SNCF TGA Report: Performance Section
Draft 1: 24 June 2011
PERFORMANCE
List of Board/ Committee/ Council
(Listing of names without photos)
Board of Trustees
Chairman
Mr Othman Haron Eusofe
Deputy Chairman
Mr John De Payva
Members
Mr G Anthony Samy
Mr Victor Pang
Ms Chow Fong Leng
Mr Seah Kian Peng
Executive Council
Chairman
Mr Chan Tee Seng
2nd Deputy Chairman
Mr S Krishnan
Members
Mr C V Nathan
Mr Ryan Cheong
Mr Leow Ching Chuan
A/P Poo Gee Swee
Mr Saraj Din
Mr Pun Shyh-Gang
Mr K Rajaram
Ms Goh Ming Huay (Resigned on 11 February 2008)
Observers
Mr Teo Say Hong
Jacquelyn Lam Sze Ning
Audit Committee
Chairman
Mr Saraj Din
Members
Mr Pun Shyh-Gang
Mr Leow Ching Chuan
Internal Auditors
Mr Seah Seng Choon
Ms Chow Fong Leng
External Editors
PG Wee & Partners
Secretariat
Chief Executive Officer
Dolly Goh
Senior Manager (Finance, HR & Administration)
Helen Tan
Senior Manager (Credit Sector & Special Projects 1)
Foo Chuan Yang
Senior Manager (Non-Credit Sector, Special Projects 2 & IT)
Lo May Ling
Senior Manager (Marketing & Corporate Services)
Marcus Loh
Relationship Manager
Jasni Bin Jamil
Manager (Relationship & Business Development)
Harry Lee
Relationship Manager
Williams Goh
Relationship Manager
Goh Leng Hong
Marketing Manager (Education & Training)
Mike Chian
Manager (IT Shared Services)
Maria Leong
Marketing Executive
Irving Lim
Marketing Executive (Corporate Communications)
Chng Li Ming
Executive Officer (Finance, HR & Adminsitration)
Noorhasana Bte Mohd Arsad
Executive Secretary
M Sheela
Administrative Assistant
Chan Bee Bee
Message from Chairman – Thanks to BOT
(Information not in)
Board of Trustees
(Name and Photographs)
(Photographs not in)
Chairman
Mr Othman Haron Eusofe
Deputy Chairman
Mr John De Payva
Members
Mr G Anthony Samy
Mr Victor Pang
Ms Chow Fong Leng
Mr Seah Kian Peng
Executive Council
Chan Tee
Seng
Chairman
Pun ShyhGang
Member
Zee Yoong
Kang
1st Deputy
Dr R
Theyvendran
2nd Deputy
Chairman
Chairman
K Rajaram
Member
Dr Tan
Sun Teck
Member
Leow
Ching
Chuan
Member
Lim Sia
Hoe
Member
C V Nathan
Member
Mary G Tan
Chye Tin
Member
Saraj Din
Member
Management Team
Dolly Goh
Chief
Helen Tan
Senior
Executive
Officer
Jasni Bin
Jamil
Relationship
Manager
Manager
Lo May
Ling
Senior
Foo Chuan
Yang
Senior
Marcus
Loh
Senior
(Finance, HR
Manager
Relationship
Manager
&
(Non-Credit
Manager
(Marketing
Administration)
Sector,
(Credit
& Corporate
Special
Sector &
Services)
Projects 2 &
Special
IT)
Projects)
Harry Lee
Manager
Goh Leng
Hong
Relationship
Mike Chian
Marketing
(Relationship
Williams
Goh
Relationship
Manager
Maria
Leong
Manager (IT
& Business
Manager
Manager
(Education
Shared
& Training)
Services)
Development)
Irving Lim
Marketing
Chng Li Ming
Marketing
Executive
Executive
(Corporate
Communications)
Noorhasana
Bte Mohd
Arsad
Executive
Officer
(Finance, HR
&
Administration)
M Sheela
Executive
Secretary
Chan Bee
Bee
Administrative
Assistant
2008 – 2011 Developments
2009
Copywriting Direction: Reaching out to disadvantaged in the society Upturn the Downturn
International Women’s Day Celebration (8th March 2009)
They came; they walked; they worked out and were rewarded with fun, goodie bags and more.
More than 4,300 co-operative and union female members and their family participated in the
101st International Women’s Day with “Funnival by The Park” which was held at Bedok
Reservoir Park on 8 March 2009. The fun walk-cum-family carnival was jointly organised by the
NTUC Women’s Development Secretariat, in collaboration with the Singapore National Cooperative Federation (SNCF) Women’s Programme Committee.
Gracing this annual event was Guest-of-Honour Mr Lim Swee Say, NTUC Secretary-General
and Minister in Prime Minister’s Office, who flagged off the 2km mass walk after a 15-minute
mass workout. At the end of the walk, all participants were each rewarded with an attractive
goodie bag. More fun awaited them at the Sports and Health exhibition booths and carnival
game stations. Furthermore, performances and lucky draws on the stage entertained the crowd.
Also joining in the celebration were NTUC Deputy Secretary-General, Director for NTUC
Women’s Development Secretariat and MP for Jurong GRC Mdm Halimah Yacob, NTUC
Deputy Secretary-General and Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office Mr Heng Chee How,
Assistant NTUC Secretary-General and MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Mrs Josephine Teo and
SNCF Executive Council members
Mr Pun Shyh-Gang, Mr Saraj Din, Mr K Rajaram and Mdm Lim Sia Hoe. Mr Lim Swee Say
capped the morning when he joined on stage to launch a new NTUC initiative: “We Care for U”
project.
This Project aims to reach out to divorcees, widows and other single mothers to upturn the
downturn. Among many other things, this vulnerable group will receive help in seeking
employment and also be able to join support groups that arrange activities for them and their
children in these trying times. Besides participating in the fun walk, the co-operative sector was
also represented by the following five SNCF affiliates and five organisations in the exhibition
and carnival segment – AIN Society, Bedok Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Ltd, CARE
Singapore, Entrepreneurs’ Co-operative Ltd, Kids Meet Up Enrichment Centre, Premier Security
Co-operative Ltd, New Style Kiosk Fitness, NTUC Club, NTUC Income Co-operative Ltd and
WEworkz Multi-Purpose Co-operative Ltd. Yet again, the SNCF and NTUC joint celebration of
International Women’s Day 2009 inspired women and acknowledged the achievements while
supporting women of all ages to pursue and embrace their different contributions towards the
economy, family and society.
Copywriting Direction: Establishment of Quality Co-operatives in meeting Childcare Needs
NTUC Childcare is now NTUC First Campus Co-operative Limited
The largest pre-school operator in Singapore unveiled a brand new name and strategy.
The NTUC Childcare Co-operative Limited is now known as “NTUC First Campus Co-operative
Limited”. Pre-school centres currently operated under “NTUC Childcare” is renamed “My First
Skool”. The other brands under the NTUC First Campus stable are “The Little Skool-House
International”, “The Caterpillar’s Cove”, and training institute RTRC Asia.
“The name change,” said Mr Chan Tee Seng, NTUC First Campus’ CEO, “is not just skin deep.
It reflects our strong commitment to live our brand essence – to create inspiring relationships
with teachers, parents and children, to help fulfil the promise of each child. Our staff are excited
and committed to this journey to bring our services to a new level.”
At the media launch on 14 January 2009, more exciting plans were announced:
• Parents can look forward to seeing more quality centres which are closer to their homes, and
at affordable rates.
• NTUC First Campus will set up 25 more centres in the next 12 to 18 months, which will open
up an additional 2500 childcare places. This includes centres operated under both My First
Skool, and The Little Skool-House International.
• All future My First Skool centres will offer infantcare services.
• New centres will also offer extended hours if there is demand.
• To ensure that quality services remain within financial reach of every family, fees for My First
Skool will continue to be pegged below the national median. The Bright Horizons Fund, which
provides financial support for low income families, will expand its scope to include more families,
with the income cap raised from S$1,800 to S$2,200.
• By 2013, 80% of Principals in centres operated by NTUC First Campus will have degree
qualifications. “The essence of the First Campus brand is about developing the relationship
between teacher, parent and child – to help children achieve their full potential by creating an
inspiring learning experience,” Mr Chan added.
Copywriting Direction: Crystallizing a crystal-clear overview of the Co-operative Movement
SNCF Launches ‘IN’ Guide to Co-operatives
The reader-friendly SNCF ‘IN’ Guide to Co-operatives details what anyone needs to know about
the Co-operative Movement and paints a picture of the Co-operative rich IN History, IN
Essence, IN Formation, IN Support, IN Action, IN Alliance and IN Depth.
You could trace the Co-operative Movement IN History, which captures key milestones in the
Co-operative development from the 1920s to present. All about the Co-operative, the types of
co-operative businesses and its unique features can be found IN Essence.
IN Formation provides a step-by-step guide to those wanting to know how to form a cooperative. Then, there is information on types of grants and funds available IN Support of cooperative education, training, research, audit and general development of the Co-operative.
The true spirit of the Co-operative through the case studies of four co-operatives, namely
ISCOS (Industrial and Services Co-operative Society Limited), ITE Co-operative Society
Limited, NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Limited and Seacare Co-operative Limited, features their
success stories and catches them IN Action. IN Alliance, SNCF’s active participation as an
affiliate of international and regional bodies ensures good representation and close partnership
with co-operatives worldwide.
Finally, information of SNCF affiliates, categorised into four sectors, namely Campus Sector,
Credit Sector, NTUC Sector and Service Sector, are listed out IN Depth. By browsing through
the different chapters throughout the guidebook, potential co-operative members will have every
information about the Co-operative IN their hands.
Copywriting Direction: Rejuvenating the Co-operative Movement
Co-operative Scholarship 2009
Four tertiary freshmen join our three pioneers in an educational journey this July as recipients of
the Cooperative Scholarship awarded by us, the Singapore National Co-operative Federation.
The Scholarship is distinctive in that it features at least three years of undergraduate studies,
with a “work experience” within our dynamic Co-operative sector. Sponsored by the Central Cooperative Fund, the programme is now in its second year. Not only does the Scholarship offer
exciting opportunities to students, it also allows us to be highly competitive in recruiting the
suitable talents while injecting new ideas and perspectives into the Co-operative Movement.
The Scholarship recipients receive full tuition fees and room and board for a total value of more
than S$15,000 per annum. The awards are tenable for the duration of the Scholar’s
undergraduate study at one of the three listed local universities, capped at four years.
Copywriting Direction: Establishing New Directions and Focus for the Future
Strategic Thinking Exercise
SNCF has embarked on a Strategic Thinking Exercise to review its role in helping to develop
the co-operative sector, and to support the formation of new co-operatives that will meet
emerging social and economic needs. This Conference is part of the effort to engage our
affiliated co-operatives in charting possible new directions for the SNCF and the co-opeartive
movement.
Copywriting Direction: SNCF’s involvement in support of Campus Co-operative
NUS Co-operative 40th Anniversary Celebration
Sponsored Float
The track at the National University of Singapore Sports and Recreation Centre (NUS SRC) was
transformed into a vibrant riot of colours on 8 August 2009, as NUS alumni, students and staff
came together for the annual NUS Students’ Union (NUSSU) Rag Day, one of the University’s
oldest and proudest traditions.
This year, the event was made special by the inaugural participation of the Singapore Cooperative Movement. Specifically, we and the NUS Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society cosponsored our very own float, created by one of the six Halls of Residence, Eusoff Hall.
Coincidentally, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the latter, which is also Singapore’s wellestablished campus co-operative. It was thus of little surprise when such an exultant
presentation successfully earned the Eusoff Rag Team 2009/2010 three NUSSU Challenge
Shields for Halls of Residence – Best Float Design, Best Float Presentation and OSA Most
Creative Award!
Copywriting Direction: SNCF’s first step towards involvement in the International Credit Cooperative Community
SNCF joins WOCCU – Taking the High Road to Enhance our Co-operative Movement
SNCF is the first national-level organisation from Southeast Asia to become a direct member of
the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and can now take advantage of the association’s
advocacy efforts and technical support in serving its member credit unions.
With effect from 1 January 2010, as a member we have access to all WOCCU tools; a seat and
a vote at WOCCU’s annual general meeting and are eligible to run for a WOCCU board seat.
But more importantly, our membership has far reaching benefits as the WOCCU lobbies
internationally to improve legislation and regulation specific to credit unions, raises awareness
of credit unions and financial co-operatives worldwide and facilitates the global exchange of
information and ideas.
Through our latest association with WOCCU, we look forward to many exciting opportunities to
make a world of difference in the lives of millions of people around the globe. SNCF Executive
Committee, management and our member credit co-operatives are delighted that SNCF is
accepted as one of the members of WOCCU. The Membership to WOCCU signifies that the
road taken by SNCF for the credit Co-operative Movement in Singapore is the road towards a
higher standard of international
best practice and governance.
SNCF has also joined the newly set up Social Enterprise Association (SE Association). With our
strong support and endorsement, all the 73 co-operatives under our umbrella, including the
NTUC Group of co-operatives, automatically become members of the SE Association family.
This in turn provides further recognition of our co-operatives’ part in the SE community here.
Launched on 20 October 2009, SE Association is an umbrella organisation tasked with the role
of promoting social enterprise and social entrepreneurship in Singapore, so as to bring about
positive social impact and an inclusive community among Singaporeans. The Association
focuses on supporting peerlearning within the social enterprise community, providing capacitybuilding programmes and business services, and fostering synergistic partnerships among key
stakeholders, namely government, business and people sectors to build up individual
enterprises and the sector at large.
As members of SE Association, our co-operatives enjoy benefits such as networking events,
discounted rates for events, listing on membership directory, e-newsletter feature, business
support services, business consultation services and updates on industry trends, issues and
government related news. So, bookmark www.SEassociation.sg and look out for upcoming
events such as National Public Perception Survey, Networking Meetings, Business Consultation
via Social Enterprise Development Centre, Business Support Services, National Publicity
Campaign and many more.
Copywriting Direction: SNCF’s first step towards involvement in the International Credit Cooperative Community
First ICA-SNCF Business Seminar for Co-operative Leaders
The 18 co-operative leaders who attended the First ICA-SNCF Business Seminar called for
closer business collaboration among the co-operatives in the region.
The Seminar, which was held on 23 and 24 October 2009 in Singapore, gave leaders from eight
countries an insight into the competitive business world and how co-operatives can excel.
Hosted by SNCF and co-organised by the International Co-operative Alliance – Asia & Pacific
(ICA-AP), the Seminar fostered both camaraderie and integration.
Our Chief Executive Officer Mrs Dolly Goh started by sharing insights on the Singapore Cooperative Movement. Dr Charles Chow, from the Management Development Institute of
Singapore (MDIS), spoke on appraisal of present co-operative business in Asia and the Pacific;
how to fulfill the crucial role of co-operatives in the recovery from economic crisis; and
management capacity building in changing economic scenario.
The participants brainstormed on future business options and came up with the idea of
standardising training programmes in the region and setting up a certification business by the
ICA-AP. One of the highlights of the Seminar was the visit to our credit affiliate, Telecoms Credit
Co-operative (TCC) to learn about its successful business encapsulated in its motto, “the credit
co-operative with a heart”.
Copywriting Direction: New CEO to helm and steer SNCF to Greater Heights
Meet SNCF New CEO
Dolly Goh – Coach; Advocator; Servant Leader
After years of working in a commercial world, Mrs Dolly Goh turned her back on stock options
and high financial status and took the road less travelled … first, to head one of Singapore’s
largest charities and now, to take the lead in the Co-operative Movement in Singapore. From
working for profits in listed multi-national corporations, she now serves in a national body to
enrich lives.
Mrs Goh takes over from Mr Zulkifli Mohammed as SNCF Chief Executive Officer on 1 October
2009. She takes the leap in culture and organisational dynamics in her own stride. “The cooperative life is a total change for me and it is exciting to see the great potential,” this servant
leader says.
“We at SNCF count it a blessing to play a significant role in impacting lives. SNCF is an apex
body, not an ivory tower; we are here to serve.” Her passion is contagious. Professionals are
coming on board to offer pro bono services to enhance the Movement; and feedback from the
affiliates is heartening (even having to pay, for the first time, to attend the Annual Co-operative
Leaders’ Conference last October). “I see myself as a coach, an advocator to build a highly
motivated team of co-operative leaders that believes in the principles of self and mutual help;
and in creating sustainable enterprises that meet social and economic needs. It can be done. By
pressing on as a Movement and having a strong commitment to our core values and principles,
we become the solution to the needs instead of weighing down national resources.” Another of
Mrs Goh’s priority is to ensure that the next generation stays in tune with the Co-operative
Movement – by engaging them; remaining open-minded and relevant. One way is to reach out
with new media such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and more.
Copywriting Direction: Succeeding in a Competitive Business Environment without jeopardizing
Co-operative values
Premier Security Co-operative Lives Up to its Premier Name
One of the common misconceptions that has often burdened co-operatives is that they are
perceived as charities, lacking the focus on quality and profits as compared to private corporate
entities. With an impressive reputation in capabilities and established clientele, Premier Security
Co-operative Limited
is debunking any negative perception about co-operatives.
