Everyone plays a part in building an inclusive and caring community

Mr Andy Chan, Country President of Motorola Solutions Singapore

Ms Joanne Poon, Manager of Adult Services, Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore, or CPAS

Ladies and gentlemen

1. A very good evening and it’s a pleasure for me to be here with all of you today at the Motorola Golf Charity event. I think Andy and team were very kind in thanking me for coming here. I thought I would share with you how is it that I came to be at your event.
   

2. I met Vincent at the Children’s Charities Association cheque presentation a few weeks ago. The fact that I met him there is testament to the good work that Motorola Solutions has been doing in terms of supporting CPAS, because CPAS is one of the six constituent charities that make up the Children’s Charities Association. After the presentation, we got to talking, and he told me that in a few weeks’ time, there’s going to be a golf charity. He needed some help looking for someone to come and officiate at this event, and I said, well, I’m very happy to help out because this is really a very worthy cause.

3. It’s also a cause very close to my heart, because actually, just a few months ago, I was still at the Ministry of Education, and special needs education is one of the portfolios that I was involved in. CPAS happens to run one of the 20 special needs schools in Singapore. I’ve been to CPAS School a few times and I’ve interacted with the students, interacted with the educators, the parents. So I’m quite familiar with their journey, and I’m really very glad that Motorola has chosen to support CPAS, because I think that with the help of corporate partners such as yourselves, not just the company, but also its many partners and friends, I think we can do a lot to help ensure that both children as well as adults with cerebral palsy are able to lead as fulfilling and as autonomous a life as possible. This is something that I was very committed to do when I was in the Ministry of Education, and this is a sector that I would continue to be very glad to be associated with.
   

4. So for an event like this, I’m really more than happy to be with all of you. I only regret that I’m not able to spend the entire evening because of previous commitments, but I’m really very glad for all of you to be part of this very commendable effort. So instead of thanking me, I want to say a very big thank you to all of you. You’ve done great. Give yourselves a big clap.
   

5. CPAS has been able to achieve much, I would say to a large extent due to the strong support of our corporate partners, such as yourselves. So please do continue to show your concern, to show your caring hearts, and to help build an inclusive society in Singapore.
   

6. The Government, of course, will also partner you in this journey. The National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, or NVPC, is developing the Singapore roadmap for corporate giving, and this will help establish indicators that allow corporates to better shape and measure the impact of their corporate social responsibility programmes. With this roadmap, we want to highlight and celebrate exemplary corporate givers in Singapore, and encourage more to step forward and do the same.
   

7. In fact, let me put on one of my new hats, which is MOF. I would say this year in particular is a really good year to give, because, as you know, it’s SG50, and our donations to IPCs will be getting three times the tax deduction. So not only are your corporate donations doing a lot for our recipients and our beneficiaries, I would say that from a tax sense, it’s also working out better for all of our corporate partners. This is until the end of calendar year 2015, so I think you all know what to do.

Rally for athletes at the ASEAN Para Games

8. Now also allow me to put on my other new hat, which is MCCY – culture, community and sports. There is a very big event coming up, and that will be the ASEAN Para Games. It will be held from the 3rd to the 9th of December, and it’s going to be one of the key platforms for us to take another step towards building an inclusive society. The APG will be the first time we are hosting such a large-scale sporting event for athletes with disabilities. Many of the athletes who will be featured in this Games are debutants, or first time competitors. So I think they need a lot of our help, a lot of our support and encouragement. I have met many of them; I think we have a player with us as well. They are all going to be part and parcel of Team Singapore.

9. CPAS has been, indeed, contributing our athletes. Just two nights ago, I was also meeting with our wheelchair basketball team, and then earlier, also meeting with many of our other players. I want to especially highlight Boccia, as well as Cerebral Palsy Football, or CP Football, because these are sports that our CPAS clients are able to excel in particularly. Our athletes have been training very hard. I know they all want to do Singapore proud, and we also hope that the APG will be a catalyst for promoting sport to everyone, regardless of abilities. All of you can make that difference by supporting or backing up our Team Singapore athletes, and supporting them at the competitions between the 3rd and the 9th of December.

10. Once again, my appreciation goes to Motorola and all the participating partners and sponsors for being part of today’s very meaningful programme, and to help improve the well-being of those with special needs. Thank you all for your sense of contribution, thank you all for your sense of sharing and giving. This is what makes Singapore a better home for everyone.

11. Have a great evening everyone.