherwise requires:-
“Association” shall mean the Veterinary Association Malaysia (VAM)
“Committee” shall mean the Executive Committee
“Members” shall mean either or all of the Ordinary, Life Associate, Students, Honorary, Fellow or Affiliate Members
“Veterinarian” shall mean a person who holds a qualification registerable under the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1974
“Annum” shall mean the financial year of the Association and shall be from 1st July to 30th June of the following year.

OBJECTIVES

6.(a) To promote, maintain and protect the status and interests of the veterinary profession

(b) To attain the highest values and integrity of the veterinary profession

(c) To improve and expand the knowledge ice of veterinary and allied sciences in Malaysia.

(d) To establish and enhance smart partnerships and strategic alliances with other professional bodies.

(e) To support and contribute towards the Nations’s vision..

MEMBERSHIP

7. The Association shall consist of Ordinary, Life, Associate, Student, Honorary, Fellow and Affiliate Members.

(a) Ordinary membership shall be open to veterinarians resident in Malaysia.

(b) Life membership shall ne open to veterinarians resident upon payment of a prescribed fee.

(c) Student membership shall be open to students pursuing a degree in veterinary medicine and allied sciences with the written consent from the Dean of the School/faculty of the university concerned.and such membership shall cease on termination of their studies.

(d) Associate membership shall be open to : veterinarians who are not residing in Malaysia
(i) member of foreign national veterinary association
(ii) scientist and related professional member who could contribute to the development of veterinary profession

(e) Honorary members shall be elected at a General Meeting on the recommendation of the Committee. Honorary membership may be conferred to a distinguished person who are involved in public service or who have rendered meritorious service to the veterinary or allied professions or to the Association.

(f) Fellow membership my be conferred to members who had contributed excellent service for the Association and nominate as Association Fellow by the Executive Committee. A sub-committee shall be performed by the Executive Committee to recommend members as Fellow nominees. Through a secret voting by the Executive Committee, the nominees shall be elected as Fellow member with majority votes.

(g) Application for Ordinary, Life, Associate and Student membership shall be made in writing to the Honorary Secretary on a prescribed form. The application shall be subjected to approval by the Committee.

(h) AFFILIATE MEMBERS:-
(i) Any Veterinary Association as well as Corporate Association and registered related Institute of Sciences shall be an Affiliate members of Veterinary Association Malaysia.
(ii) Appication to become an affiliate member shall be made to the Committeee of Veterinary Association Malaysia.
(iii) Upon consideration and approval by the said committee, this application will be tabled for the Annual General Meeting of V eterinary Association Malaysia. This resolution shall be passed with to thirds (2/3) of majority votes.
(iv) Every affiliate membership shall represented by one representative by one representative whom automatically become an ordinary member in the Executive Committee of the V eterinary Association Malaysia and have the right to vote. The representative shall have no voting rights in the Annual General Meeting of the Veterinary Association Malaysia as an affiliate member but shall have the voting rights as ordinary member of Veterinary Association Malaysia.

(i) Deleted

(j) Deleted

(k) Upon approval of the application a member shall be informed of his election in writing and he shall pay the entrance fee and annual subscription witjin 4 weeks from the date of the notice of election to membership. In default of payment of entrance fee and subscription, the election shall lapse and a fresh application for membership shall be submitted.

(l) The Committee shall have he power to accept or reject any application without assigning any reason whatsoever.

MEMBERSHIP FEE

8. The membership fees shall be as follows:-
(a) Entrance fee of RM50.00 for Ordinary and Associate membership only.

(b) Subscrition:-
(i) Ordinary members shall pay RM50.00 per annum.
(ii) Associate members shall pay RM45.00 per annum.
(iii) Student members shall pay RM15.00 per annum.
(iv) Affiliate members shall pay RM2 (Two Ringgit Malaysia) for each member per annum or RM500 (Five Hundred Ringgit Malaysia) for companies and institutions.

(c) Life member shall pay a lump sum of RM1,000. An exemption of RM 500 shall be given to any member aged 55 years and above and applying for life membership.

