Campaign for a Special Audit

To ALL Calvarites who seek after truth,

It does not matter if you are pro-SP or pro-TTG. Or if you are sitting on the fence or do not want to be involved. You still need to know the truth. All of us want the truth. Truth and righteousness are the hallmarks of Christians. The only way for the truth to be established is for a special audit to be done on the specific events and/or transactions mentioned by Dr Lum and others in the blog.

Below is my letter to our two auditors requesting for a special audit. If you seek after truth, if you are not afraid of the truth, if the truth will set you free then please join me in this request to our auditors. The greater the support from the people of Calvary Church the greater shall be the encouragement and motivation for the auditors to act. Please get all your friends in the Church to support this demand for truth and transparency. If they cannot email, please do it for them.

Please email the following short message to:
Bro Tam Kok Meng at tamkm@adventconsulting.com.my and
Bro Chow Sang Hoe at sanghoechow@gmail.com with
cc to Calvary Today at calvarytoday@gmail.com
(cc to Calvary Today is merely to facilitate the counting of the support as the Campaign progresses)

"Subject: Special audit of specific events and/or transactions in Calvary Church

I endorse and fully support the request of Bro Wong Hong Meng for a special audit on the specific events and/or transactions listed in his letter to you of 20th December 2008.

(Your Name)
(Voting member/associate member/regular worshipper)
Calvary Church”

Calvary Today would keep your name confidential. It would not be posted on the blog. Please do this for the sake of truth and righteousness.

Please identify with truth and righteousness by wearing a white top this Sunday.

With His love and blessings,
Hong Meng

_____________________________________________________________

To: Bro Chow Sang Hoe, Calvary Church auditor
Bro Tam Kok Meng, Calvary Church auditor
cc: Rev Ong Sek Leang, General Superintendent, AOG Malaysia
From: Wong Hong Meng
Date: 20th December 2008
Re: Special audit of specific events and/or transactions

I take comfort that both of you are members of MIA and hold audit licences from the Minister of Finance. You were elected by the members as auditors for Calvary Church at the last AGM in March 2008. You are therefore, jointly and severally, responsible and accountable to the members at general meetings for the audit on the entire church and all its activities including but not limited to the Missions Department, the extended ministries, the auxiliary ministries and the outreaches. I have confirmed with the technical partner of a firm of public accountants that it is right and proper for me, as a member of the Church, to request that certain specific events and/or transactions be subject to a special audit including those that happened or purported to have happened in past years. This is particularly so when there are speculations among members of the Church that these events and/or transactions may not have been properly authorized and/or could be in violation of Church policies or generally accepted accounting principles. I humbly request that you undertake this special audit expeditiously and report your findings to the members in writing by way of a special audit report. You do not need approval from Senior Pastor or the Board of Deacons to do this audit. You are independent, elected by the members and responsible to the members.

Some of these events and/or transactions were alluded to by Dr Lum Siew Heng, the deacon who recently resigned from the Board, in his interview with Calvary Today. Attached are the two parts of the interview posted on Calvary Today for your reference. The revelations by Dr Lum must be given very serious consideration as they came from a Board member directly involved in the discussion on the events and/or transactions. Other events and/or transactions had been alluded to in the comments to the blog postings. I am in no way asserting that the allegations are true. The purpose of my request is for the truth to be established on these purported events and/or transactions so that speculation can stop. As duly elected auditors you have the authority and responsibility to establish the truth through a special audit on behalf of the members of the Church. No restriction or limitation can be placed upon you by Senior Pastor or the Board in the fulfillment of your role as duly elected auditors. If the Board or the Senior Pastor places any restriction on you or if they refuse to answer your questions, you must report the same to the members accordingly.

The following are the events and/or transactions which must be subject to the special audit:

1. That a love gift of USD10,000 was given by Senior Pastor to Pastor Delmer Guynes when he came to chair the EGM on 15 August 2008. This love gift was only informed to the Board and post-fact approval sought two months after the event.

• Please report back to the members if this is true. I am not questioning the quantum but the payment and approval process.
• If true, how was the payment made to Pastor Guynes at the time of disbursement? Was the payment in cash and in what currency?
• Does the Senior Pastor have the authority to approve such a large love gift?
• Was the post-fact approval minuted by the Board?
• Was Dr Lum’s objection minuted?
• Did Pastor Guynes acknowledge receipt?
• Who financed the payment if it was not paid from the Church petty cash?
• If a cheque was issued and then encashed, who signed the cheque? A cheque of more than RM5,000 requires one of the signatories to be the Church Secretary or Treasurer or another deacon.
• If one of them had signed the cheque before Board approval, would this be a violation of the By-Laws of the Church as well as their cheque signing mandate?
• Would you as auditors deem such a practice as acceptable?
• Would post-fact approvals be the norm for the Board of Deacons of Calvary Church?
• What would be your recommendation to the Board on this practice?

2. That the Missions Department paid for the overseas airfares for one of Senior Pastor’s grandchildren as well as the son of a deacon.

• Please report back to the members if this is true.
• Although the payments may have been approved by the Board, would you consider these payments, if true, to be proper and in compliance to Church policies?
• Would the payment of airfare for Senior Pastor’s grandchild fall within the terms of employment of Senior Pastor or those of the child’s parents?
• Would the children of other pastors or church workers be entitled to such benefits?
• If yes, please let the members know which other children have benefited from this.
• If no, then what was the justification from the Missions Director for the payment?
• Was this payment declared as a taxable benefit in kind in the EA form of the child’s parents?
• Would the payment for the deacon’s son fall within any scheme of service for the deacons of the Church?
• Was this payment, if true, approved and minuted by the Board and/or the Missions Committee?
• If not approved by the Board or the Missions Committee who approved it?
• Does the person have the authority to approve such payments?
• If yes, which other deacon had benefited from this provision?
• If no, then what was the justification from the Missions Director for the payment for the deacon’s son?
• Was this payment declared as a taxable benefit in kind in the EA form of the deacon?
• If no EA form had been issued for the deacon would you deem this to be an incident of possible tax evasion?

