An interested party has paid a 10 per cent deposit to buy the building for RM7.5 million.

AAM Vice-Chairman Wan Zaharudin Wan Ahmad said the asset was purchased in 2008 for RM4.5 million, New Straits Times Online reported today.

AAM has been in the news recently for being unable to pay salaries of staff on time and problems with settling Employees Provident Fund dues.

Wan Zaharudin said the association’s financial crisis was mainly due to a drop in membership and tied to the loss in demand for its once-popular breakdown services due to increased competition from various insurance companies offering the same services at a lower cost.

The report said Wan Zaharudin, AMM Chairman Tunku Mudzaffar Tunku Mustapha and the management came under heavy fire yesterday from members at the extraordinary general meeting called to vote on the sale of the building.

Some members were unhappy that the management had proceeded with the sale of the building without first seeking their consent.

There were also calls for a vote of no confidence against the management, the report said.

Others wanted to see a proper business plan that would see the association restructured and guided out of the financial trouble it is currently in.

“Having heard out the concerns of the members and the need to present a business plan, we adjourned the meeting and will come back at a later date to present our plan and for you to decide whether we proceed,” said Tunku Mudzaffar before concluding the meeting, the report added.