(d) Honorary members are exempted from paying any entrance fee or subscription.

(e) Fellow members are exempted from annual subscription.

9. All subscription shall become due and payable on the 1st July and shall be paid by 30th September of each year. Members admitted during the first half of the financial year shall pay subscription for the whole year and those admitted in the second half of the financial year shall pay only of the annual subscription for that year.

10.(a) Any member who is in two years arrears of his subscription shall be notified in writing by the Honorary Treasurer and should his subscription remain unpaid by the end of the financial year, he shall cease to be a member.

(b) Failure to receive the notice shall not however debar the right of the Committee to strike off from the register any member who defaults paying his subscription.

11. Any ordinary or associate member who leaves Malaysia for a period of more than 12 months but less than 5 years shall be exempted from payment of subscription if the Committee is no notified in writing

12. Special levies for specific purpose may be imposed on members whenever the Committee deems necessary and passed by the General Meeting.

PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERSHIP

13.(a) Upon payment of the requisite fees, Ordinary members shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of the Association.

(b) Associates, Honorary and Student members shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of Ordinary members expert that they shall not be eligible to vote or hold office.

(c) Fellow members shall receive all benefits and exclusive rights as ordinary members.

TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHHIP

14.(a) Any member may resign from the Association by giving the Honorary Secretary notice in writing to the effect, provided that the member pays his subscription up to and including the current year.

(b) Any member who is convicted of a criminal offence in any court of law shall ipso facto cease to be a member

(c) Any member shall be deprived of his membership if a resolution is passed at a General Meeting by a simple majority that his continued membership is a discredit to or not in, the interest of the Association.

RENEWAL OF MEMBERSHIP

15.(a) Any member whose membership has been terminated on the grounds of non-payment of arrears of subscription shall be re-admitted to membership only after he has settled all outstanding arrears.

(b) For those whose membership has been terminated under Rule 14(b) and (c) shall not be debarred from re-applying for membership after a period of two years.

GENERAL MEETINGS

16. The highest authority of the Association shall be the General Meeting presided over by the President or in his absence the Vice President by a member appointed by the General Meeting.

17. The Annual General Meeting shall be held before or on 31st October each year. When it is not possible to hold the Annual General Meeting before the prescribed date, then an Extraordinary General meeting shall be held and such meeting shall be held and such meeting shall have all the powers of the Annual General Meeting.

18.(a) A notice of at least 30 days shall be given of an Annual General Meeting and at least 14 days of an Extraordinary General Meeting.

(b) The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be to:-
(i) receive reports of the Committee and review its work
(ii) receive and pass the accounts of the previous financial year
(iii) elect the committee
(iv) amend the rules by-laws or regulations of the Association
(v) consider any other business on the agenda

(c) The quorum for an Annual General Meeting shall be one half of the total membership of the Association or two times Exco Members, whichever is lesser.

19. A member wishing to submit items to be included on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) may do so provided he gives notice to the Honorary Secretary at least 21 days before the date of the Meeting. The agenda of the AGM and audited account for the previous years, shall be sent to all members at least 14 days before the date of the Meeting.

20. In the event being no quorum, the Annual General Meeting shall be adjourned to a day, not earlier than 14 days to be appointed by those present and should the number then be insufficient again to form a quorum, those present shall be considered a quorum, but they shall not have the power to amend any of the existing rules, by-laws or regulations.

EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

21. An extraordinary General Meeting shall be convened by the Committee at any time or for any special reason within a month of receiving a written request from a third of the total numbers of members or four members of the Committee.

22. Notice summoning an Extraordinary General meeting shall be sent to all members at least 14 days before the date fixed for such a meeting and shall state the business of the meeting.

23. An extraordinary General Meeting shall not deal in businesses other than that for which it is specifically convened.

24. The quorum for an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be the same as in Clause 18(c).

25.(a) In the event of a lack of quorum at an Extraordinary General meeting summoned at the request of a third of the total number of members, the President shall declare the meeting dissolved and no Extra-ordinary General Meeting shall be convened for the same purpose for a period of six months.

