NTUC INCOME, the Same Same But Different Social Enterprise
1. In June this year, Brother Tan Suee Chieh invited me for today’s National Day Observance Ceremony.
2. He said in his e-mail that in the two years since he joined NTUC Income, the NDOC had been “quite fun”.
3. By describing the NDOC as “quite fun”, I took it that he really wanted me to accept his invitation, and that this will be a Same Same But Different way of celebrating National Day.
4. Same because we sing our National Anthem, we recite our Pledge and we read the NTUC Secretary-General’s message like all the other NDOCs organised by our NTUC unions and social enterprises.
5. Same because we will have the good “makan” like most union functions, which is the top hobby of all Singaporeans, regardless of race, language and religion.
6. But different because there is this fun part which other NDOCs may not have.
7. Or, the e-mail may be a subtle way of reminding me that my speech should not be so serious.
8. Better be fun.
9. So, I have decided to make my address the Same Same But Different way and with a bit of fun.
10. NTUC INCOME is one of the most successful social enterprises in Singapore.
11. Social enterprises have emerged as a whole new and distinct fourth sector after the private for profit sector, the public government sector and the non-profit sector.
12. On social enterprises, President Barack Obama’s economic advisor, Larry Summers, was quoted in the Financial Times of 15 June as saying, “It is hard in this world to do well. It is hard to do good. When I hear that an institution is going to do both, I reach for my wallet. You should too.”
13. The question I would like to ask all of you here today is: “Do you think NTUC INCOME has been doing well and doing good at the same time?”
14. The answer must be a loud “yes” as you have stated clearly in your vision that INCOME aspires to be “a Singapore icon, admired at home and abroad, driven by our social purpose and our quest for commercial leadership”.
15. And you have achieved it.
16. I looked at your latest annual report and there are many examples of “do good and do well” in it.
17. For the first time in your history, you were ranked top insurer in weighted premiums for the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2008.
18. In motor insurance, you re-took the No. 1 position.
19. NTUC INCOME remain strong in the financial crisis, retaining your AA rating by Standard and Poors.
20. NTUC INCOME insures more than 800,000 lives under the Incomeshield Plan, making you the biggest insurer for hospitalisation plans.
21. So, while we are proud to say that NTUC INCOME is doing well and doing good, we should remind ourselves that we must always be a same same but different social enterprise during good times, bad times and especially in these extraordinary times.
22. What is different, is the special relationship that NTUC INCOME has with Singaporeans.
23. Singaporeans know that we are not a profit-maximising company.
24. We started by providing insurance for workers who could not afford it on the open market in the 1970s.
25. Since then, we have strived to balance between making insurance products affordable for all workers, while retaining a prudent financial investment strategy.
26. This formula has stood the test of the Asian Financial Crisis and the current economic crisis.
27. This is the formula that has made NTUC INCOME a Singaporean icon that workers, members and all Singaporeans trust and look up to.
28. I am, in fact, a beneficiary of this special relationship.
29. I recall my long relationship with NTUC INCOME, that can be traced back to 1978 when I was a young journalist.
30. Back then, I bought a life insurance plan when your agent came to the then Nanyang Siang Pao office.
31. For a monthly premium of $10, I was insured for the sum of $8,849 – a large sum of money back then and a very good deal I thought.
32. I also recall the day SG Lim Swee Say visited me in the Intensive Care Unit of the Singapore General Hospital, about half a year ago, when I was hospitalised for the unfortunate incident.
33. He reassured my family not to worry about the medical cost of the entire treatment course because I am fully covered under NTUC INCOME insurance.
34. Indeed, NTUC INCOME has been building on this special relationship with Singaporeans through many schemes that you have initiated, especially for workers and the lower income group.
35. Besides providing basic insurance to workers, you also have a number of products catering exclusively to NTUC affiliates, union members and their families.
36. You also launched a $6 million Incomeshield Assistance scheme to help low-income and elderly Singaporeans pay their premiums for health insurance.
37. This is a good sign that the special relationship we have nurtured over the years is constantly growing.
38. This is what makes you a same same but different insurance company and that makes you a same same but different social enterprise.
39. Like the Singapore Story, there are core values that make us who we are, and which have stood the test of time – core values that are in our Pledge.
40. This National Day is a good opportunity for us to reflect on what makes us different as a cooperative insurance company, while dealing with the pressures to be “same same” in this age of globalisation and financial liberalisation.