Having recently made headlines for beating the competition of mainly private security
companies to win the security tender for Resorts World Sentosa, Mr Saraj Din, the Managing
Director of Premier
Security recalls, “Resorts World Sentosa chose Premier Security because of our excellent track
record of security services to our established clients such as Singapore Airport Terminals
Limited, SBS Transit,
NTUC Income, OCBC and more.”
The two-year contract that is renewable for one year from Resorts World Sentosa is expected to
generate $2 million annually and make up 20 percent of Premier Security’s annual business.
When asked about the distinctive advantage Premier Security has over its competitors, Mr Saraj
offered an explanation: “Most businesses focus on profits. Finances are their top concern and
sometimes profits are made at the expense of quality due to cost saving measures such as
cutting corners, stagnant salaries or minimum benefits. This is particularly true during the
economic downturn where cost saving is a concern. However, we place a premium on our staff.”
Mr Saraj puts emphasis on the welfare and upgrading of his staff and observes strictly the
working regulations set by the Ministry of Manpower. “At Premier Security, our security staff do
not work for more than 12 hours at a time. Our policy requires them to take their rest after
having worked the maximum limit. This ensures that our service standards remain top quality
because of the fact that the security officers are well rested and alert. Our very own Training
Centre also enhances the quality of our officers and strengthens Premier Security’s position as
a top notch security service provider.”
Ms Joan Lam, Manager of Administration and Finance, nods in agreement: “If our officers are in
top form, they will exhibit top notch performances which will enhance our reputation. The good
reputation and high quality will aid in keeping our current clients and getting new ones such as
the Resorts World Sentosa.
Through higher returns, we are able to reward our staff with higher bonuses which in turn
motivate them to put more effort in their work, which leads to higher standards and quality. This
positive cycle is what we want to maintain.”
Set up 25 years ago to provide jobs for retired police officers and their counterparts in the armed
forces, Premier Security Co-operative indeed has grown into a prominent player in the security
industry in
Singapore. The Co-operative has 500 members and a $12-million turnover, showing cooperatives can be commercially profitable and sustainable. As for Premier Security, the growing
demand for security services is a boon. “The threat of international terrorism means security is a
sunrise industry,” said Mr Saraj, who has been actively involved in security works and the Co-
operative Movement for over 40 years. He has earned numerous awards and commendations
for his contributions to national security and the Co-operative Movement including the SNCF
Rochdale Plaque Award in 2005.
“Security is in big demand and clients want the best security to protect their assets.
That is why they chose us,” he said.
Copywriting Direction:
DETAILS OF 2009 CHAIRMAN SPEECH (Anniversary Dinner)
Good evening and it is my pleasure to welcome all of you to this 28th Anniversary Reception of
the Singapore National Co-operative Federation. On this occasion, we, the Singapore Cooperative Movement is also celebrating the 87th International Co-operative Day.
Over the last 28 years, the co-operative movement in Singapore has made significant
achievements. During good times and bad, our co-operatives have stepped in to moderate the
cost of living. They are successful enterprises that have gained global recognition. We have
heard of the Fortune 500 for successful business enterprises measured by market
capitalisation. The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) launched its own “global 300” of cooperatives measured based on revenue size. The Global 300 are responsible for an estimated
$1 trillion in turnover, equivalent to the 10th largest economy of the world. Two of our cooperatives – NTUC FairPrice and NTUC Income, are in the “global 300”. It is a commendable
achievement. The immediate past Chairman of the Singapore National Co-operative Federation,
was elected to the Board of the International Co-operative Alliance in 2007, a first for any
Singaporean.
In this current recession, experience throughout the world has shown that co-operatives are
more resilient, and are leading the recovery. They are also taking the lead to mitigate the impact
of the recession. In Singapore, co-operatives too help to cushion the impact on cost of living.
NTUC Co-operatives are also hiring more than 1,000 staff this year.
NTUC FairPrice keep prices affordable, NTUC First Campus helps retrenched parents keep
their pre-schoolers in school through the Bright Horizons Fund, Seacare reaches out to the
elderly and their retired sea-faring members, and the NUS co-operative through their book
assistance scheme for needy students, and many other co-opreatives in their own ways.
The changing economic landscape presents challenges as well as opportunities. The cooperative movement must position itself for the future, and so too must the SNCF. It is for this
reason that we have decided to embark on a strategic review exercise, to chart a vision for the
future.
We will examine key trends affecting the co-operatives in the various sectors over the next 5 to
7 years. The SNCF will be reaching out to you, too seek your inputs, as we chart our future
direction.
The current economic crisis has spared nobody. Some of our co-oepratives have also been
affected by the downturn, in particular, the decline in prices of financial assetsr. However, by
and large, the impact has been much smaller compared to those of other financial institutions.
The MCYS is now putting together a new regulatory framework. The credit co-opreatives will
have to find a way to respond to the new regulatory framework, and the changing economic
landscape, if we are to stay relevant. This will be one key issue that the strategic review will
attempt to investigate.
Another key issue is how can co-operatives play a more effective role in other sectors of the
economy, and how we reach out to the youth.
SNCF has started several initiatives to serve our affiliate better. One such initiative is a Shared
Services platform. The idea is to negotiate common services such as audit services, legal
services, secretariat support, and book keeping, to our co-operatives a better deal.
Another initiative is facilitating the formation of new co-operatives. The SNCF has benefited
from the support of the Central Co-operative Fund (CCF), under the leadership of its Chairman,
Mr Chandra Das, himself. Through his personal persuasion, several of our Community
Development Councils (CDCs) are considering the co-operative model to provide services to
residents. One example is WeWorkz (a co-op that trains less well-off and vulnerable women in
home based skills to earn income). Community Kitchen (a co-op that serves as a welfare
kitchen and generates income from push carts and catering). Another three CDCs are
combining forces to form another co-operative to provide services targeted at seniors.
To promote more communities to adopt the co-operative model in the future, SNCF has come
up with a guide book, called ‘IN’ guide. It explains what are co-operatives, its formation and the
assistance schemes that are available. This book will be officially launched later in the evening.
A key enabler of success is human resources. Co-operatives must pay attention to attracting
talent, so that it can compete with private enterprises. Last year, the co-operative scholarship
scheme was launched and3 scholars were awarded scholarships. I am pleased to announce
this year, we have another 4 scholars. They are here with us and will be introduced later this
evening.
At the SNCF, we are undergoing a process of leadership renewal and transition. Since
September 2008, Mr Zen Koh has joined the SNCF as its Assistant Chief Executive. From July
2009, Mrs Dolly Goh has joined the SNCF as the Chief Executive Designate, to succeed Mr
Zulkifli Mohammed. They are now in the process of handing over and transition and we shall
announce the official hand over in due course. Please join me to welcome Dolly Goh to the cooperative family.
Finally, it leaves me only to welcome our Senior Minister of State, Mr S Iswaran, who is no
stranger to the co-operative movement. Mr Iswaran was instrumental transforming NTUC’s child
care services into a co-operative way, back in 1990.
2010
NEW YEAR RECEPTION 2010
Good evening and thank you for joining us today in welcoming the New Year. Let me first
apologise for not being able to join you earlier, as I had to conduct an important briefing session
to a group of MPs.
I understand that earlier as part of our icebreakers, all of you have successfully formed your “Coopolies”. I hope that through the subsequent series of our exciting games, it will be a night of fun
as we know one another better, learn to laugh at ourselves and enjoy the work we do for
ourselves and for each other. By working with and helping each other, we will be a stronger Cooperative Movement.
Let me next take this opportunity to congratulate Mr Seah Kian Peng, our SNCF Trustee, on his
successful re-election to the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) Board last November. We
are proud to have Mr Seah continue being our Singaporean voice in the international cooperative community as he serves his second four-year term.
Pulling through a difficult year
In 2009, we had to contend with global economic uncertainties, tightening liquidity and amended
regulatory measures. For the SNCF and the Co-operative Movement, it was an opportunity for
us, in 2009, to review, renew, recharge – to think ahead, and to prepare for the post-crisis world.
Coming out of the recession, we are more ready to embrace the future with confidence, and to
stay relevant as a social institution.
SNCF’s ongoing efforts to seed new co-operative initiatives are starting to bear fruits. Last year,
more groups had approached SNCF to express interest in the setting up of co-operative ventures
that make an impact and have a meaningful social role.
Amidst the changing social, regulatory, and economic landscape, what sets co-operatives apart
are our values – the principles of self help, concern for the community, co-operation amongst cooperatives, sound management, just to name a few. These values have guided the development of
our co-operatives, and that we must continue to uphold them.
In September 2008, the Parliament passed the Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act. To
comply with the provisions of the Amended Act, our co-operatives are given until this June to
update their by-laws. SNCF has been working with, and helping co-operatives to comply with
these regulations. I am pleased to note that a majority of our co-operatives have submitted their
by-law amendments. We would like to thank Associate Professor Victor Yeo, who is with us
today, for helping SNCF with a training session on Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act
2008 and Claire Tham for offering legal advice on the amendments to the co-operatives’ existing
by-laws.
The SNCF itself will be holding its Extraordinary General Meeting (EOGM) in three to four
months’ time to pass and adopt our amended by-laws, to be in compliance with the new cooperative legislations.
A key challenge in 2009 was to help our credit co-operatives meet new regulatory and prudential
conditions. On this, I wish to thank Dr Theyvendran for heading the credit sector taskforce in a
year-long effort to review our response to these changes. I would also like to thank the Registrar
of Co-operative Societies for his assistance and partnership in this venture.
It has been a
difficult journey, taking up considerable amounts of our time, but I am confident that we will be
able to achieve some breakthrough.
The vast majority of our credit co-operatives have also enrolled for the Government Deposit
Guarantee to protect the interests of their depositors. As such, all deposits and subscription
capital placed with these credit co-operatives will enjoy protection from the Government until 31
December 2010.
Mission & Key Thrusts
In 2009, we embarked on a process to chart new directions for the Co-operative Movement. I
would like to thank you for your active contribution during the Annual Co-operative Leaders’
Conference last October. Not forgetting our Exco members for spending their precious time one
Sunday last November at the Changi Village Hotel, plus several other discussions, together with
our consultant, Mr Andrew Sng.
Today we are pleased to unveil our latest Mission statement and our four Key Thrusts for the
New Year.
As seen from the Post-it notepads on your tables, the new SNCF Mission reads “to promote and
develop co-operatives as sustainable enterprises that address social and economic needs through
the principle of self and mutual help so as to foster a more resilient society”.
The SNCF has identified four Key Thrusts. Let me share with you.
Key Thrust One
Our first Key Thrust is building our affiliates’ capability and capacity, to raise professionalism,
improve governance and promote leadership succession.
One such idea is an IT shared services. We are looking at the possibility of introducing a
Deposits & Loans System to help the credit co-operatives to manage their business prudently and
effectively. To date, at least 5 credit co-operatives have indicated their interest to support this
initiative. We are also looking at a shared Accounting System for the smaller co-operatives,
which will allow easy bookkeeping and timely submission of reports. These measures, to be
implemented over several years, will enable our co-operatives to carry out their operations and
compete more effectively.
In the area of human capital, SNCF will do more to help our affiliates gain access to training
programmes that will equip them with the necessary mindset, knowledge and skills to deliver
business excellence. For 2010, we expect to increase total training hours by more than 300%.
Aristotle once said, “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing
them.” SNCF will adopt an experiential learning, hands on approach.
We also hope to create learning opportunities for our affiliates by exposing them to other
successful co-operatives and co-operative models in other countries and this may take the form
of an overseas study mission. For example, the Credit Union Conference in Las Vegas from 1114 July, and the ICA-AP Regional Assembly in Beijing later this year are potential learning
platforms.
Key Thrust Two
Our second Key Thrust is to strengthen relationship with all our stakeholders, especially our
affiliates. SNCF will adopt a “Customer Centric” approach. We will adapt our services to the
needs of affiliates at different stages of their development, recognising that we have a diverse
profile of affiliates.
Towards this end, SNCF has restructured its management team. You already know Ms Dolly
Goh, the Chief Executive Officer since October 2009. I would like to introduce to you Mr
Kenneth Ang, who is Senior Manager for Relationship Management and Business Development.
Kenneth will oversee the Campus, the NTUC and the Service sectors. Mr Foo Chuan Yang will
support the credit co-operatives. The management team will also be looking at creating an
affiliates and members database so that we can serve you better.
From 1 January 2010, SNCF has become a direct member of the World Council of Credit Unions
(WOCCU). We will do more to tap the services of WOCCU, as well as leverage on its advocacy
and technical support services. For instance, a number of our affiliates from the credit cooperatives attended a training programme conducted by Mr David Grace from WOCCU here in
Singapore just last week. Many have found it useful, and an eye opener.
Key Thrust Three
Our third Key Thrust is to raise the awareness and visibility of co-operatives and co-operative
principles, to form new and sustainable co-operatives, and to grow the membership base.
To help raise the profile of our co-operatives as an enterprise model, SNCF will seek
collaborations with world-renowned Academic institutions such as INSEAD.
On 18 March 2010, INSEAD has invited the SNCF to conduct a panel discussion for its
Fontainebleau-Singapore Executive MBA class. During this session, we will be sharing with the
EMBA students on the successes of co-operatives – the Singapore way. We hope that in time to
come, some of our co-operatives will make it into the business case study of INSEAD and other
Academic institutions.
Key Thrust Four
Key Thrust four is to advocate and promote a dynamic, vibrant, innovative and relevant Cooperative Movement.
We must constantly scan the horizon, assess and understand the new strategic environment, and
develop new capabilities to take advantage of new needs. For example, changes in the law to
curb loan sharking activities have raised awareness of co-operatives providing an alternative
solution to people in need, in a socially responsible, yet sustainable manner. I am not suggesting
that we jump in to offer ourselves as “the” solution. But it creates the opportunity for us to do
more. Then we must ask ourselves what type of new capabilities must we develop to do this
well.
SNCF will do more to embrace the youth. We are planning to launch an Annual Campus
Competition by next year, in 2011. This will be an ideal platform for our SNCF Scholars to cooperate and drive some existing campus co-operatives projects, to generate at least one creative
idea to address a social concern.
In March this year, applications for our Co-operative Scholarship 2010 will be open. We hope to
differentiate ourselves from other scholarship schemes by appealing to young people with the
right passion, values, and entrepreneurial spirit. We intend to reach out to them through new
media. So keep an eye open for this exciting Scholarship campaign as we enter the realm of
Facebook and the like.
Conclusion
We look forward to 2010 with hope. There is much that we can do together, to build a stronger
Co-operative Movement. I look forward to your support, as we embark on this journey to refresh
and strengthen our Movement.
The SNCF has a new management team. I hope that you will guide them, give them time to learn
about the Co-operative Movement, and to support them in their initiatives.
On this note, I wish to thank you for your attendance this evening, and I wish you a pleasant
evening and a good year ahead.
29th ANNIVERSARY 2010
Said Mr Chan Tee Seng, Chairman of SNCF: “In its third year running, this is a
Scholarship with a difference, where outstanding academic achievement alone will not
be good enough. Our Scholars are fuelled with passion and commitment to serve the
Co-operative Movement and society with a heart.
“This year’s Scholarship campaign was very successful. More than 100 applications
were received, an increase of 16% compared to last year’s. The majority of this year’s
applications came through a local Scholarship & Higher Education portal. By adopting
communication channels popular with the young target audience such as the internet
portal, social media, peer-to-peer networks and word-of-mouth, SNCF successfully
reached out to today’s youth.”
SNCF hands out scholarships at 29th Anniversary Dinner
Two bright young people “with a heart” receive scholarships from
Minister-of-State Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon
1
The Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) will celebrate its 29th
Anniversary with a dinner at Hilton Singapore on 7 th July 2010. The Guest-of-Honour at
the dinner will be Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Minister-of-State for the Ministry of
Community Development, Youth and Sports.
2
In keeping with SNCF’s focus on youth and talent, the theme for this year’s
Anniversary Dinner will be: “Co-op’s got talent”. It will be an evening of fun, where
scholars and staff of co-operatives will show off their talents.
3
A highlight of the evening will be the handing out of two Co-operative
Scholarships. The recipients of the scholarships are Mr Eugene Tan and Ms Kwek Yi
Jun (please refer to attached document for details and to arrange interviews with the
recipients).
4
The Co-operative Scholarship is distinct in that it requires candidates to be
academically excellent but also “have a heart” as co-operatives are businesses with a
social mission. They need to operate profitably, while caring for the needs of the
community.
5
Said Mr Chan Tee Seng, Chairman of SNCF: “In its third year running, this is a
Scholarship with a difference, where outstanding academic achievement alone will not
be good enough. Our Scholars are fuelled with passion and commitment to serve the
Co-operative Movement and society with a heart.
6
“This year’s Scholarship campaign was very successful. More than 100
applications were received, an increase of 16% compared to last year’s. The majority of
this year’s applications came through a local Scholarship & Higher Education portal. By
adopting communication channels popular with the young target audience such as the
internet portal, social media, peer-to-peer networks and word-of-mouth, SNCF
successfully reached out to today’s youth.”