(b) Minutes of all General Meetings shall be circulated to all members within three months and shall be taken as adopted if there are no objections from members who attend the meetings within two weeks of the date of the circulated and considered at the next Annual General Meeting.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

26. The Association shall be managed by an Executive Committee consisting of the following:-
(a) a President
(b) a Vice President
(c) an Immediate Past President
(d) a President-elect
(e) an Honorary Secretary
(f) an Honorary Assistant Secretary
(g) an Honorary Treasure
(h) an Honorary Assistant Treasure
(i) an Honorary Editor
(j) four Committee Members
(k) one representative from each affiliate association

27. Members of the Committee except for the Immediate Past President shall be elected at General Meeting. All elections shall be by a simple majority vote of the members. All officers shall hold office for a period of two years. All officers except the Honorary Treasurer shall be eligible for re-election. The incoming Executive Committee shall take office by 14 days from the date of the election.

28. A member absent at a General Meeting hall not be elected to the Committee unless his consent in writing has been obtained.

29. The Committee shall meet at lest once every three months and copy each of the agenda of the next meeting and minutes of the Committee meeting shall be sent to every member of the Committee at least seven days before the meeting.

30. The quorum of a Committee meeting shall be six.

31.(a) Any member of the Committee absenting himself from two consecutive meetings without satisfactory explanation shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the committee.

(b) The Committee shall have the power to fill vacancies in the Committee during its term of office.

32. The Committee shall have the power to interpret the constitution and when necessary determine any point on which the constitution is silent.

33.(a) The committee shall have the power to take such actions as are necessary to achieve the objectives of the Association, such as to appoint subcommittees, regional branches (Sabah and Sarawak only), special interest group and state representatives who shall be Ordinary members and to expend from the Association’s fund such sums as are reasonably necessary.

(b) The committee may negotiate on behalf of the Association to acquire and develop land or property that it may consider useful for the betterment of the financial position and activities of the Association. However, the action of the Committee shall be brought before the Annual General Meeting or at any Extraordinary General Meeting for ratification.

(c) The Committee may engage secretarial assistance for the purpose of administration.

DUTIES OF OFFICE BEARERS

34. The duties of the office bearers are as follows :-
(a) The President shall :
(i) preside at all General and Committee Meetings of the Association.
(ii) have a casting vote in addition to his own vote as a member.
(iii) sign the minutes of each meeting at the time they are approved.

(b) The Vice President shall deputies for the President in the latter’s absence and shall have all powers vested in the President under Rule 34(a).

(c) Immediate Past President shall :-
(i) assist the new Executive Committee to ensure the continuity of the undertakings of the previous committee.
(ii) assist the Executive Committee in activating functional duties and activities.

(d) The Honorary Secretary shall :-
(i) keep all records expect financial, of the
Association and be responsible for their correctness.
(ii) record minutes of all General and Committee Meetings
(iii) attend to all correspondence relating to the Association and unkeep the membership list.
(iv) issues notices of meetings.
(v) Prepare an annual report of the Association’s activities for presentation at the Annual General Meeting.

(e) The Honorary Assistant Secretary shall assist the Honorary Secretary in all latter’s duties rule 34(d).

(f) The Honorary Treasurer shall be responsible for the finance of the Association and shall :- (i) keep an account of all monetary transaction and be responsible for their correctness.
(ii) operate a petty cash account of not exceeding RM1,000.00 (Ringgit Malaysia One Thousand Only) and excess amounts should be deposited in the bank.
(iii) table a statement of accounts at Committee meetings and prepare an annual balance sheet and statement of account at the end of the financial year for presentation at the succeeding Annual General Meeting.

(g) The Honorary Assistant Treasure shall assist the Honorary Treasurer in latter’s duties under Rule 34(f) (i) to (iii), and shall take the responsibility of the Honorary Treasurer during his absence.

