For the benefit of those of you who are not on Facebook I reproduce the following exchange:

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Reply by Lynn Tang:

Wow Patrick Khoo – I'm am truly honored that you've given me such a considered reply. It means a lot, not just to me but the membership at large. I apologize if I had put you on the spot but applaud you for stepping up. I do have one other minor question – why quit mid term and not just finish the term before letting Priss take over? Particularly since you are not withdrawing from the MC entirely.

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My reply to her reply:

Hi Lynn,

First off, no, you did not put me on the spot, you galvanised me to speak up 🙂 As I said I was planning on simply staying silent – I don't "kiss and tell". But I've known you for so long and we've worked together and given so much to the society as well (when are you going to come back and do the Youth Apprentice again? heh.. 🙂 I realised: I _OWE_ you (and so many others) what I really think.. I never did as much as people keep saying I did for Mensa Singapore. That has been done by many, many, many volunteers over the years. That includes people like Chin Siang, Eric, Magdalene, Larry and so on – all of whom I've known and worked with together for years and years. (I can't credit Audrey for work in Mensa Singapore even though I've known her for some time too, because she only officially joined Mensa Singapore early this year (Welcome!)). I've long tried to persuade Mag to join the committee, but she has always declined, so kudos to CS for finally getting her to take the plunge 🙂 But again, I digress.. But yes, many, many people have contributed so much to the society. Every one of those contributers, like yourself, deserves so much better from me than just my silence. I'm sorry for taking so long, but I realise that now. So yes, you have galvanised me, for better or for worse, to speak up.

As for "suddenly" stepping down.. Ha ha! People complain all the time about how Mensa moves so slowly, no? LOL! 😀

OK, jokes aside, it is actually very simple. Once it dawned upon me what it – stepping down – was that I needed to do, I acted. But of course, I still had a duty to do – which is to at least propose a replacement. As you well know, Lynn, because we have always had difficulty finding volunteers to serve, our informal rule in the MC (even from before your time) was: you must find your own replacement first before you are allowed to step down. LOL! Look at the situation today! 🙂

But I feel you and me can be honest and direct. None of this is really about me stepping down mid-term and continuing to serve Mensa or the procedures or legalities of appointing someone to become the President. Just ask yourself, if I had proposed Chin Siang to the post of President when I stepped down, none of this drama would be happening now, would it? Alternatively, if I had instead announced my intention to step down in a year's time and publicly endorsed Priss to take over, there would still be a furor and a huge election today, wouldn't it?

So, again. I made my choices and I acted based on my own judgement. Above, in my post, I have been honest, up-front and extremely direct and talked about stepping down and how I choose people to do work. Beyond these explanations from my own view (since you asked me to please explain), this is a democracy. Please think for yourself and decide for yourself what you think is best for Mensa the society as a whole. Whatever _YOU_ decide – please, please, please – for Mensa's sake, vote. 🙂

Cheers!
Patrick