7
The scholarships, introduced in 2008, are part of SNCF’s efforts to attract
talented young people into the co-operative fold to rejuvenate the Movement. Other
initiatives include an outreach programme targeted at secondary schools, junior
colleges and tertiary institutions.
8
SNCF has taken a new direction towards renewing and recharging the Co-
operative Movement, and embarked on a move to raise professionalism, improve
governance and attract young people for emerging leadership.
9
It has embarked on a plan to place a major focus on youth in the coming years to
attract the right young people to take the Co-operative Movement forward and to
become part of the emerging leadership needed for the future.
10
“The
symbiosis between
co-operative
growth
and
human
capital
has
underpinned our Movement’s basic developmental philosophy,” said Mr Chan. “It is thus
significant that SNCF and our co-operatives are putting energy into developing people
and creating a pool of talented leaders. As the largest Movement in Singapore with
more than one million members, we should extract value from within and reenergise,
not as individual co-operatives, or any particular sector, but as a whole Movement, for
our future.”
Chairman’s Speech
Our Guest-of-Honour, Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon,
Minister of State, Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports
Members of Central Co-operative Fund Committee
Members of Board of Trustees and Executive Council
Partners, Volunteers
Co-operators
Ladies and Gentlemen
Theme of the Night
1
Good evening and welcome to SNCF’s 29th Anniversary Celebrations. As Cooperators, we all appreciate that work at co-operatives are beyond just an
occupation; it is a calling to do good and do well, beyond our call of duty.
Therefore, tonight is a special night for recognising that every individual is unique
and talented within our Movement. Everyone of us has talents and many of us
have hidden talents, not known to our colleagues and fellow co-operators.
Tonight, we are going to discover these talents, unearthed in the “Co-op’s Got
Talent” segment of the program.
Co-operative Scholarship
2
The Co-operative Scholarship Award that will be presented tonight reflects our
Movement’s efforts to recognise and nurture budding talents in Singapore. In its
third year running, this is a Scholarship with a difference, where good academic
achievement alone will not be good enough. Our Scholars are fuelled with
passion and commitment to serve the Co-operative Movement and the society
with a heart.
3
This year’s Scholarship campaign was very successful. More than 100
applications were received, an increase of 16% compared to last year’s. Majority
of this year’s applications came through a local Scholarship & Higher Education
portal. By adopting communication channels popular with the young target
audience such as, internet portal, social media, peer-to-peer networks and wordof-mouth, SNCF successfully reached out to today’s youth.
4
After rigorous selection by members of the Central Co-operative Fund Committee
(CCFC) and SNCF Executive Council, two Scholars with a heart will be receiving
the Co-operative Scholarship 2010.
5
I would like to congratulate Mr Eugene Tan and Ms Kwek Yi Jun. Eugene will be
taking up a double degree in Chemical Engineering and Business, while Yi Jun, a
degree in Business in NUS.
6
This June, our Scholars for Year 2008 and 2009, have embarked on a series of
programmes that orientate them into the Co-operative Movement formally. They
have just completed their one-month internship programme at SNCF, where they
were exposed to how co-operatives function, related to their course of study.
Since yesterday (6 July), and for the next eight months, each of the scholars will
be working, managing and assisting each of the selected six campus cooperatives to strengthen the co-operatives’ financials, business, membership and
social contribution through creative and innovative ways. They will compete in
the Annual Best Campus Co-operative Competition in March 2011. We are
excited about the sparks these talents will bring into our Movement.
Co-op’s Got Talent
7
Talents – Many around us have hidden talents. At our cocktail reception earlier,
you may have noticed a young lady seated at a booth, meticulously painting a
normal pair of school shoes, turning them into unique footwear. She is our 2009
Co-operative Scholar, Joan. Joan developed strong interest in drawing since
young. Joan started painting on shoes for her friends. She has since
entrepreneurially converted that hobby into a business via her blog shop. Beside
Joan were two Senior Managers at SNCF, Josephine and Chuan Yang.
Josephine was doing stained glass painting and Chuan Yang twisting, pinching
and squeezing balloons into shapes of animals. Josephine learnt to create
synthetic stained glass art pieces through the recreational club at her previous
employment. She has since been giving away her creations to her friends as
personalised gifts. Chuan Yang can be rather popular at children’s parties with
his balloon sculptures. Many entrepreneurs started their business based on their
hobbies, driven by in-born talents. One such house-hold name is Bengawan
Solo. It was started by a housewife, talented at baking cakes, gave away her
home-made Indonesian delicacies to her friends as gifts and eventually, started a
business through the encouragement of her friends.
8
Later tonight, in the ‘Co-op’s Got Talent’ contest segment, you will notice staff
and members of our affiliates unleash their talent and for us to better know their
other side, while they compete for the top prize of a trophy and cash prize of
S$1,000. You will definitely be enthralled by the many gems in our Movement,
ranging from acapella vocalist to Malay dancer. Be sure to lend your support by
voting for your favourite talents at the end!
Building a Talent Pool
9
The symbiosis between co-operative growth and human capital has underpinned
our Movement’s basic developmental philosophy. It is thus significant that SNCF
and our co-operatives are putting energy into developing people and creating a
pool of talented leaders. As the largest Movement in Singapore with more than
one million members, we should extract value from within and reenergise, not as
individual co-operatives, or any particular sector, but as a whole Movement, for
our future.
10
Passionate, competent and caring co-operators are indeed at the heart of
success of co-operatives. We want to nurture every individual, to believe in him/
herself and be self-sufficient, to care for fellow men, and to be able to contribute
to the larger society around him/ her. Embracing each individual’s merits must be
matched with adequate resources to help stretch everyone to his or her
maximum.
11
We need to first provide an environment that gives every co-operator a valuable
cachet and recognition locally and even worldwide. Only through such talent
appreciation efforts, will we be able to attract more committed individuals to
contribute towards the Co-operative Movement.
12
As the apex organisation, SNCF will lead the way in recognising and embracing
talents. But to succeed, we will need all stakeholders, including you, our affiliates,
the Registry of Co-operative Societies, the Government Bodies and the NTUC, to
continue to support our initiatives. Thank you for being with us on this journey to
build a more resilient Co-operative Movement.
13
Let us enjoy a moment’s break to commemorate this milestone in SNCF’s
history; and recognise the many talents, who have been contributing to our Cooperative Movement.
14
One such passionate talent is our Guest-of-Honour tonight, Mrs Yu-Foo Yee
Soon. She has been a keen supporter of the Co-operative Movement and has
been on the boards of various co-operatives, such as, the then-NTUC Insurance
(Income), NTUC FairPrice and then-NTUC Childcare (First Campus). During Mrs
Yu-Foo’s 25 years close affinity with SNCF, she served as member of SNCF
Board of Trustees, Deputy Chairperson and later chairing the Board of Trustees
and the Central Co-operative Fund Committee. In recognition of her important
contributions to the growth and development of our Co-operative Movement, Mrs
Yu-Foo was awarded the Rochdale Medal by SNCF in 1997.
Conclusion
15
It gives me great pleasure to invite her to address us. Please join me to welcome
Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon on stage.
Copywriting Direction: Developing a a base of Co-operative Scholars
Meet the Co-operative Scholars 2010
Singapore National Co-operative Federation
Co-operative Scholarship
The Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF), the apex organisation of cooperatives, will hand out two scholarships this year to bright young people with a heart.
We invite you to interview the new scholars who are expected to add a spark of youth to
the co-operative movement. The Co-operative Scholars are different: they are selected
not merely on the basis of academic excellence. They have to have a social mission –
that is benefit the co-operative’s members and the community – while ensuring that the
co-operative runs profitably.
The 2010 scholars are:
Eugene Tan
Kwek Yi Jun (Ms)
They will be awarded their scholarships at SNCF’s 29th Anniversary Dinner to be held at
Hilton Singapore on 7th July 2010. The Guest-of-Honour will be Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon,
Minister-of-State for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. (An
invitation to the dinner is attached.)
In keeping with SNCF’s focus on youth and talent, the theme for this year’s Anniversary
Dinner will be: “Co-op’s got talent”. It will be an evening of fun, where scholars and staff
of co-operatives will show off their talents, hidden or otherwise.
The entire segment of the evening devoted to the 2010 scholarship awards will be
managed by the Co-operative Scholars of 2008 and 2009. They will be emcees for this
segment as the awards are handed out, and follow this up with a “light painting” show,
using torchlights to form the words “Paint the future”.
The scholarships, introduced in 2008, are part of SNCF’s efforts to attract talented
young people into the co-operative fold to rejuvenate the Movement. Other initiatives
include an outreach programme targeted at secondary schools, junior colleges and
tertiary institutions. Under the programme, SNCF conducts talks on the Co-operative
Movement and its benefits and conducts camps for school children.
In fact, SNCF will place a major focus on youth in the coming years to attract the right
young people to take the Co-operative Movement forward and to become part of the
emerging leadership needed for the future.
Since 2008, nine scholars have been selected for the Co-operative Scholarship – three
in 2008, four in 2009 and two in 2010.
Copywriting Direction: Youth Co-operators Work Hard and Play Hard
The “Superheroes” Camp:
At first thought, building catapults and forming human conveyor belts may not seem to be
directly related to the Co-operative Movement. However, it was through these teambonding
games and activities that allowed students from various campus co-operatives to appreciate the
core co-operative values, such as self-help and mutual help. Co-operative Scholars and cooperators of Bendemeer Secondary School, CHIJ St. Theresa’s Convent School, ITE colleges
and Orchid Park Secondary School participated in this teambuilding camp at Costa Sands
Resort, organised by SNCF. Irving Lim and Alex Shieh, Co-operative Scholars for Year 2008
and 2009, originated “Clash of the Heroes” as the theme for the camp. They believe
superheroes are driven with their mission to save the world; the importance of a social mission
in every co-operative was reinforced through the activities over the two-day camp.
The young co-operators also learnt to identify challenges they encountered at the campus cooperatives; and provided solutions. They exchanged pointers and ideas, assessing possible
solutions to resolve pertinent issues that limit the growth of their co-operatives. Aside from their
newfound knowledge and real-life applications about co-operatives, participating students
benefitted from one other takeaway, the golden opportunity to interact with the Scholars and
student co-operators with similar interest, form new friendships and forge new networks.
Copywriting Direction: Recognizing Unique talents across the Co-operative Sector
SNCF 29th Anniversary Celebrations
Co-op’s Got Talent
SNCF recognises every co-operator as a unique individual with talents waiting to be discovered
and developed.
These talents were brought to the fore when SNCF held its 29th Anniversary celebrations – Coop’s Got Talent on 7 July 2010, where Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, the Minister of State for
Community Development, Youth and Sports, was Guest-of-Honour.
Passion
The Co-operative Scholarship Award was presented to individuals who were selected not just
for their academic achievement, but also for their passion and commitment to serve the Cooperative Movement and the community. Into its third year running, the prestigious scholarship
went to Mr Eugene Tan and Ms Kwek Yi Jun, who would be pursuing a double degree in
Chemical Engineering and Business, and a degree in Business in the National University of
Singapore respectively.
Entrepreneurial spirit
SNCF also acknowledged individuals who represent the spirit of entrepreneurship in a cooperator. Ms Joan Tan, 2009 Co-operative Scholar, displayed a strong interest in drawing at a
young age. What started out first as a hobby where Joan used to paint shoes for friends has
now developed into an online business via her blog shop.
Uniqueness
Raw talents were discovered among staff and members of SNCF affiliates as they competed
against each other in the inaugural ‘Co-op’s Got Talent’ contest. Among a variety of song and
dance acts, three individuals outshined other talents
to rise as the winners of Co-op’s Got Talent. Ms Istifarah Puteri, member of ITE Co-operative,
won the hearts of the crowd with her two-in-one winning performance, while first runner-up, Ms
Fara Abdul, Head, Professional Development of Educare Co-operative, brought the house down
with her power vocals. Second runner-up, Mr Ranjit Singh, Audit Committee Member of
Singapore Prison Service Multi-Purpose Co-operative, amazed the audience with his Hokkien
number. What was most amazing was the display of hidden talents that really took centrestage
among co-operators.
SNCF would like to thank sponsors Choice Décor Co-operative, NTUC FairPrice, NTUC First
Campus, NUS Multi-Purpose Co-operative, Premier Security Co-operative, Seacare Cooperative, Telecoms Credit Co-operative (TCC) and UOB Asset Management for their generous
support.
2011
Copywriting direction: Communicating Key Thrusts to Affiliates
NEW YEAR RECEPTION 2011
INTRODUCTION
Members of the Central Co-operative Fund Committee
Members of the Executive Council
Fellow Co-operators and Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good evening and thank you for joining us to welcome the New Year, here at the Hard Rock
Cafe. I am informed that the slogan for the Hard Rock Cafe is, “Love All. Serve All”. This is very
similar to the spirit of the co-operative movement. I feel we are off to a good start this evening!
This time last year, I shared with you the Four Key Thrusts of SNCF. Tonight, I am happy to
share with you the progress made against these key thrusts and also to share with you the
plans for 2011 and beyond.
KEY THRUST 1: Building Capabilities & Capacities, Raising Professionalism, Improving
Governance & Promoting Leadership Succession
Year-to-date as at end December 2010, we have increased training hours by 234% from 1,914
hours to 4,639 hours in comparison to FY09/10. This is a significant milestone that helps build
our capabilities towards the continued success for the Co-operative Movement.
Seminars, workshops and classes included: Changing Mindset to Shape our own Future; Digital
Marketing: Understanding Search and Leveraging on Social Media; Corporate Governance;
Policies and Procedures; New Operation Initiatives for Credit Sector and Prudential
Requirements.
While SNCF will continue to conduct specific co-operative training, we have teamed up with MIS
and MDIS to offer generic courses at attractive corporate discounts to you. I would like to
encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity to send your staff for upgrading.
SNCF will continue to partner with well-known training operators to give you more options at
affordable prices.
By popular demand, SNCF will hold the next Annual Co-operatives Leaders Conference (ACLC)
out of Singapore, in Jakarta, Indonesia this May.
KEY THRUST 2:
Strengthen Relationship with SNCF Stakeholders, including Affiliates
It is heartening for me to share with you the results of the recent Customer Satisfaction Survey
conducted amongst our affiliates and the Registry of Co-operative Societies officers in July
2010. You have given SNCF a 72.86 out of 100 level of positive customer satisfaction against a
target of 60. This result encourages us to further improve ourselves with the next survey to be
conducted in the next FY.
We also want to thank you for your wonderful hospitality each time we visit you. It is not the
number of visits, but the quality time that we spend together to understand you, your co-
operative, what are your challenges and areas that you have been doing well that is so
important. SNCF initiatives stamp from your needs and when these needs are common needs,
SNCF will work with you co-operatively, on the solutions. Some examples are: the Deposit and
Loans IT System, a shared IT initiative for the Credit Sector; participation in Career Fairs,
exhibitions to increase awareness and to showcase our affiliates in order to attract potential staff
for you.
KEY THRUST 3:
Raise Awareness and Visibility of Co-operatives and Co-operative Principles, to Form
New and Sustainable Co-operatives, and to Grow the Co-operative Membership Base
As a first step, SNCF has brought the Co-operative Stories to secondary schools and Junior
Colleges through their career fairs and talks. We have also participated in various youth events.
This is beginning to bear fruit. Year-to-date as of December 2010, a total of 3370 individuals
heard and learnt from SNCF about co-operatives and co-operative principles.
SNCF is proud to be one of the major sponsors of the 12th Start-Up@Singapore program, a
flagship project of the National University of Singapore. For the past 11 years, it has attracted
more than 1,800 teams and 6,000 participants averaging more than 500 participants p.a.
Participating countries include Singapore, Australia, Canada, Norway, Pakistan, Russia,
Greece, the Philippines and Indonesia. It has spawned more than 60 start ups, including awardwinning businesses such as: tenCube, FriarTuck, Perceptive, World Indigo, PurpleAce.
The main highlight of this exciting event is a business competition featuring, for the first time, a
Co-operative Category. Students who choose to participate and compete in this category have
to submit a competitive business plan and present their co-operative business models. The
winning co-operative business model will then be adopted by a group of interested individuals to
form a co-operative. SNCF is prepared to help the co-operative with a start-up grant, if
necessary. (You can log on to: http://startup.org.sg/stakeholders/gold-sponsor)
KEY THRUST 4:
Advocate and Promote a Dynamic, Vibrant, Innovative and Relevant Co-operative
Movement
We are glad to launch the refreshed, SNCF logo. The word „co-operative‟ is captured in the
alphabet „C‟. This differentiates SNCF from all other Singapore National bodies, as the „C‟
represents the Co-operative.
An „=„ symbol forms part of the „F‟ within the SNCF logo, representing equality among the cooperative members. Bold and strong typeface is selected to represent strength and solidarity
while blue is the color that symbolizes resilience and steadfastness. SNCF secondary colors of
fresh green, warm orange and vibrant pink signify the youth, senior and community sectors.
These colors are dynamic, fresh and contemporary. These add vibrancy to the otherwise
serious tone of royal and cool blue. You will notice the different adaptation of the refreshed
SNCF logo tonight and I know we have your resounding endorsement.
