Nominations for branch elections of the troubled National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE), which is expected to be held at the end of March, opened today.

The closing date for nominations is March 1 and all names must be submitted to the NUBE headquarters by March 5.

Twelve branch committee posts and 10 delegates' seats per branch are up for grabs. The heat is expected to be felt in the Kuala Lumpur branch, which houses the bulk of NUBE members.

The Kuala Lumpur branch, with has some 14,000 members - almost half of the union membership - is currently embroiled in a controversy surrounding its Dec 29 annual dinner.

Several of the branch's members accused the branch secretariat of mismanaging funds used to foot the bill - amounting to more than RM97,000 - for the lavish dinner held at the Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel in Petaling Jaya.

The NUBE national executive council also witnessed a split when 14 of its 24 members voted against conducting an investigation into the allegation.

Two minutes

The controversy also revealed the existence of two sets of minutes of a Kuala Lumpur branch special meeting held last Sept 17.

Sources said who gets into power will pave the way for a 'long-awaited change for the better' within NUBE

The union which has 29,000 members has come under increasing pressure from members to account for numerous discrepancies, including a series of fund mismanagement.

Last June, more than 600 disgruntled members lodged two police reports against the union's 1996 and 1998 executive council and accountant for alleged mismanagement of union funds amounting to millions, lost in a share scandal involving BBMB Securities Bhd and Mayban Securities Bhd.

Around the same time, NUBE imposed a 10 percent levy on members' arrears to strengthen its financial position following the losses.