By Emily Choong and Naadia Buhary
The meeting was called to order at 7.12 p.m. on the 3rd of April 2014.
The President’s report included an estimated change in budget allocation of RM1, 000 to host the Meet & Greet session in order for MUSA to get to know the administrators.
He also noted that the Monash University Volunteer Program (MUVP) requested an increment of the petrol reimbursement from RM0.30 per kilometer to RM0.35. The motion was carried despite a few council members pointing out that RM0.30 is more than enough to cover up petrol costs for volunteers to travel to their appointed destinations. By approving this, the council has created a loophole by which students are able to use such reimbursements to their own advantage.
The Treasurers noted that a total of RM 27, 185.00 was spent so far.
Clubs and Societies officers presented their update on existing clubs in Monash University Malaysia. Nine new clubs were opened, while 7 were closed down.
It was noted by the Welfare officers that students will be able to book the Sports Centre facilities following the implementation of a new online booking system at the end of March 2014. The opening of the MUSA discussion room and meeting area for student and club meetings was discussed. This will be available for booking through email. However, certain rules will be implemented in order to prevent misuse of the area. The Welfare department is also open to ideas for painting a mural on wall of the Sports Centre facing the field.
The prevailing issue of the beanbags was brought up once again by the Welfare officers who noted that another 10 beanbags were damaged within a span of 2 weeks. They have also noted that MUSA are the owners of the beanbags, but a black and white statement has yet to be released. The Twitter feed was abuzz with several complaints coming in regarding the removal of the beanbags from the library. It was explained that following complaints made by students about the lack of space and higher noise levels, the library committee decided to remove the beanbags, in order to enhance the work/ study conditions.
The lack of awareness of MUSA amongst the student population was discussed and the President suggested each department to update students of their portfolios on the MUSA website. No solid conclusions were drawn from that suggestion.
The meeting was adjourned at 9.48 p.m.
Meeting minutes can be accessed here once they are posted online.
musamonga.com 
For the MUVP reimbursement, I would like to point out that if the compensation is too low, students might just choose to take the taxi. And that often result in higher charges as the taxi drivers often overcharge the fares and incur an even higher expense.
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