More Exciting Developments
Applications for the 2011 SNCF Co-operative Scholarship are currently opened. You will see
more exposure in print, outdoor and social media this year. We want to reach out to the youths
and target them where they most often congregate, both in the real and virtual worlds. At the
same time, we will also create the awareness of SNCF and the Co-operative Movement to the
public.
We have successfully reached out to youths through the Facebook in the 2010 campaign. This
year, SNCF will expand our reach beyond Facebook, reaching out to potential scholars through
a partnership with BrightSparks. In addition, we have extended the reach to common youth
hangouts through outdoor prints at the SCAPE at Orchard Road, Victoria Street and Plaza
Singapura along Dhoby Ghaut.
This Scholarship is opened to co-operators‟ family members, so spread the word around and
have them apply for the Co-operative Scholarship.
International Year of Co-operatives 2012
This year will be an exciting one, with the energetic build-up to 2012, the International Year of
Co-operatives as declared by the United Nations. SNCF will be engaging your respective sector
Chairs in our planning and we know you will support this effort to create the awareness of the
co-operative movement in a big way, in Singapore. The UN launch will be held in New York on
31 October while we will launch the IYC during SNCF‟s Anniversary Dinner on 3 December
2011.
CONCLUSION
By now all of you should have a set of coasters which carries the SNCF‟s refreshed logo on one
side and an interesting fact about each of our co-operative members on the other. There are 71
types of such coasters. Find out more about your fellow co-operators by exchanging coasters,
and explore possible ways to co-operate and collaborate over food and drinks tonight.
Thank you for coming and have a pleasant evening and a great year ahead.
Copywriting Direction: Leveraging on the social imperative as a natural advantage of cooperatives in differentiating in competitive marketplace
ACLC 2011
The 2011 ACLC has been hosted in Jakarta at the warm invitation of our Indonesian cooperative counterparts. It provided a fantastic forum for face-to-face dialogue, networking and
fellowship. The ACLC is also a great opportunity for such changes to take place, so that we
learn and share with each other. This gathering of co-operators provides an opportunity for Cooperative Members to reflect on what makes the Co-operative Movement different from any
other enterprise. This human element is deeply embedded in the Cooperative spirit. And it has
revealed itself at crucial moments in our history.
The Rochdale Principles of 1844 reminds us of the potential of achieving great things, when we
come together and help one another. In Singapore, the Modernization Seminar of the labour
movement in 1969, crystalized the twin roles that co-operatives play in pursuing both economic
gain and social impact. As Co-operatives cruise into the International Year of Co-operatives in
2012, the Co-operative Movement celebrates this human element by making known to the
broader community about how co-operative enterprises build a better world.
This search for differentiation is not unique to co-operatives today. \ 20 years ago, a surprising
number of corporations that were on the Fortune 500 list are now no longer on it, while the most
recent spate of economic crisis has eliminated others entirely. 10% of enterprises that were
hailed as „great companies‟ by Jim Collins 10 years ago, are no longer in existence today. On
the other hand, those which have stood the test of time, are not only surviving, they are thriving.
And they have done so, by being relevant and differentiated.
As responsible stewards to the hard-earned contributions of members, co-operatives are
obliged to succeed and remain sustainable. Which is why today, we will be taking a closer look
at this topic of „differentiation‟.
Esteemed speakers from leading enterprises of both the commercial and co-operative sectors
shared thoughts on this topic. Mr Kelvin Seah, VP of Sales and Marketing Meritus Group of
Hotels and Resorts brings with him vast experience in managing brands in the hospitality
industry. Under his leadership, these brands are now recognized as benchmarks for excellence,
even beyond their core sector. Since the commencement of its rebranding exercise, Mandarin
Orchard registered an astonishing leap in improvement in customer satisfaction levels.
In its annual study of category leaders, the Singapore Management University found that
Mandarin Orchard achieved an impressive 4.2 points jump in improvement, compared with the
overall tourism industry, which tracked an average improvement of only 2.2 points. We will gain
at least 3 useful insights from Kelvin‟s presentation. First, we will learn from his experience in
optimizing the Meritus portfolio of brands, to achieve success as a group and as a stand-alone
enterprise. Second, we will be privy to first-hand information on what it took to steer a
successful rebranding exercise. Third, we will be given a glimpse into how Mandarin Orchard
managed to faithfully cascade its brand values of Asian hospitality into measurable returns at
the customer experience level.
Another key note speaker, Joanna Wong, is General Manager of Eu Yan Sang International.
Under Joanna‟s transformational leadership, the Eu Yan Sang brand is today, a household
name that is instantly recognizable by all Singaporeans. In fact, I also understand that Eu Yan
Sang‟s popularity in superior traditional Chinese medicine, has also gained a marvellous
reputation amongst the Chinese community in Indonesia.
The brand has come a long way from their humble beginnings more than 130 years ago. It has
amassed outstanding accolades in branding, service and quality excellence. And in having
successfully differentiated itself from other TCM retailers, Eu Yan Sang has also transformed its
category, and has “given tradition a future”.
To share with us how co-operatives can too differentiate themselves, we are honoured to have
two exemplary co-operatives speak on this topic. They are, Perry Ong, CEO of NTUC Foodfare
Co-operative and Lim Chee Pheng, Chairman of Premier Security Co-operative. Perry will share
with us Foodfare‟s role in differentiating itself through their social mission of moderating prices
of cooked food for the common man. And in leading by example, Foodfare has received positive
public recognition that has in turn, reinforced its position as the benchmark for the industry to
follow.
Chee Pheng will be speaking on Premier‟s success in forging an edge in a market of highly
competitive security companies, by making good use of the invaluable experience and
knowledge of retired Police and Armed Forces officers, as key members of its capable security
team.
After our lunch break, we will be sharing some good news with you. These involve new funding
initiatives, and shared services that SNCF‟s affiliates will stand to benefit from. There has also
been much hype surrounding the launch of the International Year of Co-operatives in 2012, and
we will be pleased to provide you with an update on this momentous milestone event.
For the very first time in ACLC, we have with us two scholars from the SNCF scholarship
program, Irving Lim and Jaeden Tan. They will share with us their perspectives on the
cooperative movement its potential impact on character building and formation. We are
delighted to have Shoba Gunasekaran, General Manager from TCC host these scholars, in an
interactive dialogue session that will take place just after lunch.
This will be followed by another insightful dialogue session with our Indonesian counterparts,
DEKOPIN, the Indonesian Credit Union and the National Federation of Indonesian Dairy
Cooperative. I believe that we will benefit from their sharing on how co-operatives are run in a
vast country like Indonesia.
We will bring this conference to a close by breaking out into discussion groups where all of you
will be given the opportunity to apply what has been shared. I‟m happy to inform you that all
participants of this break-out session will be rewarded with an NTUC Fairprice voucher in
appreciation for your ideas and for sharing them with us.
At this point, I would like all of you here to join me in putting our hands together in appreciation
for our guest speakers, our hosts, our scholars, our Indonesian counterparts, and our
facilitators, without whom, we wouldn‟t be having this conference today.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for coming to this year‟s ACLC, and
for spending this long weekend with us. I am confident that with your active engagement, this
conference will be another resounding success.
And so, as this conference commences, I would like to encourage you to bear in mind the
significance of our co-operative difference, and the vast potential of what we can do, when we
appreciate, recognize and harness the potential of the human element that is embedded in each
of our social mission.
Copywriting Direction: SNCF in support of Co-operative Development
2 New SNCF Affiliate Co-operatives for 2011 Singapore Marine Aquaculture Co-operative
The newest and first-of-its-kind Singapore Marine Aquaculture Co-operative (SMAC) was
formed by 24 fish farmers, who own eight farms in total. They banded together to reel in better
harvests and net better deals from buyers and suppliers. By reaping greater economies-ofscale, their hope was to reduce costs via bulk purchases. “The co-op has inked a contract to
buy 800,000 fish fry a month until April next year from a hatchery in Indonesia, and is also in
talks with supermarkets such as Cold Storage and Giant to clinch sales”, shared co-op CEO Mr
Philip Lim.
The co-op’s goal is to scale up the production of the four main types of fish reared here –
seabass, tiger grouper, red snapper and golden trevally – to an average of 120 tonnes a month
for each farm by next year. In the whole of last year, each farm harvested an average of 60
tonnes of fish.
A project that will improve the farming technology which costs about $5.6 million is also in place,
paid for by members and raised with the help of investors.
“If a co-op like this doesn’t exist, over time, the number of fish farmers here will dwindle due to
competition from imports,” said Mr Samuel Chua, SNCF Senior Manager.
Mr Lee Van Voon, 44, who harvested about five tonnes of tiger grouper last year, is confident
that he can more than double his output this year with the co-op’s help. “Without a co-op, we
cannot negotiate for a better price for fry and feed. If our order is not big enough, suppliers tell
us to wait,” said the owner of a small farm near Pulau Ubin.
Mr Lim is upbeat about the prospects of SMAC. “With our technology and experience, we can
meet our targets,” he said. He added that he wants to increase co-op membership to 60 by the
end of the year. The co-op also has a strong social mission in place. Aside from benefiting the
economic and social well-being of fish farmers, they are also in collaboration with Andrew &
Grace Home to provide training and job opportunities to troubled teens who are interested to
take up marine aquaculture as a career.
(With reference to The Straits Times, Thursday, 20 Jan 2011)
REVERSE Co-operative
SNCF welcomes yet another new affiliate co-operative into the fold: REVERSE (Re-Employing
Valuable Economic Resources to Serve Elders) Co-operative. Formed by senior professionals
and retirees, the co-op’s purpose is to provide retraining and job opportunities to the elderly in
Singapore.
Their social mission involves rebuilding the dignity and well-being of seniors who have lost their
jobs through retrenchment or retirement by offering a platform to improve the members’
(seniors’) income.
Their wish is to promote active ageing and prevent social isolation among seniors.
REVERSE seeks to support seniors in line with these seven-dimensions of wellness:
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Re-igniting interest in life after ‘working life’ and promoting the habit of giving back to the
society
Emotional stability with an avenue of generating income and dependence
Vocational acquisition of new skills and gainful deployment
Engaging intellectually with one another in serving society
Revitalising demurred elders physically with a network of sharing in a community
Social network of a co-op of learning, playing and working together in a community
Economic well-being through group welfare and employment and/or discretionary
income
REVERSE now owns a central kitchen in All Saints’ Homes (a Voluntary Welfare Organisation
which operates two nursing homes in Hougang and in Tampines) and delivers all meals to its
residents on a daily basis. With its strengths in food preparation catered to the needs of elderly
residents in All Saints’ Homes, REVERSE has plans to expand its food catering to more nursing
homes in Singapore.
Copywriting Direction: Driving Results for SNCF Scholarship Drive
The SNCF Scholarship is an undergraduate degree scholarship that supports talented, highcalibre students with a heart for the people.
Launched by the Singapore National Co-operative Federation since 2008, the SNCF
Scholarship was introduced to attract, develop and nurture suitable talents to enter the ranks of
the Co-operative Movement in Singapore.
Because of this social value and mission, the scholarship is also one that provides a “hands-on”
experience to all its scholars during each University vacation through programmes and activities
such as attachments to SNCF and its affiliated co-operatives.
The scholars have the courage to strive for academic excellence and to make a difference to
society through the Co-operative Movement.
This year, 252 applications were received from this year’s scholarship recruitment campaign. 87
candidates were requested for essay submission, from the eventual 50 essays that were
submitted, we have met 19 of them. Eventually 3 scholars were shortlisted for the year 2011,
after 2 rounds of interviews.
Start-UP@SG
The interview starts with an introduction about the difference between a co-operative and
corporation, whereby a co-operative is a business model driven by a social mission. Also, there
are sometimes co-op to co-op collaborations that does not exist in a traditional business model.
The teams discuss in detail, their business plans and the methodology of growing mushrooms
and tomatoes respectively. They then touched on how the co-operative business model has a
social mission that goes beyond taking care of the environment, but also helps moderate food
prices and provides employment opportunities for retirees and people who are shunned by
employers. People who are interested to join are not subjected to do farming only; they can
contribute in other aspects, like accounting etc.
The benefits of being part of the co-operative model is having a greater network and reach, and
being able to leverage on other co-operatives for help, like NTUC FairPrice. Furthermore, a cooperative is self-sustainable because members will fund the initial start of the campaign. They
ended the show by telling listeners who are interested and considering to find out more, to visit
SNCF’s website.
Performance Reports from 4 sectors
Campus Co-operatives Sector
Over the years, the campus sector has definitely remained as one of the top priorities of the
Singapore National Co-operative Movement. It is very important to educate the youths of today
to be resilient and to care for the society and community. Thus, together with SNCF, we
constantly promote co-operative awareness and education for the youths at campuses. Through
the Co-operative Movement and the many principles it holds, we strive to mould and develop
the youths’ characters.
The partnership between NUS Co-op and NTUC First Campus in setting child care services in
NUS has been a tremendous move that shows collaboration between co-operatives. And the
recent collaboration by NUS Co-op to work with NUS Student Union in garnering members for
NUS Co-op (7000 new members in the year 2010) has been a giant step in helping the Cooperative outreach to the youth.
I am honoured to have been involved in the last few years’ selection process of SNCF Cooperative Scholars. Looking at the increasing calibre and number of applicants that SNCF Cooperative Scholarship attracts over the years, I am heartened to have interviewed talented and
enthusiastic youth coming from all backgrounds and heading to different courses in universities,
all having 1 common wish, which is to join and serve the Co-operative Movement. I hope to see
more of such youths gaining the SNCF Co-operative Scholarship’s help and boost to their
pursuit in their course of studies and future career.
The three years that I have spent as the Campus Chairman have been very eventful and I am
glad to be part of the youth outreach program through the Co-operative Movement. I would like
to thank Mr. Chan Tee Seng, the Chairman of SNCF, all the EXCO members and all the past
and present staff members in SNCF for their invaluable support.
As we embark in the new year, let us all support the Co-operative Movement and garner more
stakeholders by reaching out, increasing the awareness, and educating the youths because the
youths of today are truly the future Co-operators that will serve the future generations to come.
Dr Tan Sun Teck
Chairman
Credit Sector
Request from relationship manager (to be added into report):
“Dr. Tan would like to include the camps (3 camps so far): “the camps you organised for the
young cooperators and point out the importance of nurturing these young people as future
leaders for Singapore's cooperatives.”
I would not say ‘future leaders’, but more on potential youth ambassadors to spread cooperative awareness. If it is necessary to include the objective of the camp, it would be: sharing
among co-operators, character building, and mentorship training platform for SNCF scholars.”
Credit Co-operatives Sector
The past three years have been a challenging period for the credit co-operatives in Singapore.
In September 2008, Lehman Brothers collapsed, and the world shares from Sydney to Mumbai
tumbled like a stack of cards. Credit ratings for banks in the United States were virtually
ineffectual at that time.
Thankfully, the fundamentals of credit co-operatives were, and still are, strong. No doubt, some
co-operatives were not spared losses due to investments in financial instruments during the
financial crisis, but their members rallied together and supported the movement. There were
neither panic withdrawals of deposits nor mass resignation of members. Further, many changes
were put in place to safeguard the interest and savings of our members. Today, the credit cooperative community in Singapore is stronger and more vibrant than ever before.
Prudential Requirements
During the financial crisis, the Registry of Co-operative Societies came out with a set of new
rules with the intention of strengthening prudence in operations and accountability to members,
improving risk management standards of the credit co-operatives sector and refocusing on the
core thrift and loan business.
The credit co-operatives came together and formed a Credit Task Force to work with the
Registry on these new rules. The Credit Task Force was tasked to review the prudential
requirements and manage any negative publicity that might cause panic in the sector. Together
with the Management of SNCF, the Credit Task Force held many meetings, conducted studies
and met with senior officials in the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports to
discuss the implications of these rules.
Such consultation process among the representatives from credit co-operatives, SNCF and the
Registry had been beneficial to the sector. It helped foster greater understanding among the
stakeholders, improve governance and prudency, and prepare the credit co-operatives to uplift
the standards of their financial management. This also augurs well with all stakeholders for
continuous consultation process in future as the sector continues to forge ahead in helping their
members through good and bad times. The management and staff of credit co-operatives are
now better equipped in managing and safeguarding depositors’ funds.
Affiliates-centric Approach
The SNCF has also evolved to become more affiliates-centric. Under the leadership of a new
CEO, SNCF has established a relationship management approach to strengthen ties with its
stakeholders, including all credit co-operatives.
SNCF is thus, more able to plan and act for the Credit Sector, including efforts to customise
training sessions for our needs. For example, a representative from the World Council of Credit
Union was invited to visit and conduct training for the credit co-operatives. Workshops and
training sessions, partnering with the experts in their field, were also organised and tailored to
the Credit Sector.
Having specialists in SNCF to represent credit co-operatives has also smoothened the
processes that previously seemed too daunting to overcome. Apart from liaising with the
authorities, the SNCF relationship management team facilitated the by-law amendment issues,
reviewed and briefed co-operators on the deposit guarantee contracts and simplified the
registration process of all credit co-operativess through close collaboration with the Registry.
More such initiatives, including shared services in IT systems, will be continuously rolled out
based on the requirements of credit co-operatives.