(h) Honorary Editor (i) shall be responsible for the publication of
journal, quarterly newsletter and scientific proceedings of the association as stipulated from time to time by the Executive Committee.
(ii) shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall accept the responsibility to complete the current publication and be responsible for all duties for one year.
(iii) shall be assisted by an editorial board as appointed by the Executive Committee.

AUDIT

35.(a) Two Honorary Auditors shall be elected at each Annual General Meeting. An Honorary Auditor cannot be elected if he is an immediate past Honorary Treasurer or Honorary Assistant Treasurer. They shall audit the Assoication’s accounts at least once in the financial year of the Association and report upon them to the Annual General Meeting. They may be required by the President to audit the Association’s account for any period within their tenure of office and make a report to the Committee.

(b) In the event of registration, death or disqualification of any of the Honorary Auditor’s, the Committee shall have the power to fill the vacancy till the next Annual General Meeting.

FINANCE

36.(a) The financial year of the Association shall be from 1st July to 30th June of the following year.

(b) The Association shall operate a current account in a bank nominated by the Committee. All monies of the Association exceeding the sum of RM1,000.00 (Ringgit Malaysia One Thousand Only) shall be deposited in the account. The.association may operated other bank accounts shall be the Honorary Treasure and the President or Honorary Secretary

(c) Expenses exceeding RM5,000.00 shall be approved by the Executive Committee and expenses less than RM5,000.00 shall be approved by the President together with the Honorary Treasure and Honorary Secretary.

PUBLICATIONS

37.(a) The Association shall publish a journal as the organ of the Association and it shall be named Jurnal Veterinar after obtaining permission from the relevant authority.

(b) The jurnal shall be supplied free of charge to all members and it may be sold to the public at a price decided by the Committee.

(c) The Honorary Editor is empowered o appoint members of the Editorial Board consisting five other members.

(d) The Editorial Board shall be responsible for the publication of the journal and such other publications as the committee may decide.

(e) Deleted.

(f) Deleted

(g) Deleted

TRUSTEES

38.(a) Any property as acquired under Rule 33(b) shall be vested in trustees of whom there shall be three in number.

(b) The Trustees shall be appointed at a General Meeting and shall hold office until death or resignation or removed from office by members at a General Meeting.

(c) All properties of the Association shall be vested in the Trustee direct by resolution of which an entry in the minutes book shall be a conclusive evidence.

(d) The Trustees shall be indemnified against risk and expenses arising from the Association’s properties.

PROHIBITIONS

39.(a) The premises of the Association shall not be used for any illegal or undesirable activities.

(b) The Association shall not indulge in any political activity or allow its funds and/or premises to be used for political purpose.

(c) All Committee members and every executing duty officers in the Association shall be a Malaysian citizen.

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

40.(a) Amendments to the rules of the Association shall only be made at a General Meeting and shall be sent to the Registrar of Societies within 28 days after the approval at the General Meeting.

(b) Proposals for amendments to the rules shall be submitted in writing at least 21 days before the date of the Annual General Meeting to the Honorary secretary, who shall circulate them to all members at least 14 days before the date of the meeting.

(c) Any resolution proposing any amendment of the constitution and rules of the Association shall be adopted only if it has been passed by a two-third majority of Ordinary Members attending that General Meeting including votes by proxy

DISSOLUTION

41.(a) The Association shall be dissolved only with the expressed consent of not less than two third of the existing members either in person or by proxy at a General Meeting convened for the purpose or by postal vote.

(b) In the event of the Association being dissolved as provided under the above rule, all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf pf the Association shall be fully discharged and the remaining funds shall be donated to such organization or institution as decided at the General Meeting convened to dissolve the Association or as decided by a postal vote

(c) Notice of dissolution shall be given within 14 days of the dissolution to the Registrar of Societies.

GENERAL

42. Any press release and communication to any public body, government or otherwise, may be made in the name of the Association only by the President or Acting President, or by the Honorary Secretary or a member of the Committee for the purpose.

Dato’ Dr. Mohamad Azmie Bin Zakaria
President Veterinary Association Malaysia

Dr. Zurina Binti Ramli
Honorary Secretary Veterinary Association Malaysia

5hb August, 2009