DILUTED PRESTIGE
However, the plan to launch the new tier in December was suspended after concerned club members took to a petition to call for an EGM on the matter.
This was held on Tuesday night, with a turnout of between 100 and 200 members, according to those who attended.
During the session, which spanned more than two hours at the club’s grand ballroom, members raised alternative methods of funding, according to those who spoke to CNA. Most declined to be identified to avoid further friction with the club.
One member, who has been with the club for more than a decade, pointed out that SICC had tried to sell social memberships in the past, but stopped quickly as it undercut the pricing of the ordinary membership.
Ordinary memberships can be transferred from current members to new members for a fee, and their prices are subject to demand. Currently, those up for transfer are commonly listed at between S$300,000 and S$400,000.
The member said that other premium clubs only had a single membership tier to maintain their prestige and exclusivity.
“The minute we have a second tier (that) dilutes the markets’ price, our exclusivity and our premium status may get impacted,” he said.
Echoing his thoughts, the club’s ex-president Andrew Low said that social memberships would harm the existing older members who no longer played golf and wanted to sell their memberships.
“This isn’t just about raising money; it’s about preserving the fabric and the essence of SICC. Transferable social memberships undermine and compromise the club’s premier status,” said Mr Low, who was president from September 2017 to September 2021, and is now an ordinary member.
“Has the general committee truly done their due diligence and considered the long-term implications of this decision?” he asked.
Members also suggested tapping the 93 non-transferable ordinary memberships that have lapsed since the early 90s, pointing out that at their current pricing, selling these would raise more funds than social memberships.
Another way was to have existing members top up S$5,000 each, which would also raise funds in excess of the target.
DISREGARDED DUE PROCESS
Another member, who has been with the club for more than 50 years, had grouses with the way the matter was “bulldozed” through with disregard to “due process”.
He referred to the Nov 15 email where the club had announced that it was going ahead with social memberships, albeit without golfing privileges.
“At the end of the day, if they think that is what the members want then put it to the members and have it voted in unanimously. Why say that I know what you want so I don’t need to ask you for permission, that’s ridiculous right?”
The club should have conducted assessments and surveys to narrow down plausible methods to raise funds before putting the matter to vote, he said. Its current method was akin to “putting the cart before the horse”, he added.
“What the general committee tried to do is they tried to jam this without approval, and if this had happened, in fact it sets a very dangerous precedent,” said this member, who added that the committee may then be entitled to issue more memberships without members’ approval going forward.
“So what happens if we end up with 200, 300 social memberships in five years’ time, and then collectively, they have a louder voice?”
For example, social members might eventually demand voting rights, he added.