Raising the Profile of the Credit Sector
There is a strong need to raise the profile and public awareness of the services that the Credit
Sector offers its members, and society as a whole. Many credit co-operatives – such as TCC,
the Singapore Teachers’ Co-operative Society, the Singapore Government Staff Credit Cooperative and Singapore Statutory Boards Employees' Co-Operative Thrift and Loan Society –
worked with SNCF in providing the press with information to promote the credit movement in a
positive light. This has brought forth much good publicity for the Credit Sector.
The SNCF is also working with its partners to elevate the profile of our sector. The Credit
Sector’s activities and benefits are also propagated to the general public by partnering with
external parties such as NUS and Credit Counselling Singapore. The credit co-operatives are
committed to continuing the good work that they have done for their members and to reach out
to those who wish to be part of the co-operative family.
The Future
The Credit Sector has shown that it is resilient and has endured the difficult times of the past
three years with good results. The economy has since recovered and many programmes have
been put in place to continue to strengthen the credit co-operatives.
This positive outlook will pave the way for the emergence of many strong credit co-operatives
which will not only do well in their thrift and loan businesses, but also continue to incorporate the
strong social mission of helping their members meet their financial needs.
Dr R. Theyvendran, PBM
Chairman
Credit Sector
NTUC Sector
As part of the labour movement, the 12 NTUC Social Enterprises (NTUC SEs) focus on meeting
the needs of working families. These are in the key areas of food and basic living needs;
education and employability; housing; financial security; health and wellness, and recreation
and sports.
As with other cooperatives, NTUC SEs were created to deliver social impact (Do Good) through
financially sustainable and profitable business models (Do Well). Today, NTUC SEs employ
about 13,000 staff, and serve some 2 million customers a year. A number of them have become
market leaders in their respective industries. These include NTUC FairPrice in grocery retailing;
NTUC Income in life, annuities, health and motor insurance; NTUC First Campus in early
childhood education and care, and NTUC LearningHub in continuing education and training.
Stretching the Dollar for Working Families
NTUC SEs help stretch the dollar for working families, while providing quality, accessibility and
variety. They do so in three key ways.
First, they set benchmark prices for essential products and services such as food and
household items, and healthcare. Second, they offer direct price discounts, rebates, LinkPoints,
and cash bonuses to working families. In 2010, NTUC SEs collectively gave out $80 million
worth of these. Finally, NTUC SEs seek to create value for their customers. For instance, NTUC
FairPrice realised about $27 million in savings for its customers in 2010 with its extended range
of housebrand items which are on average about 10 per cent cheaper than comparable national
brands.
In addition, NTUC SEs also give an added boost to lower income workers. In 2010, they
contributed a total of $6.3 million to the U Care Fund to support the Labour Movement’s
assistance programmes which benefited over 110,000 NTUC members and their families.
Instilling Organisational Excellence
In maximising social impact, NTUC SEs also endeavour to do this with excellence. For instance,
NTUC LearningHub was acknowledged for its efforts to instil quality and business excellence;
and to develop its people. It received 6 awards in 2010, including the Enterprise 50, Singapore
Prestige Brand, and People Developer Awards. The NTUC Plus! Visa Card was also among the
top three winners in the best credit/debit card category at the AsiaOne People’s Choice 2010
Awards for bringing savings and lifestyle benefits to working families.
NTUC SE2015 Vision
On 14 April 2011, Chairman of the NTUC Social Enterprise Development Council, Lim Boon
Heng shared the NTUC SE2015 Vision which articulates a collective commitment by NTUC SEs
to expand their social impact in the next five years. This will be done in three key ways. First,
they will expand their role to stabilise the prices of essential products and services. Second,
they will be innovative in their approach to meet new and emergent needs. Third, they will
expand services to support three-generational families to build an inclusive home for all who live
in Singapore.
Mr Zee Yong Kang
Chairman
NTUC Sector
Service Sector
In the last three years, faced with a market that was characterised by fluctuating variables, our
members found forecasting to be a difficult task.
In 2009, two new co-operatives joined the Service Sector, namely WeWorkz Co-operative and
Community Kitchen Co-operative. In 2011, we welcomed another two – Reverse Co-operative
and Singapore Marine Aquaculture Co-operative – bringing the total number of co-operatives in
the Service Sector to 23.
Programmes for Affiliates
In view of the current market outlook, the Service Sector Committee, with the help of the SNCF
Secretariat, embarked on programmes to assist our affiliates. These were in the areas of
strengthening relationships among all the affiliated co-operatives and partners; raising
awareness and visibility through propagating co-operative principles and values; raising
professionalism through capacity and capability development, and increasing revenue and
membership. Our affiliates actively participated in the training courses, seminars, workshops,
conferences, trade and job fairs and other social events organised by SNCF. Attendance was
encouraging, with at least 65% of Service Sector affiliates participating in each of these
programmes.
In the 2010/2011 financial year, we organised four networking lunches and two workshops for
our affiliates. The networking lunches, which were sponsored by Seacare Co-operative,
garnered the participation of 40 key officials from 18 Service Sector affiliates. These networking
lunch sessions provided us with information on their business opportunities and operational
problems and also promote a better working relationship among the Service Sector cooperators.
To assist in raising the professionalism and to strengthen the relationship and co-operation
among the affiliates, we organised two workshops. The first workshop, ‘Uncover the Creativity
within Yourself’, was held at Batam Resort Island from 24 to 25 July 2010. A total of 32 cooperators from 14 co-operatives attended this workshop. The second workshop, ‘Business Risk
Management’, was organised on 26 March 2011 in Singapore. We had an attendance of 30 key
officials from 12 co-operatives. For both workshops we received very positive feedback from the
participants. The participants welcomed these workshops and looked forward to more such
sessions to be organised, especially to benefit our smaller co-operatives in the Service Sector.
Customer Satisfaction
At the New Year Reception celebration on 13 January 2011, Mr Chan Tee Seng, Chairman of
NCF Executive Council, highlighted that the Service Sector had scored 77.43% for positive
customer satisfaction against a target of 60%. This has given me the confidence to announce
at the New Year Reception that the Service Sector strongly supported and endorsed the
programmes of the International Year of Co-operatives 2012.
Last but not the least, I thank my fellow affiliates and secretariat for their great support and
dedication to the co-operative movement.
Mr Leow Ching Chuan
Chairman
Service Sector
SNCF TGA Report: Insights & Impacts
INSIGHTS & IMPACTS
STRATEGIC OUTLOOK
(Information not in)
INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT
ICA-GA
(Copyrighting direction: Mr Seah’s Re-Election to the Global Board of the ICA)
Never in the 112-year history of International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) had a Singaporean sat
on its Board till the year 2005 when Mr Seah Kian Peng was elected to the Board.
On 23 November 2009, it was with great pride that we announced Mr Seah’s (former Chairman
and current Trustee of SNCF) re-election to the Global Board of the ICA for a new four year
term from 2009 to 2013.
The election, during the one-week ICA General Assembly 2009 at the Geneva International
Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, saw a total of 22 candidates contesting for a seat
on the 15-member board.
The re-election is a strong endorsement of Mr Seah’s leadership and passion for the Cooperative Movement not only in Singapore but at an international level as well.
Commenting on his reelection, Mr Seah said: “I am indeed honoured and humbled by the
results. I am grateful to members of the ICA for their vote of confidence in me and also to SNCF
for their nomination and strong support rendered to me. I shall endeavour to do my best to help
ICA achieve its strategic objectives in the areas of membership, influence, development and
governance.”
Mr Seah also pointed out that the re-election is an indication that ICA acknowledges the
strength of our co-operatives here. “Though a small Movement by international standards, we
have shown that quality counts and even in a global city like Singapore, co-operatives have a
relevant and important role to play. It is also a recognition of the good reputation of our country
and the strong brand name that is “Singapore”,” said Mr Seah, who is Managing Director (Group
Business) of NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Limited and a Member of Parliament,
Marine Parade GRC. Leading a contingent of 20 Singaporean delegates to this year’s General
Assembly, Mr Chan Tee Seng, Chairman, SNCF Executive Council said, “The ICA Board is the
highest body representing 800 million co-operative members throughout the world. The 22member ICA Board is like the “G-20” equivalent of co-operative organisations. The SNCF is
very proud that Mr Seah has been re-elected to the Board of the global body. It is a very strong
testimony and recognition for the role that co-operatives have played in Singapore society, and
Kian Peng’s contributions and leadership at the international level. We are very proud for Kian
Peng, and indeed, for Singapore.”
UN-IYC
Minutes to be inserted:
- Working Committee
- Steering Committee
(Information not in)
Direction for Copywriting:
1. Ms Dolly Goh ascension as a member for National Committee for IYC
2. Unveiling of UN logo, slogan and Singapore program for 2012 IYC
The United Nations Slogan and Logo
IYC slogan, “Co-operative enterprises build a better world”.
The logo portrays co-operative enterprises as autonomous associations of persons united
voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, cultural needs and aspirations, through a
jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.
It features seven gender-neutral persons working together to lift and support a cube which
represents the various aspirations upon which cooperative enterprises are built, and the
achievements that can be attained. They represent the seven principles of the cooperative
movement,







Voluntary and open membership,
Democratic member control,
Member economic participation,
Autonomy and independence,
Education, training, and information
Cooperation among cooperatives, and
Concern for the community.
International Year of Co-operatives advance the Singapore movement is a springboard for the
Co-operative Movement to create the awareness and visibility it needs.
On the 8th of March, Singapore’s IYC National Committee convened with representation from
the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. It approved a set of programs for
the IYC. And as a member of this National Committee, I can attest to the excitement that is in
the brew. Many of these programs will be undertaken for the first time in Singapore’s cooperative history.
Singapore’s IYC program aims to first capture the attention of our members, then the broader
community, comprising youths and seniors. We believe that co-operatives enterprises can
indeed build a better world, only when three aspects of society are addressed:


When character builds better individuals
When co-operation builds better communities

And when conscience builds better businesses.
The National Committee’s IYC program caters to these three themes.
Children’s Storybooks
A series of children’s storybooks that aim to interest juniors of between 4 to 8 years old in the
co-operative principles of self and mutual help, of resilience and of compassion will be
launched.
Youth Photography Competition
A photography and short-film competition for youths and amateur artists to capture and
showcase their perspectives of the co-operative movement through the lens of a camera will be
launched.
Large scale Co-operatives’ Members Event
The Co-operative members will embark on a ‘Co-operative Movement’ in a literal sense, by
mobilizing co-operative members from all walks of life to come together, and set new records.
Symposium & Conference with the National University of Singapore Center for Social
Enterprise
A series of conferences will also be launched to inspire research into the value of social impact,
and to inspire the official adoption of co-operative principles in secondary schools, junior
colleges, polytechnics and universities curriculum, so that students are able to learn and grow
both in the mind and the heart.
As exciting as these programs may sound, I wish to remind all of us, that the movement and the
apex body, is of little significance, unless our affiliates, all of you choose to make the difference.
And it truly delights me, every time I reminisce about our unforgettable New Year Reception at
Hard Rock Cafe, when all of you, led by each of our sector chairman pledged your unanimous
support for the IYC program! Some of you have already started to include the word ‘Cooperatives’ in your name in press releases. Great! This is just the beginning. Keep it up!
And indeed, there are multiple opportunities for all of us to gain from this, and to collectively
make this program a reality. We will be making the IYC visual identity available to all of you, so
that you may choose to incorporate it in your marketing materials, even in your signature section
of your emails.
In addition, the IYC National Committee members and SNCF team would be most happy to
meet with you and discuss possible opportunities which could come in forms of sponsorships,
volunteers, co-marketing such as featuring IYC in your newsletters, website etc.., and most
importantly, the mobilization of your strong membership base to participate in these programs. I
therefore invite all of you to come together, support the Singapore IYC program, and make
history.
In closing, I hope that many of you would find this slate of announcement to be invigorating as it
is reassuring. Much of what we have embarked on, was based on feedback that we have
gathered from you, through various fact finding initiatives, including last year’s Customer
Satisfaction Survey.
Moving forward, SNCF will continue to listen as much as we act, to serve, as much as we lead.
And together with you, we shall most certainly make the difference. Thank you and I hope that
you will enjoy this second half of the Annual Co-operative Leader’s Conference.
SNCF ACCU/ WOCCU
Copywriting Direction:
TCC’s Member grow Member Scheme
(Information not in)
Copywriting Direction: SNCF’s International Involvement as part an Affiliate member of ACCU
Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (“ACCU”) Forum
Led by SNCF CEO Mrs Dolly Goh and SNCF Senior Relationship Manager Mr Foo Chuan
Yang, 14 participants from five credit co-operatives attended the Asian Confederation of Credit
Unions (ACCU) Forum in Seoul, Korea, from 7 to 9 September 2010.
The forum, which attracted 287 attendees from 27 nations, was hosted by the National Credit
Union Federation of Korea (NACUFOK) and ACCU – of which SNCF is an affiliate member.
Practitioners and speakers from the credit union movement around the world covered learning
tracks such as ‘Governance - Internal and External Regulations’, ‘Products and Services
Solutions for Members’ Financial Needs’, and ‘Organisational Culture: Leaders and
Management’.
The Forum invited practitioners and speakers from the credit union movement around the world,
and covers the following learning tracks
 Governance- internal and external regulations
 Products & services that offers total solution to members’ financial needs
 Organizational culture: Leaders and Management
Copywriting Direction: Singapore – One of the only Two Direct Members of WOCCU in Asia
WOCCU Conference
More than 2,800 attendees from 60 nations gathered at the conference in Las Vegas as one
global credit union community in Las Vegas, USA from 11–14 July 2010.
The conference was co-sponsored by Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and World
Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU). Named “The 1 Credit Union Conference”, it brought
together the America’s Credit Union Conference and World Credit Union Conference, the first
time the two trade organizations joined forces to present a major credit union industry event.
Singapore is one of the only two direct members of WOCCU in Asia (Uzbekistan being the other
one). It has also been more than a decade since WOCCU held a conference in USA.
Apart from networking opportunities and sharing sessions, it was also the first time Singapore
delegates were acknowledged in the WOCCU AGM, as SNCF has joined as a new member
with effect from 1 Jan 2010. During the AGM, SNCF was invited to receive the WOCCU flag and
give a speech, introducing the organization to the rest of WOCCU’s members.
15 participants from 5 credit co-operatives attended the WOCCU Conference in Las Vegas from
11 – 14 July 2010, led by SNCF CEO, Mrs Dolly Goh together with Chairman of Credit Task
Force, Dr R Theyvendran and SNCF Senior Relationship Manager, Foo Chuan Yang.
Singapore was represented by SNCF, AUPE Multi-Purpose Co-operative, Singapore
Government Staff Credit Co-operative, Singapore Mercantile Co-operative, Straits Times Cooperative and Telecoms Credit Co-operative.
The Registry of Co-operative Societies (RCS) was also represented in the Conference and the
International Credit Union Regulators’ Network. WOCCU’s Annual General Meeting (AGM)
marked the first for Singapore delegates as WOCCU members since January 2010.
During the AGM, SNCF was acknowledged and given the opportunity to introduce the
Singapore credit co-operative movement to WOCCU members.
Ms Dolly Goh said, “To help credit co-operatives be more competitive, relevant and profitable to
the society, the implementation of a shared IT Savings and Loan System for the sector and
specialized training and education to improve our co-operatives’ capabilities and capacities was
placed in the pipeline.”
The Membership to WOCCU as the first national-level organisation from Southeast Asia
signifies that the road taken by SNCF for the credit co-operative movement in Singapore is one
towards a higher standard of international best practices and governance.
The Regulator has also joined as a member of WOCCU, a proof that the Regulator, SNCF and
the credit co-operatives believe in working together on the same platform for the good of the
sector.
The conference highlight was by keynote speaker, Mr Jim Collins, author of the best-selling
book “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … And Others Don’t”, who shared
how credit unions can sustain great results by citing material from his book.
As a result, minds were sharpened, perspectives shaped, and participants were assured of
credit unions providing better deals for its members. WOCCU also held several other meetings
for various sub-groups, including the second annual Global Women’s Leadership Forum, part of
WOCCU’s Global Women’s Leadership Network, and the WOCCU’s Young Credit Union
People (WYCUP) Programme.
Additional information from MS GOH’S SPEECH
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my privilege to present to you the Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF), an
apex organisation or, in the United States, better known as ‘the League’, except that we do have
non-credit union members. SNCF represents the Co-operative Movement in Singapore, and our
member credit co-operatives, many of whom are here with me today.
SNCF champions the interests of the Singapore Co-operative Movement. Founded in 1980,
about 30 years ago, we represent close to 90% of all co-operatives in Singapore. Today, the
Co-operative Movement is the largest grassroots movement in Singapore, with co-operative
members comprising 25% of Singapore’s resident population.
Credit co-operatives in Singapore started in the 1920s and these were the earliest co-operatives
established where groups of public sector employees came together to help their members save
and take out loans when in need. Today, 50% of the co-operatives are in the Credit sector,
involving more than 200,000 members, with assets of over USD $890m.
Tracing the roots back to post-war Singapore, many of these resilient credit co-operatives are
inevitably employer and union based. They may be small, but they stand out in terms of their
low loan default rate. This uniqueness can be attributed to the secure implementation of
members’ repayment through salary check-off by respective employers.
