334- Complaint against Diocesan Chancellor

The President,                                                                             14/4/14

Sabah Law Association,

Kota Kinabalu.  

Dear Sir,

Re:  Complaint against Datuk Stephen Foo Kiat Shin on professional grounds

I am lodging a complaint to you on the performance of Datuk Stephen Foo Kiat Shin as the Diocesan Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Sabah appointed since August, 2008.

I am attaching some samples of public documents of his performance in various avenues such as the AGM & EGM [“JK-A1” to “JK-A5”], the local press [“JK-B1” to “JK-B10”], the Standing Committee of Anglican Diocese of Sabah [“JK-C1” to “JK-C7”] plus an item posted in a blog [“JK-D1”].

His position as the Diocesan Chancellor as a Diocesan officer is defined in Article XVII of the Constitution of Diocese of Sabah as “The Diocesan Chancellor shall be appointed by the Bishop and shall hold office at his pleasure.  He shall be a qualified lawyer and shall be the legal adviser for the Bishop and the Diocese.” Diocese of Sabah is just defined as an area.  The Diocesan Chancellor is not defined as member of the Standing Committee of the Diocese but I believe he is in the Standing Committee as an appointee of the Bishop under Article X 2 (h).  As a legal adviser for the Bishop and the Diocese, I believe he must be seen to be independent in the Diocese and not act for the Bishop’s interest (personal and otherwise) only where a conflict might prevail

Briefly about Stephen’s unethical performance, he is seen to be bias towards the Bishop in most matters especially in the press (several items attached), he has been seen to have performed poorly in AGMs with bias interpretations and views and EGM where he even condoned an item (not stipulated in the Notice of the Agenda) added on at the end of the EGM; his much questioned behaviour at the Standing Committee’s in several deals plus acting as an Advocate for the Bishop (whilst a legal adviser) in an alleged “Court Action” against me as posted by an anonymous contributor.  Further illustrations of such unethical, conflicting and controversial actions at times would be presented in Appendix A.

The impact of Stephen’s unethical performance and misleading views has done much damage to the affairs of Anglicans in Sabah especially All Saints’ Cathedral where his views are sought. His fitness as an Advocate and Solicitor is very much questioned.

The documents I attached here are all public items and I am prepared to present an Affidavit if deemed necessary when the case goes forward to the hearing proper of the SLA. 

Please acknowledge this submission to you and hoping to hear from you of the appropriate action by the Association.  Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Joshua Y. C. Kong