The minutes of the 40th AGM was approved without any amendment.

Mr Sze Thiam Siong, SWS President, presented his Annual/President’s report by expressing his gratitude to all the SWS members for their unwavering support given to the council members during his term of office. He reiterated his team’s commitment to achieve the Society’s long-term strategic objectives. He shared that in spite of challenges, the society had performed well during the financial year that ended 31 Dec 2018. He highlighted through his presentation slides some of the key activities / events / achievements organized by the various committees during the term of office. He complimented the efforts and work performed by each committee and welcomed new members to serve the Society. The full text of the Annual/President’s report is also published in this issue of ‘Weldpoint’.

SWS Honorary Treasurer, Mr Lim Zhi Yang, presented the Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet for SWS and its subsidiaries. He highlighted that the SWS Financial Statement is audited for the 9-month period from 1 April 2018 to 31 December 2018. This is due to the change in financial year-end closing to 31 December with effect from year 2018. However, for ease of comparison, he said that the unaudited figures from 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2019 were also included in the ‘Statement of Comprehensive Income’ given in the handouts. Thus, SWS’ total income for the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 including bank interest receivable was S$250,877 against the total expenditure of S$173,361 resulting in a surplus of S$77,516 before tax. He attributed the healthy financial position to the prudent spending as well as the dividend payout received from the society’s investments in iMOS.

Both the President’s and Treasurer’s reports were approved and adopted by the members after some deliberation. The Honorary Secretary informed that at the close of nomination date/time, four valid nominations were received for the four seats available in the Council.

Hence, the following council members were declared elected for 2019-2021:

1. Mr Loh Chee Yong, Lincoln
2. Mr Sze Thiam Siong
3. Mr Wong Man Ming, Simon
4. Mr Yusoof Aynuddin

Mr Sze Thiam Siong introduced the new incoming council member, Mr Lincoln Loh Chee Yong and projected his brief profile on the screens. He praised Mr Lincoln Loh for his active engagement with the IT vendor to revamp SWS website incorporating a new payment gateway.

During the closing of the AGM, Mr Lincoln Loh took the opportunity to give a brief update of the new SWS website which will be launched in July 2019. He highlighted that SWS will be moving towards cashless payments by enabling options such as PayPal, Credit cards, PayNow and cheque transfers. He also highlighted that SWS is planning to go paperless by allowing members to download soft copies of following documents - membership certificates, proforma invoice, invoices, and certificate of attendance for technical talks / seminars and articles. Along with these new features, ‘Weldpoint’ articles and advertisements may also be enabled online.

In closing, SWS President, Mr Sze Thiam Siong said that SWS will continue to work with its members, industry partners, government bodies, local, regional and international societies / associations / federations to achieve our long term vision and mission. He reiterated that the Council had worked very hard during the past years and thanked the Council members.

When the AGM concluded, members got together to enjoy the dinner served with beer/wine to celebrate another successful year. They also took the opportunity to catch up with old friends and network with business associates and new friends.