Singapore is an island city-state, with an open economy and an ageing population. As
increasing affluence transforms consumer tastes of Singaporeans, we expect challenging times
ahead for credit co-operatives to continue providing relevant services that meet our members’
needs. It is yet an exciting era for our credit co-operatives as they move from a self-regulated
structure to a more regulated environment, where they are steered towards a higher level of
prudence and accountability. The good news is that over the years, none of Singapore’s Credit
Co-ops have gone under during a couple of financial crisis even though they have been very
much self-regulated.
Over the past several months, these credit co-operatives have been moving forward positively,
implementing new financial reform requirements, as outlined in the mandate for prudential
oversight by the Regulator. These prudential measures serve to safeguard members’ savings
and maintain their confidence, improve risk management standards, strengthen governance of
the credit co-operatives through greater accountability, and help credit co-operatives focus on
their core social role of encouraging thrift and providing loans to their members.
Besides working closely with the Registry of Co-operative Societies (RCS) to adapt to the
regulatory changes, our credit co-operatives will need to collectively inject new and vibrant
energy into the Movement, by engaging the youth and grooming young emerging leaders. In the
spirit of self-help and mutual help, we see great potential in our credit co-operatives embarking
on new initiatives to address various social needs of the society. One such worthy cause is to
counter illegal money lending activities.
I am proud to lead this organization and serve the society alongside these dedicated men and
women of our credit co-operatives, many of whom are here today. May I invite my team to
stand.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF CO-OPERATIVES TO SINGAPORE
Percentage of Singapore’s GDP (as per RCS)
(Information not in)
Growing Footprint
TCC – Member grow member Scheme
(Information not in)
Copywriting Direction: New intake of NUS students to be given free membership to NUS Co-op
5 August 2010
NUSSU and NUS Co-op in move to help students enjoy discounts on text-books and
learn about co-operative principles
The National University of Singapore’s new cohort of 7,000 students this year will automatically
be provided free membership to the NUS Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society (NUS Co-op) to
enable them to enjoy discounts on textbooks and other goods and services during their course
of study.
For the first time ever, the National University of Singapore Students’ Union (NUSSU) and the
NUS Co-op will jointly pay for the new entrants’ membership to the co-operative. This is the first
educational institution in Singapore to come up with such a move, which took off when the new
term began on 10 August.
Prior to this collaboration, incoming students had to pay $5 plus GST ($5.35) if they wanted to
join the co-operative.
The Co-op, which started as a hole-in-the-wall textbook outlet at the then University of
Singapore Bukit Timah campus 40 years ago, operates six outlets in two campuses and has an
annual turnover of $23 million. It has expanded its role from providing affordable textbooks to
students to managing of graduation gowns, distributing of laptops and facilitating interest-free
loans to those who need financial assistance in buying laptops.
Last year, the co-operative ventured into child care services by partnering NTUC First Campus
to operate a pre-school. It is looking into further diversification and possibly branch out into
students-related projects.
Said Jessie Lee, general manager of NUS Co-op: “We had not been able to reach out to all the
students at every intake in the past. Now, it is the best way to reach out to the entire student
intake through collaboration with NUSSU.
“In reaching out to them this way, we will build a closer relationship with the students, and
engage them through projects and activities. At the same time, we hope to help the students
learn about co-operatives and inculcate in them an appreciation for the role of co-operatives as
sustainable business entities that have a social mission – in this case to benefit the NUS
Community. An increased surplus would mean the co-operative can provide more student
assistance schemes and other benefits.”
“We also plan to introduce further benefits such as a customer loyalty programme and
patronage rebates in the near future.”
The co-operative has a total of 21,264 members as at 31 December 2009. Of these, 6,382 are
term members and 14,882, ordinary members. It offers discounts on textbooks, general books,
stationery, NUS memorabilia and PC accessories on sale. In addition, the student members are
also eligible to apply for Book Assistance Awards worth $400 each and Bursaries worth $1,000
each.
NUSSU president, Ho Jun Yi, said: “Many students’ unions in the United Kingdom, Australia and
New Zealand run their own co-operatives on campus. Here, we already have a co-op, and we
found that such a venture is viable. It will be of benefit for our students to be members.
“We hope that this will be the first step for many such potential ventures in future. Already, the
co-operative is bringing in some of the students to work with them! Additionally, I hope that they
will be able to learn more about co-operatives and social enterprise.”
The NUS Co-op Board, which has representation from NUSSU, felt it was in the best interest of
students to become members of the co-operative so that they could take advantage of the
discount benefit to purchase text-books and other items.
The Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF), which recently embarked on a new
direction to target youth and attract young blood for emerging leadership of the Co-operative
Movement, is delighted with the move.
Said SNCF Chief Executive Officer Mrs Dolly Goh: “This is a good way for our youth to learn
about co-operatives. Today’s youth are very aware of social issues around them and they want
to play an active role in alleviating such issues. Co-operatives promote self-help and mutual
help. Members run viable and sustainable businesses, help themselves and address social
needs. I want to congratulate both the NUS Co-op and NUSSU for this historical co-operation. It
will be an invaluable experience for the students to understand how co-operatives operate and
the good that they can do for themselves and the community by playing an active role in
contributing to their own co-operative, the NUS Co-op.”
Co-operatives, besides being viable and sustainable, must have a social mission to help their
members and the community.
NUS Co-op is one of 72 such entities affiliated to SNCF, the apex body for co-operatives in
Singapore. There are 12 campus co-operatives working out of educational institutions such as
universities, polytechnics, junior colleges and schools.
In the case of NUS Co-op, a not-for-profit organisation, a portion of the surplus made from the
co-operative is contributed back to the NUS community in the form of Book Assistance Awards,
donation to NUS Endowment Fund and sponsorships to NUS Halls of Residences, clubs and
societies. In 2009, in conjunction with its 40th Anniversary Celebration, NUS Co-op contributed
more than 40% of their surplus to the student community, some of which are as follows: a
$10,000 donation to the NUS Endowment Fund; $23,200 worth of awards under their Book
Assistance Scheme for needy student members; $9,000 worth of bursaries; and other student
activities in the campus.
Co-operating for Collective Success
Copywriting Direction: Partnership between NUS Co-op and NTUC First Campus benefits NUS
Community
NUS Co-Op Marks Forty Years of Services to the University
-- NUS Co-op and NTUC First Campus launch The Little Skool House @ Kent Vale --- NUS Co-op exemplary of how co-ops continue to contribute to society –
Singapore, 19 January 2010 – Forty years ago, a man with a big heart for the students around
him launched a mission to make University textbooks affordable in the face of escalating prices.
Today, this dream lives on through the NUS Co-op which is celebrating 40 years of fulfilling this
promise.
From a small bookstore at the Bukit Timah Campus set up in 1969 by the then-Student Liaison
Officer, Peter Lim, the NUS Co-op has grown to seven outlets spanning three campuses,
generating an annual turnover of about $25 million and has over 20,000 members today. While
providing textbooks remains a core business, the Co-op has expanded its range of products and
services to distributing notebook computers under the NUS Notebook Ownership Scheme, the
management of academic gowns for graduating students, and the supply of NUS branded
merchandise.
Since 1987, the Co-op has contributed book assistance awards to needy students. For the 40th
anniversary, it is giving a total of 58 book assistance awards of $400 each and 10 bursary
awards of $1,000 each. In addition, a contribution of $10,000 was made to the NUS Endowment
Fund.
Launch of The Little Skool- House @ Kent Vale
Marking the milestone, NUS Co-op in partnership with fellow co-op, NTUC First Campus
announced the opening of its first child care centre The Little Skool-House @ Kent Vale to cater
to the child care needs of the NUS community.
Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, in
officiating at the celebrations, commended founder Peter Lim for his passion and preserverance
in driving the formation of the Multipurpose Co-operative Society.
Dr Balakrishnan said, “A co-op is not just a business; it is a business with a social mission, or
what some people call, the ‘business with a heart’. The success of a co-op is measured not
purely in terms of its annual surplusses but, more importantly, by how well it serves the needs of
its members, customers and the society at large. It is thus not surprising that the NUS Co-op
has grown significantly in the last 40 years, meeting the needs of its members and contributing
back to the community at the same time.”
On the launch of the The Little Skool-House @ Kent Vale, Dr Balakrishnan reiterated, “It makes
good business sense that co-ops should, where possible collaborate with other co-ops to better
serve the total needs of their customers, members and society.”
The immediate benefit for the two co-ops resulting from the parthership is that the NUS Co-op
would have an added revenue stream while the NTUC First Campus has added another
location of presence in its network.
Introducing this latest venture, Mr Chan Tee Seng, CEO of NTUC First Campus, said, “NTUC
First Campus is committed to providing high quality early childhood education services to
working parents. Through The Little Skool-House International, we have partnered companies
and community organisations to provide pre-school services in locations such as workplaces.”
He added, “Today’s collaboration is another step towards giving working parents with young
children the peace of mind and confidence in bringing out the best in their child. The centre’s
core and enrichment programmes, which can cater to 287 students, are designed to help
children lay the foundation for important life skills such as literacy,”
“Little Steps to Giant Leaps – the story of NUS C-op 1969 – 2009
In commemorating the 40th anniversary, a specially commissioned coffeetable book Little Steps
to Giant Leaps – the story of NUS Co-op 1969 – 2009, recounting the journey of the last 40
years, the people who have contributed, the evolution of the Co-op and its vision for the future.
MEMBERS’ TESTIMONIALS
Telecoms Credit Co-operative (TCC)
TCC ‘s tagline A credit Co-operative with a heart, we work closely with members to find out their
financial problems and to help assist them better in providing a realistic solution catered and
tailored to suit their budget so that they can ease their burdens with flexible re-payments. Some
quotes from our members:
MR ABDULLAH BIN OTHMAN, applied for a bridging loan with us recently and he commented,
“ TCC is one organisation that is easy to approach, staff are very friendly and professional and
my application process was approved within a week” I am truly grateful for the help and
assistance rendered by the team in TCC, and I would definitely recommend my friends and
family to become members of TCC.
Anonymous (Miss), was very thankful to TCC and she commented “I managed to take up
Masters and complete it with the aid of TCC- Edu Loan many years ago. Recently I have also
approached them, when my daughter wanted to pursue her degree in psychology and the
application process was very smooth with qualified member service officers offering their best
professional advice. They really do take care of their members well.”
Another thankful, beneficiary said, Vignes, (Miss), Centre Administrator, “TCC helped me
pursue my dreams when I wanted to complete my diploma locally” I also had some prominent
bills to settle and they advised me on how to go about applying for a personal Loan. The
Approval was fast and is convenient to pay the monthly instalments as I have effected Giro
payments. Thank you TCC”
We also aided a member who approached us for a personal Loan to settle his outstanding bills.
Our staff spoke to him to find out more on his situations and counter proposed settling his credit
cards first and asked him to apply for a Consolidated Loan to help him save interest on his
various cards.
Member wanted to remain anonymous commented “ TCC helped me save my payments for my
cards, where I do not need to pay and pay and see no reductions in my outstanding, instead I
was able to consolidate all my outstanding on my credit lines and cards as ONE Loan and save
the interest payable. Thank you Ms Savi for your pro-active approach in reducing my burdens,
am indeed very grateful”
Straits Times Co-operative Limited
Mohamed Ariff Bin Sarikan
Driver
Faced with financial difficulties, mounting credit cards and outstanding power supply
bills, Mr Mohamed Ariff turned to Chairman Chow Fong Leng for help as he could find no
way out. Ms Chow went through Ariff’s bills and worked out a payment schedule for him.
Although he still has an outstanding loan with the co-operative, the Management
Committee gave exceptional approval to let him withdraw part of his savings.
Mr Mohamed Ariff was very appreciative and express his gratitude, saying "My sincere
and heartfelt thanks to Ms Chow and the management of the Straits Times Co-operative
for the help". Mr Mohamed Ariff added that for a low income person like him, it is good to
join the Credit Co-op. He could turn to the Co-op for help whenever he’s in a tight spot.
He is happy with the arrangement that he can redeem his outstanding loan from his
savings when he gets his bonus.
Badariah Abd Ghaffar
Administrative Executive
Ms Badariah joined Straits Times Co-op in 1982. She said: “It is important to set aside
money, not only for emergencies, but also for major expenses like children education,
health care, home renovation, etc. Although it is not always possible to meet the saving
goals, the unexpected may happen at any time, and that is why it is important to save
some money! ST Co-operative have at least made me save to cover not all but part of
these unexpected expenses”.
ISCOS SUCCESS STORY - Sharulhawazi B Ramly
Sharul’s trouble with the law began when he got involved in secret society activities when he
was 13 years old. In 2004, he was convicted for for causing grievous hurt with offensive
weapons and sentenced to 6 years imprisonment.
Sharul’s inspiration to change came about when he was transferred to Prison School in 2005.
He took up a course on Creative Design and was also an active member of the Multi-Media
Club there.
While serving time, he took a major step to show that he is serious about turning over a new
leaf. He took an oath to renounce his affiliation to the secret society he belonged to and
promised not to participate in any of the gang activities. True to his
promise, he has done well and he is an active Member and Volunteer of ISCOS today.
When he walked into ISCOS office after his release in 2010, he shared his interest and passion
to pursue a diploma course in 3D Animation with Egg Story Digital Art Pte Ltd (ESDA). Through
ISCOS’ assistance, he successfully applied for the Yellow Ribbon Fund (YRF) Star Bursary
award to pursue his dream. Today, Sharul is attending the 3D Animation course with ESDA.
With his keen interest, Sharul is also learning the technical skills in photography and video
production. He is also currently an active Volunteer with ISCOS, helping to design publicity
materials for our events, carry out video editing and photo taking.
OTHERS
(SPEECH TRANSCRIPT FROM ANNUAL CO-OPERATIVE LEADERS’ CONFERENCE)
Good afternoon. I hope that this morning’s presentations were both inspiring as they were good
food for thought for all of us. This afternoon, I have some good news to announce, some
initiatives you have been waiting for and updates to share with you.
They are:
1. A breakthrough in discussions with SPRING Singapore on funding for co-operative
enterprises
2. The launch of a Business Process Improvement Program, fully funded by the Central
Cooperative Fund, customized to the needs of co-operative enterprises
3. The launch of SNCF’s new co-operative web portal; and
4. Shared Services for Small and Medium Co-operatives
5. An update on the movement’s call for solidarity behind co-ops affected by the Japanese
quake and tsunami disaster
6. And lastly, I will offer you a preview of some exciting developments for 2012’s International
Year of Co-operatives
When Dr Goh Keng Swee addressed NTUC comrades at the Modernisation Seminar of 1969,
he spelt out 4 guiding principles for co-operative development:
1.
2.
3.
4.
To be fully competitive.
To compete in areas with natural built-in advantage.
To have in place professional management.
To ensure strong governance.
By following these principles, the Movement has made headway since its rudimentary form 86
years ago. In 2010, co-operatives contributed 0.2% to Singapore’s GDP, and accounted for
more than 10,000 jobs. This proves that co-operative enterprises are an increasingly valuable
contributor to the economy, as much as they are social stabilizers against volatile, free market
forces.
In line with our strategic thrust of raising the capability of our affiliates, SNCF entered into talks
with SPRING Singapore to secure funding for SNCF’s affiliates which otherwise were excluded
since only ACRA registered companies are entitled to apply. I am very pleased to inform you
that SPRING has agreed to assess all future funding applications from co-operative enterprises,
on the same footing as they would any other forms of enterprises in Singapore.
This opens doors to a multitude of government-initiated programs to grow the SME sector, on
which co-operatives can most certainly capitalize. This shift in position by SPRING, is an
affirmation that co-operatives should be accorded due regard as sustainable enterprises. As
this has just been agreed, please allow for initial teething challenges. Please work with your
respective Relationship Managers on your applications. Let me have the respective Senior
managers and relationship managers stand – Credit (Chuan Yang and Leng Hong); Service
(Jasni); Campus (Williams); NTUC (Harry).
On the same note of capability development, we will launch the Business Process Improvement
Program to enable co-operatives to gauge and further improve upon current levels of
performance, in key areas like business processes and risk management.
We recognize that in today’s market place, good, needs to be better, and compliance, for the
sake of it, is simply not enough. The uptake of such a program sends a statement that cooperatives are responsible, professional entities that strive for standards that are best-in-class.
In fact, SNCF will take the lead in adopting this Business Process Improvement Program as an
impartial measure of our performance as an apex body.
While a professional audit of this calibre would be hefty for most businesses, selected cooperatives will benefit from the same advisory service for free, funded by CCF. To ensure
utmost quality in the conduct of this project, CCF Secretariat will partner a leading global
management consultancy to formulate a methodology that will be tailored to unique needs of
Singapore’s co-operative enterprises.
