He said that based on the association’s constitution, suspending or dismissing members who held positions could not be done through an EGM.

Muthu was stripped of his presidency and membership for life last month over funds in the association’s fixed deposit account. He later said he invested RM110,000 from the account in various businesses.

He said the money went into his personal bank account to make the investments on behalf of SAA and he “brought in RM55,000 in profits” for the association.

Ibrahim told Bernama the association could sack or suspend members who held office only on the recommendation of the disciplinary committee after an investigation was carried out.

The findings must then be submitted to the main committee, which had the power to decide on the appropriate action.

He said show cause letters should also be issued to accused officials or members.

Ibrahim said his review of the case, including a meeting with SAA vice-president Varughese Abraham and assistant secretary N. Rajagopal yesterday, found that all these procedures had not been followed and the EGM decision should be annulled.

“It can be concluded that the EGM was irregular, so Muthu is still the president,” he said.

Muthu, who is also the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) president, had said in a letter to members of SAA and its affiliates that the EGM decision on Oct 24 was invalid and that he was still the SAA chief.

Ibrahim said he would leave it to the police to investigate allegations of malpractice by Muthu, and hoped the crisis in the association could be resolved harmoniously by its members because it could affect Selangor’s athletics development.