Singapore's oldest co-operative celebrates its 88th anniversary

Mr John Raghavan, Chairman, Singapore Government Staff Credit Co-operative Society

Management Committee Members

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. I am happy to be here this evening to celebrate the 88th anniversary of the Singapore Government Staff Credit Co-operative Society. I congratulate your co-operative for its many years of fruitful operations, and for its contributions to the co-operative movement in Singapore.

2. When you look back at the history of how co-operatives started, they gained momentum during the 19th century in Europe at the time the Industrial Revolution started, where there was turmoil and change. So people started to organise themselves to address common needs, through an economic model based on shared ownership and benefits for all members.

3. So co-ops are a unique form of social enterprise which balances both economic viability and social responsibility. They play a special role in society, through their focus on sustainability, solidarity and inclusiveness. Successful co-operatives are able to hold their own alongside profit-driven businesses, and at the same time make a positive impact on their communities, and serve the needs of their members.

4. In Singapore, co-ops are involved in many sectors – in supermarkets, childcare, eldercare, financial services, security as well as F&B. Today, we have 84 co-ops serving close to 1.4  million individuals. The co-ops provide affordably priced goods and services to help ordinary Singaporeans meet their daily needs. In addition, whatever the profits the co-ops made are often ploughed back to members as dividends, or used to uplift the community through charitable giving.

5. SGS Co-op has the distinction of being the first co-op to be registered in Singapore. Since the early days, SGS Co-op has grown to become a profitable enterprise with over 5,000 members from the public service. SGS Co-op achieves social objectives as it provides its thrift and loan services, for example by promoting the value of saving, and through offering loans on reasonable terms to help its members. This helps your members manage their finances and avoid more expensive options such as banks, money lenders or even loan sharks. None of you should really go to these places since you have SGS Co-op to provide thrift-and-loan services to all of you.

6. Members of SGS Co-op also enjoy dividends, hospitalisation benefits and educational awards for their children. In this regard, I am glad that about 350 members' children received educational awards of up to $1,000 each this year. I commend the co-op for encouraging these children in their studies, and I hope that when these award recipients succeed later in life, they will remember the help they had previously received, and will contribute back to the co-op.

7. It is important that we continue to reach out and induct young people into the co-op movement. Many young people today may not be aware of the co-operative model of enterprise. They may also not realise that many of the products and services they use are provided by co-operatives. But in fact, the values and principles that underpin the co-op movement – concern for community, democratic member control and ownership, autonomy and independence, and co-operation – are the very same issues that resonate with young people today.

8. Co-operatives can provide our youths with a model of enterprise to create their own businesses and at the same time address their concerns for more responsible and ethical business operations. I know that the Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) has been stepping up efforts to raise awareness of the co-op movement among the youth. So I hope we will see more young people participating in co-ops, or even starting their own co-op societies.

9. The theme for this evening's celebration is “Memories”. Indeed, this happy occasion is a good opportunity for SGS Co-op members to remember its roots and reminisce the good old days.

10. But as we look back at the past and reminisce the good times, we must not forget the tough times that we have been through together. One recent episode was the 2008 financial crisis. We went through without much difficulty in Singapore but in fact it was a huge turmoil globally. In the stock market around the world, billions of dollars were wiped out within days. And you can never tell that something like this can easily happen given the uncertainty and volatility in the financial market. For co-ops that take in members' deposits, it is especially important to adopt a prudent and sustainable approach in managing their funds. In the current low interest rate environment, it can be tempting to search for yield in riskier investments. But do guard against making such impulsive decisions. Remember that you are stewards of the funds placed under your charge, and at the end of the day, you want to assure your members that their deposits will be intact.

11. In this regard, the Registry of Co-operative Societies, which is under my Ministry, has implemented prudential requirements since 2010 with the aim of strengthening the credit co-ops and better safeguarding members' deposits. We are seeing positive results as most co-ops have improved their capital adequacy and pared down their restricted investments. The Registry will continue to work closely with the credit co-ops and the SNCF to fine-tune our regulations, and to strengthen the co-op sector.

12. In closing, I would like to commend all of you on the pioneering and caring spirit of SGS Co-op to create a sense of belonging among all your members. And as SGS Co-op's members are public servants, may all of you continue to uphold the public service values of integrity, service and excellence within the co-op as well.

13. On that note, I would like to once again congratulate SGS Co-op for your achievements over the past 88 years, and I wish you many more good years to come.