Third, SNCF will be launching, a series of Shared Services that will enhance the capability and
efficiency of your co-operatives and save costs. These range from accounting systems and
human resource systems, to email and calendar solutions. Like our Business Improvement
Program, SNCF has taken the lead to pilot the use of these systems to ensure that by the time
you decide to adopt them as your own, they are stable, robust, and road-tested. These systems
are also available at very competitive rates with quality support. If you have less than 25 users
using the HR Systems comprising of leave application, claims and payroll, your cost is less than
SGD 350 per annum with a one time set up of SGD 500. The Accounting Systems costs under
SGD 400 per annum. Currently, in comparison, maintenance of SNCF accounting systems
costs more than SGD 3,000 per year otherwise a per call rate of SGD 450 will apply! Skip a
meal of ten at Marina Bay Sands at $750 and you can pay for a HR system and Accounting
system for one year!
Part of this Shared Services package is SNCF’s new web portal, which has been designed with
both the Singapore Co-operative Movement, and you, our affiliates in mind. Research shows
that one in three Singaporeans has a Facebook account. That is a bold claim and you have just
confirmed this.
The pre-dominance of digital media cannot be ignored. In order to stay relevant, and
differentiated, co-operatives must be ready to receive and engage our members, our target
markets and the public, on-and off-line. Based on this premise, the SNCF’s new website was
created, a one-stop portal on the Singapore Co-operative Movement. Log on to:
www.sncf.org.sg and you will experience the 1st phase of this web portal project.
What would strike most first-time visitors is the consistency of how SNCF’s brand identity has
been expressed. We have deliberately painted SNCF on-line portal site blue, a color that
resonates resilience, and stability. This is coupled with SNCF’s three other brand colors of
orange, pink and green – symbolizing SNCF target markets – the seniors, the community and
the youths. Come, visit SNCF physical office where you will also experience the consistency of
SNCF’s brand identity in its colors. Yesterday before you board your flight from Singapore, each
of you were given a luggage tag. Did you notice that they are in the same four colors – blue,
orange, pink and green?
On the home page, we have also made it a point to ensure that the co-operative difference is
most obvious, with some key messages imprinted on this interactive banner. As the images
rotate, visitors are introduced to various sections of the site, with slogans unique to the
movement. Visitors will also find regular updates made to the site, in the form of news and
interactive media, broadcasted right up front. Here is a snippet of one of them. You can find
more of these interactive media online.
In its first phase of development, the site aims to be an online profile of the Co-operative
Movement, of SNCF, and of you, our affiliates. What is perhaps most different from the previous
portal is the greater depth of information present here. For instance, if you want to find more
about ‘what is a co-operative’, this section on co-operative resources brings this information to
life through your real-life stories. It is our way to promote you, your brand and the good work
you have been doing.
In its second stage of development, these resources will be expanded to include more in-depth
interviews, research materials, and a dedicated media office for any journalist to file a good
story on the co-operative movement. I would like to invite all of you to send us your updates,
your news report, which may be included in our online media office. After all, your head-lines
should also make head-lines for the movement.
In its third stage of development we will cater a section for each of you to enhance your
presence and profile online. For those of you who have an existing website, this section will
provide visitors with an overview of who you are, while promoting online search-ability for your
site. For those of you who do not yet have a website, I would encourage you to make use of this
section as your first foray into the digital marketing landscape. It will consist of a short
introduction, an explanation of your social mission, and a listing of your upcoming events or
promotions. You, can be found online because you are present on SNCF portal site.
Allow me to qualify at this point that the viability of such a section is subjected to how much
information we are able to garner from each of you. And so, as the SNCF team reaches to you
for further discussion on this project, your inputs on how you might like to best harness this new
co-operative web portal will be appreciated. Our portal is your portal.
Finally, if you venture to the section ‘Co-operative Movement’, you will find a page on
‘Initiatives’. These are programs that SNCF has taken on, with the aim of addressing issues of a
larger nature.
You will find a page on SNCF’s recent Japanese Disaster Relief program, which highlights the
efforts of many of you who have responded to our call for co-operative solidarity with our fellow
co-operators in Japan. SGD 35,000 seed donation to the Disaster Relief and Japan Earthquake
Funds was raised from personal contributions from members of the Exco, SNCF 18-strong staff
and SNCF which donated SGD 30,000, followed by the generous contribution from the cooperatives. They are:
NTUC Choice Home
Singapore Teacher’s
Customs Credit
Singapore Government Staff
NTUC First Campus
Singapore Shell Employees
Polwel
TCC Credit
Premier Security
Premier Training
In addition, SeaCare gave directly to the Seamen Union of Japan, NTUC FairPrice gave directly
to the Singapore Red Cross and Singapore Compact and Singapore Public Works to the
Singapore Red Cross. In total, co-operatives raised SGD 115,110 towards this worthy cause. In
deep appreciation for our efforts, we have received messages of gratitude from Dame Pauline
Green, President of the International Co-operative Alliance, and from the Japanese Consumer
Co-operative Union. On behalf of the movement, I wish to thank each of you for making us
proud.
Lastly, I would like to share with you the UN logo, slogan and Singapore program for the 2012
International Year of Co-operatives or more commonly known as IYC.
SNCF TGA Report – Profile Section
PROFILE
Mission
SNCF promotes and develops co-operatives as sustainable enterprises that address social and
economic needs through the principles of self-help and mutual help so as to foster a more
resilient society.
Strategic Thrusts




Build capability and capacity to raise professionalism, improve governance and promote
leadership succession.
Strengthen relationship with all stakeholders for greater synergy and to better serve societal
needs.
Raise the awareness and visibility of co-operatives and co-operative principles, form new
and sustainable co-operatives and grow the membership base.
Advocate and promote a dynamic, vibrant, innovative and relevant Co-operative Movement.
From Chairman Speech (New Year Reception 2010)
Key Thrust One
Our first Key Thrust is building our affiliates’ capability and capacity, to raise professionalism,
improve governance and promote leadership succession.
One such idea is an IT shared services. We are looking at the possibility of introducing a
Deposits & Loans System to help the credit co-operatives to manage their business prudently and
effectively. To date, at least 5 credit co-operatives have indicated their interest to support this
initiative. We are also looking at a shared Accounting System for the smaller co-operatives,
which will allow easy bookkeeping and timely submission of reports. These measures, to be
implemented over several years, will enable our co-operatives to carry out their operations and
compete more effectively.
In the area of human capital, SNCF will do more to help our affiliates gain access to training
programmes that will equip them with the necessary mindset, knowledge and skills to deliver
business excellence. For 2010, we expect to increase total training hours by more than 300%.
Aristotle once said, “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing
them.” SNCF will adopt an experiential learning, hands on approach.
We also hope to create learning opportunities for our affiliates by exposing them to other
successful co-operatives and co-operative models in other countries and this may take the form
of an overseas study mission. For example, the Credit Union Conference in Las Vegas from 1114 July, and the ICA-AP Regional Assembly in Beijing later this year are potential learning
platforms.
Key Thrust Two
Our second Key Thrust is to strengthen relationship with all our stakeholders, especially our
affiliates. SNCF will adopt a “Customer Centric” approach. We will adapt our services to the
needs of affiliates at different stages of their development, recognising that we have a diverse
profile of affiliates.
Towards this end, SNCF has restructured its management team. You already know Ms Dolly
Goh, the Chief Executive Officer since October 2009. I would like to introduce to you Mr
Kenneth Ang, who is Senior Manager for Relationship Management and Business Development.
Kenneth will oversee the Campus, the NTUC and the Service sectors. Mr Foo Chuan Yang will
support the credit co-operatives. The management team will also be looking at creating an
affiliates and members database so that we can serve you better.
From 1 January 2010, SNCF has become a direct member of the World Council of Credit Unions
(WOCCU). We will do more to tap the services of WOCCU, as well as leverage on its advocacy
and technical support services. For instance, a number of our affiliates from the credit cooperatives attended a training programme conducted by Mr David Grace from WOCCU here in
Singapore just last week. Many have found it useful, and an eye opener.
Key Thrust Three
Our third Key Thrust is to raise the awareness and visibility of co-operatives and co-operative
principles, to form new and sustainable co-operatives, and to grow the membership base.
To help raise the profile of our co-operatives as an enterprise model, SNCF will seek
collaborations with world-renowned Academic institutions such as INSEAD.
On 18 March 2010, INSEAD has invited the SNCF to conduct a panel discussion for its
Fontainebleau-Singapore Executive MBA class. During this session, we will be sharing with the
EMBA students on the successes of co-operatives – the Singapore way. We hope that in time to
come, some of our co-operatives will make it into the business case study of INSEAD and other
Academic institutions.
Key Thrust Four
Key Thrust four is to advocate and promote a dynamic, vibrant, innovative and relevant Cooperative Movement.
We must constantly scan the horizon, assess and understand the new strategic environment, and
develop new capabilities to take advantage of new needs. For example, changes in the law to
curb loan sharking activities have raised awareness of co-operatives providing an alternative
solution to people in need, in a socially responsible, yet sustainable manner. I am not suggesting
that we jump in to offer ourselves as “the” solution. But it creates the opportunity for us to do
more. Then we must ask ourselves what type of new capabilities must we develop to do this
well.
Visual Identity
Logo Rationale
The word ‘co-operative’ is captured in the letter ‘C’ and it is enclosed in a circle – signifying the
Co-operative movement. This emphasis is deliberate, highlighting SNCF’s core function as an
umbrella organization that exists to serve its members. An ‘=‘ symbol forms part of the “F” in
SNCF which represents the equality amongst members. Bold and strong typeface is selected to
represent strength and solidarity while blue is the colour of choice here as it symbolizes
resilience and steadfastness.
Launched in 2011, SNCF’s new visual identity uses a bold and strong typeface to represent
strength and solidarity in the Co-operative Movement. The ‘C’ encapsulates the word ‘Cooperative’ as a visual symbol of the principles of self-help and mutual help to serve society. The
design of the ‘=’ symbol as part of the ‘F’ seeks to depict equality among all co-operative
members.
The blue colour symbolises resilience and steadfastness, while the secondary colours of fresh
green, warm orange and vibrant pink represent the youth, senior and community sectors. These
colours are dynamic, fresh and contemporary to demonstrate the vibrancy and relevance of the
Co-operative Movement in the 21st century.
Fresh Green represents the roots and shoots of the society – the youth community. The
morning freshness brought about by youths plays an imperative role in rejuvenation. They are
capable of bringing forth energy as well as injecting vitality into the bloodstream of the Cooperative Movement.
Vibrant Pink represents a community that is pink in health. When a healthy community of Cooperative Members stand united and gain strength in numbers, the Co-operative Movement is
propelled to excel effectively in a profession manner. Through mutual help, they seek to benefit
the society while succeeding co-operatively.
Warm Orange represents the senior community in the society. The wealth of experience from
the senior sector value adds to the Co-operative Movement by providing valuable insights in
ensuring mistakes of the past are not repeated. This strong foundation guarantees success in
future endeavours for the Co-operative Movement.
Royal blue represents steadfastness and resilience. In tumultuous times, SNCF brings across
steadfastness in supporting the Co-operatives in their efforts to stay competent and relevant in
their respective industries. The tranquillity represented by cool blue colour represents SNCF’s
stability and calmness required to help restore the Co-operative spirit and also spur Cooperatives to show tenacity in times of adversity.
The Co-operative Movement in Singapore
The co-operative concept was introduced in Singapore as early as 1924 at a time when moneylending was a roaring business. There were, at that time, no institutions, finance companies or
banks which wage earners, who were struggling to make ends meet, could depend upon for
financial relief in times of need.
The first co-operative in Singapore – the Singapore Government Servants’ Co-operative Thrift &
Loan Society – started in 1925. Its membership was largely confined to public sector
employees. Between 1925 and 1940, more people began to see the usefulness of the cooperative concept of self-help and mutual assistance. Altogether, 43 thrift and loan societies
were formed to cater to the needs of civil servants, teachers, custom officers as well as those
working in the private sector.
In 1969, the late Dr Goh Keng Swee, former Deputy Prime Minister, formulated the key plans on
how the Co-operative Movement could be founded to assist the common worker to improve his
lot. At that time, the Co-operative Movement, in his words, was in “very rudimentary form”.
Drawing on lessons from co-operatives in other countries, he formulated a blueprint for the
setting up of Singapore’s Co-operative Movement. He suggested in particular an insurance cooperative – which would provide the financial base for the Movement – and a consumer cooperative. This laid the foundation for the setting up of NTUC Income and NTUC FairPrice,
which are today listed in the International Co-operative Alliance’s Global 300 List.
The launching of co-operative ventures in 1970 by the Singapore National Trades Union
Congress (NTUC) and its affiliated unions also proved to be the turning point in the
development of the Co-operative Movement in Singapore. NTUC became a national centre for
the trade unions, representing most working class citizens in Singapore. Under NTUC, cooperative ventures were set up as an important component of Singapore to provide a range of
quality products and services to members and the general public. This helps to set the
benchmark for the other economic sectors and has helped to keep inflation at a very low level in
Singapore.
The activities of co-operatives are regulated through the Co-operative Societies Act and Cooperative Societies Rules and administered by the Registry of Co-operative Societies, which
comes under the purview of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports
(MCYS). The Co-operative Societies Act has been amended and implemented with effect from
20 October 2008.
As the Act also made provision for an apex organisation to enhance the growth of the Cooperative Movement, the Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) was established
on 18 September 1980 as a not-for-profit organisation. SNCF seeks to build strong,
professionally-run co-operatives, which are financially viable and at the same time serve their
members. Today, 74 of the 84 registered co-operatives in Singapore are affiliated to SNCF.
Name
Mission
Campus Co-operatives Sector
ACS (Independent) Multi--Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
Bendemeer Secondary School Co-operative Society Limited
Catholic Junior College Co-operative
ITE Co-operative Society Limited
Meridian Junior College Multi-Purpose Co-operative Limited
Ngee Ann Polytechnic Consumer Co-operative Society Limited
National University of Singapore (NUS) Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
NorthLight School Multi-Purpose Co-operative Limited
Orchid Park Secondary School Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
Ping Yi Co-operative Society Limited
Temasek Polytechnic Co-operative Society Limited
Theresians' Co-operative Society Limited
Credit Co-operatives Sector
AUPE Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
Ceylon Tamils' Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
Citiport Credit Co-operative Limited
Customs Credit Co-operative Society (S) Limited
ExxonMobil Employees' Co-operative Limited
Kampung Pasiran Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
Keppel Credit Union Co-operative Limited
Malay Settlement Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
Phoenix Co-operative Society Limited
Polwel Co-operative Society Limited
SATU Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
Sembawang Co-operative Thrift & Loan Society Limited
Singapore Bank Employees’ Co-operative Thrift & Loan Society Limited
Singapore Credit Co-operative League Limited
Singapore Government Staff Credit Co-operative Society Limited
Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim Co-operative Thrift & Loan Society Limited
Singapore Malay Teachers' Co-operative Limited
Singapore Mercantile Co-operative Society Limited
Singapore Police Co-operative Society Limited
Singapore Polytechnic Co-operative Limited
Singapore Prison Service Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
Singapore Public Works Employees' Credit Co-operative Society Limited
Singapore Shell Employees' Union Co-operative Limited
Singapore Shipbuilding & Engineering Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
Singapore Statutory Boards Employees' Co-operative Thrift & Loan Society Limited
Singapore Teachers' Co-operative Society Limited
Straits Times Press Co-operative Thrift & Loan Society Limited
Telecoms Credit Co-operative Limited
TRC Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
NTUC Choice Homes Co-operative Limited
NTUC Eldercare Co-operative Limited
NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Limited
NTUC First Campus Co-operative Limited
NTUC Foodfare Co-operative Limited
NTUC Healthcare Co-operative Limited
NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative Limited
NTUC Investment Co-operative Ltd
NTUC Media Co-operative Limited
NTUC Thrift & Loan Co-operative Limited
NTUC Co-operatives Sector
To help more Singaporeans meet their aspirations to own private property by delivering
quality housing at fair and affordable prices.
To provide a range of quality and affordable community-based eldercare services.
To help moderate the cost of living through operating a network of 230 outlets.
To make quality early childhood care and education services affordable and accessible to
families.
To stabilise cooked-food prices for working people and their families.
To empower the people to care for their health & wellness, enabling them to live life to
the full, amidst rising healthcare costs.
To provide more than insurance at best value to all our customers.
To inform, educate and entertain all Singaporean workers and their families through a fullservice publishing & events management services.
Services Co-operative Service Sector
AUPE Foundation Co-operative Limited
AUPE General Services Co-operative Limited
Bedok Multi-Purpose Co-operative Limited
Choice Décor Co-operative Society Limited
Community Kitchen Co-operative Limited
Co-operative of SCDF Employees Limited
Educare Co-operative Limited
Entrepreneurs' Co-operative Limited
Industrial & Services Co-operative Society Limited
Jurong Shipyard Multi Purpose Co-op Society
Methodist Co-operative Society Limited
To enhance the social and economic status of its members and also the community of
less fortunate people who need public assistance.
To promote and popularise the practice of co-operative venture renovation, food and
beverage service, printing, property and machinery leases and other services at
competitive prices.
To assist needy families living in the Bedok area.
To provide renovation services to members and other co-operatives and public members
at a competitive price.
To train, mentor and create employment opportunities for long-term unemployed
jobseekers, to help them be self-reliant and to make meal services affordable and
available to needy residents.