3. That Pam Guneratnam and Jim Guneratnam were given scholarships to study in the United States by the Church.

(When the scholarship was given to Pam Guneratnam, I personally checked with Dr Paul Nah, a deacon at that time. His answer to me was that if the Church did not give the scholarship, Senior Pastor would have to borrow money to finance her education. I was very surprised.)

• Please verify and report back to the members if one or both of Senior Pastor’s children were given scholarships by the Church.
• How much money was expended on the scholarships, if any, and over what period?
• Would the scholarship cover Pam Guneratnam’s post-graduate studies?
• Were these scholarships, if true, approved and minuted by the Board?
• Does the Church have a scholarship scheme for the children of pastors and church workers?
• If yes, which other pastors’ children had received the scholarship?
• If no, then what was the justification for the scholarships given to Senior Pastors’ two children?
• Would the scholarships for Senior Pastor’s two children fall within the terms of employment for Senior Pastor?
• If the scholarships were not part of the general scheme of service of the Church, were the payments declared as a taxable benefit in kind in the EA form for Senior Pastor?

4. That medical expenses amounting to approximately RM40,000 was paid from Church funds for Senior Pastor’s grandchild soon after birth.

• Please verify and report back to the members if this is true. I am not questioning the provision of financial assistance in the face of an unusual medical condition. I seek to understand Church policy on such payments and the approval process.
• Was it within the terms of employment for the child’s parents?
• Was this payment approved and minuted by the Board?
• Was the payment within the general scheme of service for pastors and church workers?
• If yes, which other pastors’ children had received this medical benefit?
• Was the benefit made available to Pastor David Seah?
• If no, then what was the Board justification for this differential in treatment?

5. That the Church reimbursed Senior Pastor RM15,000 for his membership fees at the Jackie Chan’s California Fitness gym in Mid-Valley.

• Please verify and report back to the members if this is true.
• Was the payment within the terms of employment for Senior Pastor?
• How long after Senior Pastor joined the Fitness club as a member was the reimbursement requested?
• Is the membership in the name of the Church or in the personal name of Senior Pastor?
• Any other pastor or church worker given this benefit?

6. That in the eleven years that Dr Lum was on the Board Senior Pastor had never declared the monies he received from his local and overseas ministries to the Board of Deacons.

• Please check the Board minutes to determine if this is true.
• Is it also true for Senior Associate Pastor?
• Are all other pastors and church staff required to declare to the Board or a superior authority all monies received in their ministries?
• If all others are required to declare and if Senior Pastor and Senior Associate Pastor are not, what is the Board’s justification for this departure from policy?
• If the policy also applies to Senior Pastor and Senior Associate Pastor, please obtain from them a declaration as to the total amount of all such monies received from both local and overseas ministries for the last twelve years.
• Please also obtain from them a declaration whether the monies were brought back into Malaysia or deposited off-shore.

7. That our Ampang outreach Pastor, Sister Adeline Koh, was paid a salary of RM250 a month over the past 7-8 months.

• Please verify and report to the members if this is true.
• Please also verify if she was living in the store room of the Church.
• Is the RM250 per month within the salary range of the Church for this category of staff?
• Are there others earning a similar salary?
• Is there any staff of similar qualification and with similar ministry responsibilities earning a significantly different salary?
• Who determined the salary for Sister Adeline Koh?
• Does the person have the authority to determine the salary?
• Is this treatment of Sister Adeline Koh, if true, in violation of Malaysian labour laws?

8. That the love offering collected at a youth meeting for Rev. Phil Stevenson from the Perth International City Church was never given to him.

• Please check with the youth leaders to verify and report back to the members if this is true.
• Apparently the collection was announced and made in his presence. Was Pastor Phil aware of the collection?
• What was the amount collected?
• If not given to Pastor Phil, where did the money end up? Into which fund or account?
• Who made this decision?
• Does he/she have the authority to make this decision?
• What was the justification for the decision not to give the collection to Pastor Phil?
• What was the amount given to Pastor Phil as a love gift?
• Please seek written confirmation if there are other similar instances where offerings were collected for a specific invited speaker and then not given to the speaker?

9. That the salaries (stipend) of Senior Pastor's children and their spouses are not made known to the Board. Their annual appraisals are done by Senior Pastor and he decides with the deacon for human resource on their salary increments, unknown to the other deacons.

• Please verify and report back to the members if this is true.
• If true, what is the Board justification of their acceptance of this practice?
• Please also verify if the annual increments over the last few years given to Senior Pastor’s children and spouses were reasonable when compared to other pastors and staff of the Church.
• Are there any other pastor or staff whose annual appraisal and/or salary and annual increment are not made known to the entire Board of Deacons?
• Do you as auditors find this practice acceptable?
• What recommendation would you give to the Board?
  

The people in Calvary Church need to know the truth. We deserve the truth. You have the ability and the power to give us the truth. Please do not disappoint us. Let the truth set us free.

Thanking you.

Yours in Christ,
Signed:

Wong Hong Meng

p.s. This memo would be released to the people of Calvary Church.