By Melissa Donchi
HEALESVILLE RSL Sub-Branch president Sam Halim has stepped down pending an internal investigation.
He agreed to step aside after a committee meeting at the state branch on 10 May at which he was informed that if he didn’t step down then the whole committee would be dissolved.
The probe by the state leadership at Anzac House in Melbourne follows complaints made by local sub-branch members regarding incidents over the past 18 months.
The state headquarters has refused to specify the allegations but shed some light on the situation in statement released last week.
“For some years there have been divisions within successive sub-branch committees and persistent reports of inappropriate management practices, lax corporate governance and potential conflicts of interest,” the statement read.
“Members of the sub-branch will be aware of this.”
While Anzac House CEO Mike Annett warned there should be no pre-judgment of Mr Halim, letters written to the Mail in his defence over the past few weeks have already weighed into the debate.
Affiliate member Peter Low has stated in a recent letter to the Mail that the claims against Mr Halim are unfounded and that the investigation by Anzac House has destabilised the sub-branch.
“This nonsense is a deliberate attempt by the state branch and certain members within our sub-branch to remove this person from the committee,” Mr Low wrote. “Mr Halim now faces the Anzac House tribunal where they hope he will be suspended.”
Anzac House would not specify the allegations made against Mr Halim but said the organisation was concerned enough to investigate.
“The issue, essentially, is that there is some internal management issues at the sub-branch in Healesville that have been concerning the state branch for some time,” Mr Annett said.
“There are some issues that made us want to look internally and Sam has agreed to step aside for the time being.”
Mr Halim said he hoped Anzac House would handle the situation ‘fairly and wisely’.
“Anzac House, in my opinion, tried to impose their authority by asking me to step aside to investigate this false and trivial allegation made by those members with hidden agendas,” Mr Halim said.
“My main interest is the welfare of the RSL.
“I care about it, I’m very dedicated to it – you could say it’s my second home.”
But Anzac House said it had no choice but to investigate the allegations made against Mr Halim.
In a statement, Victorian branch president Major General David McLachlan AO said: “State branch intervention of this kind is fortunately rare but the first priority of the RSL’s leadership is to ensure all sub-branches are effectively delivering our core objectives, especially veterans welfare, and where this is potentially compromised, the state branch has no alternative but to act.”
RSL under siege
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