To create employment opportunity for retired SCDF personnel and to provide fire and life
safety products and services to the general population at affordable cost.
To serve teachers and schools so as to enhance the quality of teaching and the quality of
teachers' loves – both professional and social.
To provide a platform to help the disadvantaged and provide training for them to start their
own business or get new jobs.
To promote self-esteem and economic independence in ex-offenders while guiding them
towards being good citizens with good value systems.
To assist members by providing them with very basic needs and to support charity and
relief funds for the needy.
Their mission is to develop, manage and invest in social enterprises to meet the needs of
the community.
To put to good use the valuable experience and knowledge of retired Police and Armed
Forces officers and to provide value-added physical security services across various
SNCF TGA Report – Financial Report Section
MINUTES OF THE 10TH TRIENNIAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
THE SINGAPORE NATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE FEDERATION (SNCF)
HELD ON WEDNESDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER 2008 AT 7.48PM
AT BALLROOM ONE, HILTON SINGAPORE
COMMENCEMENT
Mr Zulkifli Mohammed, Chief Executive, announced that 28 voting delegates, 24 non-voting delegates
and 11 observers were present at the commencement of the Assembly (The attendance list is given in
Appendix A).
Mr Zulkifli then invited Mr Othman Haron Eusofe, Chairman of the Board of the Trustees, to address the
Assembly and thereafter to chair its proceedings.
Mr Othman Haron Eusofe addressed the Assembly (the text of his address can be found in Appendix B)
and called the 10th Triennial General Assembly to order at 7.49pm. Mr Seah Kian Peng, Chairman of the
Executive Council, was then invited to deliver the Chairman's Statement whereby he highlighted the key
directives and efforts of SNCF in co-operative development during the last three years.
The proceedings then followed:
1
TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE 9TH TRIENNIAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY HELD ON 27 AUGUST
2005
The minutes, having been circulated earlier, were taken as read.
As there were no further comments, the minutes of the 9th Triennial General Meeting were unanimously
accepted and confirmed by the Assembly.
Proposer:
Ms Chow Fong Leng
Seconder:
Mr Tan Ah Chye
2
(Straits Times Press Co-operative Thrift & Loan
Society Limited)
(Jurong Shipyard Multi-Purpose Co-operative
Society Limited)
TO RECEIVE AND, IF APPROVED, TO ADOPT THE REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Prior to inviting the floor for comments on the report, the Chairperson invited
Mr Zulkifli
Mohammed, Chief Executive, to present the gist of the programmes and activities during the period
under review.
As there were no further comments after the presentation, the Report of the Executive Council was
approved and adopted unanimously by the Assembly.
Proposer:
Seconder:
Mr Yeo Chun Fing
Mr Farihullah s/o AWS
(AUPE Foundation Co-operative Limited)
(Customs Credit Co-operative Society (S) Ltd)
3
TO RECEIVE AND, IF APPROVED, TO ADOPT THE AUDITED ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEARS ENDED
31 MARCH 2006, 31 MARCH 2007 AND 31 MARCH 2008
The audited accounts for the three years ended 31 March 2008 were tabled. As there were no further
comments, the accounts were unanimously approved and adopted by the Assembly.
Proposer:
Seconder:
4
Mr A Rahman Ibrahim
Ms Lisa Cheong
(Singapore Malay Teachers’ Co-operative Limited)
(Industrial & Services Co-operative Society Limited)
TO ELECT THREE MEMBERS TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, IN ACCORDANCE WITH BY-LAW 29
The Chairperson informed the Assembly that the SNCF by-laws provide for the NTUC to appoint three
Members of the Board of Trustees and for the Assembly to elect another one Trustee representing
Secondary Societies and two Trustees representing Primary Societies.
Mr Zulkifli reported that at the close of nominations on 9 September 2008, NTUC has appointed Mr
Othman Haron Eusofe, Mr John De Payva and Mr Seah Kian Peng. For Trustee representing Secondary
Societies, we had received the nomination of Mr G Anthony Samy (Singapore Credit Co-operative
League Limited) whilst for Trustees representing the Primary Societies, we had received the nominations
of Mr Victor Pang (Singapore Mercantile Co-operative Society Limited) and Ms Chow Fong Leng (Straits
Times Press Co-operative Thrift & Loan Society Limited).
Since there was only one nomination for Secondary Societies and two nominations for Primary Societies,
the Chairman declared that the nominees were duly elected. The Assembly put their hands together to
welcome the new Board of Trustees for the new term of office.
5
TO ELECT ELEVEN MEMBERS TO THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, IN ACCORDANCE WITH BY-LAW 34
At the request of Chairperson, Mr Zulkifli reported that at the close of nominations on 9 September
2008, there were a total of 11 candidates.
The NTUC Sector nominated Mr Chan Tee Seng (NTUC Childcare Co-operative Limited), Ms Mary G Tan
Chye Tin (NTUC INCOME Insurance Co-operative Limited), Mr Zee Yoong Kang (NTUC LearningHub
Private Limited) and Mdm Lim Sia Hoe (NTUC Eldercare Co-operative Limited).
The Credit Sector nominated Dr R Theyvendran (TCC Limited), Mr K Rajaram (Citiport Credit Cooperative Limited), Mr Vasanthanathan s/o Chellappan (Jurong Shipyard Multi-Purpose Co-operative
Society Limited) and Mr Pun Shyh-Gang (Singapore Police Co-operative Society Limited).
NUS Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited from the Campus Sector nominated Dr Tan Sun Teck.
SEACARE Co-operative Limited and Premier Training Co-operative Society Limited from the Services
Sector nominated Mr Leow Ching Chuan and Mr Saraj Din respectively.
As there were exactly 11 nominations for 11 places in the Executive Council, the Chairperson declared
that the 11 nominees were duly elected.
6
TO APPOINT AN EXTERNAL AUDITOR, IN ACCORDANCE WITH BY-LAW 46
The Chairperson informed the Assembly that the Registrar of Co-operative Societies had given his
approval on the re-appointment of P G Wee & Partners as the external auditor for SNCF.
The Assembly unanimously agreed to appoint P G Wee & Partners as the external auditor.
7
TO ELECT TWO INTERNAL AUDITORS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH BY-LAW 47
At the request of the Chairperson, Mr Zulkifli reported that two nominations were received at the
closing date of nominations on 9 September 2008.
Singapore Prisons Service Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited had nominated Mr Kenneth Louis
Victor and Wavelink Co-operative Limited had nominated Ms Mary Liew Kiah Eng.
The Assembly unanimously elected the two candidates as internal auditors of SNCF for the new term.
8
TO TRANSACT ALL OTHER BUSINESS INCIDENTAL TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF WHICH AT
LEAST 15 DAYS' NOTICE IN WRITING SHALL HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE BY AN
AFFILIATE SOCIETY
There was no notice of any other business being received by the Chief Executive.
As such, the Chairperson thanked all the delegates and observers for their participation in the 10th
Triennial General Assembly and also the Secretariat for attending to all the arrangements to ensure that
the Assembly was carried out smoothly.
He then declared the 10th Triennial General Assembly closed.
The 10th Triennial General Assembly ended at 8.27 pm with a vote of thanks to Mr Othman Haron Eusofe
for chairing the proceedings.
Meanwhile, the members of the new Board of Trustees were requested to proceed to its first meeting
to elect its Chairman and Deputy Chairman and appoint the Chairman of the new Executive Council.
Thereafter, the new Executive Council would meet to elect its other office-bearers and conduct other
necessary business.
Recorded by:
Ms Dawn Kor
Manager, Business Development
Vetted by:
Mr Zulkifli Mohammed
Chief Executive
Approved by:
_______________________
Mr Othman Haron Eusofe
Chairman
Board of Trustees
Appendix A - Annex 1
ATTENDANCE
VOTING DELEGATES TO THE 10TH TRIENNIAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Name of Co-operative
1 AUPE Foundation Co-operative Limited
Voting Delegates
Yeo Chun Fing
2 AUPE General Services Co-operative Limited
Ma Wei Cheng
3 AUPE Multi-Purpose Co-operative Limited
Teo Yock Ngee
4 Ceylon Tamils' Multi-purpose Co-operative Limited
S Sivaloganathan
5 Choice Décor Co-operative Society Limited
Tham Wai Mun
6 Citiport Credit Co-operative Limited
K Rajaram
7 Customs Credit Co-operative Society (S) Limited
Farihullah s/o AWS
8 D.E.W. Credit Co-operative Limited
Chang Shook Leng
9 Educare Co-operative Limited
Mike Thiruman
10 Energy & Utilities Employees' Co-operative Limited
Jailani B Leman
11 ExxonMobil Employees' Co-operative Limited
Kong Kwok Ying
12 Industrial & Services Co-operative Society Limited
Tham Poh Leng
13 Jurong Shipyard Multi-Purpose
Co-operative Society Limited
Vasanthanathan s/o Chellappan
14 Keppel Credit Union Co-operative Limited
Nichole Tan Su-Lin
15 Methodist Co-operative Society Limited
Lim Beng Huat, Reginald
16 NTUC INCOME Insurance Co-operative Limited
Mary G Tan Chye Tin
17 NUS Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
Wong Keng Onn
18 Premier Security Co-operative Limited
Saraj Din
19 Premier Travel Co-operative Society Limited
Eric Chern Aik Hua
20 SCOPE Limited
Lau Chan Meng, Andrew
Name of Co-operative
21 SEACARE Co-operative Limited
Voting Delegates
Leow Ching Chuan
22 Singapore Government Staff Credit
Co-operative Society Limited
S Sundram
23 Singapore Malay Teachers' Co-operative Limited
A Rahman Ibrahim
24 Singapore Police Co-operative Society Limited
Pun Shyh-Gang
25 Singapore Public Works Employees' Credit Cooperative Society Limited
V Soundra Rajan
26 Singapore Shell Employees' Union
Co-operative Limited
Azman Bin A Jalal
27 Singapore Teachers' Co-operative Society Limited
Richard Zaccheus
28 Straits Times Press Co-operative Thrift & Loan
Limited
Chow Fong Leng
29 TCC Limited
R Theyvendran
30 Wavelink Co-operative Limited
Michael Chan Gim Guan
************
Appendix A - Annex 2
ATTENDANCE
NON-VOTING DELEGATES TO THE 10TH TRIENNIAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Name of Co-operative
Non-Voting Delegates
1 AUPE General Services Co-operative Limited
Gopal Kuppusamy Vengadasalam
2 AUPE Multi-Purpose Co-operative Limited
Teo Chhan Kiang, Jimmy
3 Ceylon Tamils' Multi-purpose Co-operative Limited
N Kamalanathan
4 Citiport Credit Co-operative Limited
Jow Tao Meng
5 Educare Co-operative Limited
Lee Jee Kok
6 Energy & Utilities Employees' Co-operative Limited
Ismail B Md Yusof
7 Entrepreneurs' Co-operative Limited
Yew Teck Siang, Sunny
8 ExxonMobil Employees' Co-operative Limited
Long Sian Seng
9 Industrial & Services Co-operative Society Limited
Lisa Cheong
10 Jurong Shipyard Multi-Purpose
Co-operative Society Limited
Tan Ah Chye
11 Keppel Credit Union Co-operative Limited
Donald Sng
12 NTUC INCOME Insurance Co-operative Limited
Ng Kwee Nyok, Patricia
13 NUS Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited
Tan Sun Teck
14 Premier Security Co-operative Limited
Annie Leow
15 Premier Travel Co-operative Society Limited
S Moganaruban
16 SCOPE Limited
Goh Siok Hua
17 SEACARE Co-operative Limited
Mohamad Bin Abu Bakar
18 Singapore Bank Employees' Co-operative Thrift &
Loan Society Limited
P Loganathan
19 Singapore Government Staff Credit
Co-operative Society Limited
G Krishnasamy
20 Singapore Police Co-operative Society Limited
Tan Chong Hee
Name of Co-operative
Non-Voting Delegates
21 Singapore Prisons Service Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Limited
Kenneth L. Victor
22 Singapore Public Works Employees' Credit Cooperative Society Limited
Thia Soon Swee
23 Singapore Teachers' Co-operative Society Limited
Teo Chor Kai
24 Straits Times Press Co-operative Thrift & Loan
Limited
Perumal Angela Christina
25 TCC Limited
Shoba Gunasekaran
26 WEworkz Multi-Purpose Co-operative Ltd
Eddie Tan
************
Appendix A - Annex 3
ATTENDANCE
OBSERVERS TO THE 10TH TRIENNIAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Name of Co-operative
Observers
1 Entrepreneurs' Co-operative Limited
Ho See Joon, Terence
2 NTUC Childcare Co-operative Limited
Chan Tee Seng
3 NTUC Eldercare Co-operative Limited
Lim Sia Hoe
4 Pergas Multi-Purpose Co-operative Limited
Mohd Kasim Abdul Salam
Khamsani Karim
5 Singapore National Co-operative
Federation
John De Payva
Zee Yoong Kang
Chan Jer Luang
Teo Say Hong
Irving Lim Wei Lun
Leow Xian Yin
6 Singapore Prisons Service Multi-Purpose
Co-operative Society Limited
7 Singapore Shell Employees' Union
Co-operative Limited
8 Straits Times Press Co-operative Thrift & Loan
Society Limited
************
Rahim Manap
Fared Osman
Latiff Ghani
Appendix B
Opening Address by Mr Othman Haron Eusofe, Chairman of SNCF Board of Trustees, at the 10 th
Triennial General Assembly of SNCF on Wednesday, 24 September 2008 at 7.49 pm at the Ballroom
One, Hilton Singapore
Chairman of Executive Council, Mr Seah Kian Peng
Members of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Council
Delegates and Observers
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am delighted to welcome all of you to the 10th Triennial General Assembly of the Singapore National
Co-operative Federation. The years 2005 to 2008 have been very exciting as SNCF continues to
consolidate its operations and remodel its programmes to meet the ever changing needs and aspirations
of its affiliates and the community at large. SNCF initiated various new schemes to help existing and
new Co-operatives. At the same time, it made its presence felt internationally by successfully hosting
the International Co-operative Alliance’s General Assembly in October 2007, which is an ICA major event
held biennially.
This year, SNCF introduced the New Co-operative Grant to provide financial assistance to co-operatives
to enable them to vigorously promote their social mission to bring better benefits to the community,
especially to serve the needy in the community.
We continued to focus on Corporate Governance to enable effective management of our Co-operatives.
On 11 November 2006, the Code of Governance for Co-operatives was launched with the aim of
promoting greater awareness of good governance practices. During the period under review, another
166 co-operative leaders, managers and staff from 35 Co-operatives attended the Corporate
Governance Course to enable them to strengthen knowledge of good corporate governance.
SNCF, in consultation with Registry of Co-operative Societies, had also formulated the Self-Evaluation
Checklist for the Code of Governance. Even though the Code is not mandatory, self regulation is strongly
encouraged. The checklist is to let each individual co-operative to implement self-evaluation based on
the guidelines set in the Code of Governance. The aim is ensure that good corporate governance
practices are in place in our Co-operatives. To date, 61 Co-operatives had implemented this self
regulation exercise. Let me add here that the Co-operative Societies Act was recently amended to
update the legislation and to make it more relevant to the current environment. Our 87 registered Cooperatives of which 41 are credit co-operatives have 1.7 million members and managed $1 billion
dollars of members’ funds. Briefly the amendments are intended to provide greater operating flexibility
while at the same time bring more accountability to the co-operative sector. For example, the cooperatives will have to comply with Accounting Standards formulated by the Accounting Standards
Council. Credit co-ops will be subjected to higher levels of governance at the board and management
levels.
I would like to congratulate the Executive Council for its successful hosting of the ICA General Assembly
2007 in Singapore. Out of the more than 1,000 participants from 69 countries who attended this
Assembly, about 200 were from our Co-operatives, union leaders, business partners and associates of
the Co-operative Movement. This mega event had provided an excellent opportunity for SNCF and our
Co-operatives to deliberate and share our experience with our friends in the international co-operative
community. Both Singapore and SNCF have gained tremendously from this experience and exposure.
Finally, I would like to record my gratitude to my fellow Board of Trustees members, members of the
Executive Council, the SNCF Secretariat, our affiliates and partners for their hard work and continued
support. I would like to make special mention to two distinguished leaders of the movement who had
contributed selflessly towards the betterment of our local co-operative fraternity.
Firstly, Mr Seah Kian Peng, who has served as the Chairman of SNCF’s Executive Committee and
provided sterling leadership for the past six years. During his tenure, he has put in place various
initiatives to move our Co-operatives to higher heights of performance and excellence. His successful
election to the ICA Global Board has also elevated SNCF and the Singapore Co-operative Movement’s
standing among the global co-operative players.
Secondly, I would like to thank Mr Tan Kin Lian whose service and commitment towards the Cooperative Movement is beyond doubt. In his years with the SNCF Executive Council and Board of
Trustees, he had brought with him a wealth of experience as well as many innovative ideas.
Let us be always mindful that the success of our Co-operative Movement lies not only in the
sustainability of our businesses but more importantly, on how we quickly adapt to changes in this
challenging globalised world and in doing so ensure our continued relevance to our society.
Thank you.
Financial Report 2008 – 2011 (Submitted)