KUALA LUMPUR — Taekwondo Selangor (TNS), which have been expelled from Taekwondo Malaysia (TM), are seeking legal action to stop the replacement of their association by another organisation.
On November 12, TNS president Karunakaran Chatu filed an originating summons at the Kuala Lumpur High Court to invalidate a notice for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) that was scheduled for November 17.
Court documents revealed that Karunakaran believes the EGM is intended to initiate the replacement of TNS, which were expelled from TM in January, with a new governing body in Selangor.
Karunakaran also claimed that Puvenenthiran Gunnasekaran, president of Galaxy Taekwondo Club and the first defendant, is the one who issued the notices for the EGM.
He argued that Puvenenthiran does not have the right to call for the meeting since he has not paid TNS membership fees.
“The notice for the EGM on November 17 violates the TNS constitution. As the first defendant clearly aims to remove the current TNS committee, this matter should first go to mediation,” the plaintiff’s court documents stated.
Karunakaran has also named TM president Azizul Annuar Adenan Sate and Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria as the second and third defendants, respectively, to compel them to initiate mediation to resolve ongoing issues with TNS.
In a letter dated August 28, TM informed Karunakaran that TNS’s expulsion was lawful and stated that if TNS wished to resolve disputes through mediation, they should have done so before their removal.
“TNS should have sought mediation while still a member, as Clause 25.1 of the Taekwondo Malaysia constitution states that alternative dispute resolution is available only to members,” the letter said.
This is not the first conflict between the two Taekwondo governing bodies. In 2018, TNS accused TM of blocking their attendance at the national-level annual general meeting (AGM).
Former TNS president T Arasu claimed they were barred due to discrepancies identified by the Malaysian Sports Commissioner during TNS’s previous AGM.
Arasu alleged that the decision was biased and aimed at supporting certain TM individuals to prevent TNS committee members from participating in the 2018 TM election.
In February 2019, Arasu also accused TM of preventing TNS athletes from competing in that year’s 10th National Taekwondo Championships.
On November 15, 2024, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted Karunakaran a temporary ex-parte injunction to halt any resolutions made during the November 17 EGM and ordered that TNS’s organisational structure remain unchanged until the case is fully resolved. — December 14, 2024