Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister without Portfolio and MP for Bukit Timah GRC

Ms Lim Soo Hoon, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Community Development and Sports, and Chairman of the President’s Challenge 2001 Steering Committee

Dr Robert Loh, President, National Council of Social Service

Excellencies

Friends and Fellow Singaporeans

The President’s Challenge is my personal call to Singaporeans from all walks of life to reach out to the disadvantaged, in the spirit of care and compassion. This is the second year that we are making a concerted effort to rally all Singaporeans to take up the challenge of helping the less fortunate in one way or another.

In any society, there will always be groups of people who have to depend on friends and the community for a little help to get on in life. They may be the physically and intellectually disabled, the sick and lonely elderly, families in difficulties, and those without shelter or adequate means of livelihood. These disadvantaged people need the community’s care and compassion. As fellow citizens, it is our duty and responsibility to step forward to share our time, talent, energy and resources to make a difference in their lives.

The Community Chest, the fund-raising arm of the National Council of Social Service, presently helps about 300,000 disadvantaged individuals from 51 charities, or 1 out of every 10 Singaporeans. In addition, there would be significant groups of disadvantaged supported by charities outside of the Community Chest, as well as a sizeable pool of the disadvantaged out there in Singapore who may need a helping hand, especially in an economic downturn, but do not have access to available social services either because they don’t know how, or have difficulties doing so.

As individuals and organisations within our Singapore community, we can play an important part in the lives of these disadvantaged through volunteerism. Volunteers add soul to the social services. They contribute something precious which money cannot buy: heartfelt care and concern. There already exist many volunteers today, each and everyone of whom symbolises the spirit of selfless giving. Today, we recognise a few amongst them for their exemplary efforts with the inaugural President’s Social Service Awards being conferred on them. I hope their inspiring and exceptional efforts to serve the community and to enrich the lives of others will encourage many more to come forward and serve with dedication. My heartiest congratulations to the recipients of this Award, and my thanks for what you are doing to help make ours a more compassionate and caring society.

Voluntary service is but one aspect of demonstrating our sense of concern and care. Contributions in kind and in terms of donations, no matter how big or small, also make a big difference. It is another, and very practical, way for Singaporeans to help their disadvantaged fellow citizens, by contributing funds for programmes and services that help them along. I believe many Singaporeans are imbued with a strong charitable spirit. However, we still have some way to go before we, as a nation, attain the same level of charitable giving as in the more developed countries.

During this President’s Challenge 2001, I would like to strongly urge the better-off in our midst to make a special effort to donate more to charity, especially at this time when we are facing an economic downturn. It is for this reason that the organisers for this year’s President’s Challenge are working very hard to raise more funds than the $3 million that was raised last year. The message we must send, during these times of economic crunch, when the needs to be met are greatest, is that Singaporeans are steadfast in caring for those in need.

The Community Chest and other fund-raising bodies inevitably expect the charity dollar to be harder to come by this year. But if all of us are willing to put in a little more to do our part, I am sure the much-needed funds can be raised to help the voluntary welfare organisations sustain their programmes and services to help the disadvantaged during these difficult times.

Last year, our Prime Minister had mooted the idea of contributing half-percent of disposable income or corporate net profit towards social causes. This was a way for Singaporeans to be engaged in the community and to create a pool of regular donors. Since then, there has been much impetus and progress in furthering this half-percent concept. The Community Chest, I am pleased to note, will soon be officially launching its own programme revolving around this half-percent club concept. It is already in the process of setting up several of such half-percent clubs, formed by civic-minded organisations and groups of individuals. I would urge as many individuals and corporations as possible to join us in this effort to give at least half-percent of your income for a good cause, and to make a start in doing so at this President’s Challenge.

I am heartened by the steady trend of increasing donations to charity over the past few years. Based on figures from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, total donations received by Institutions of Public Character, or IPCs, have doubled in the last 5 years, from $156 million in 1995 to $311 million in 1999. This amounts to 0.2% of our GDP. It would be a very worthy target for us to aim to raise this to 0.5% of our GDP in the not too distant future, so that as a nation, we are also embracing the half-percent concept. And as mentioned by the Prime Minister in his recent National Day Rally Address, the Government will be doing its part to create an even more favourable environment for the involvement of the people and corporate sectors in charity and philanthropy. Among other initiatives, the Government intends to grant IPC status to private foundations that support charitable activities, and to give increased tax deductions for donations to IPCs.

At last year’s launch of President Challenge, I had encouraged corporations to demonstrate their social responsibility as good corporate citizens. As far as I can see, philanthropic programmes that have synergy with the corporation’s core business and its corporate culture and values, have proven to be a win-win for both the corporates and the recipients. By doing so, corporates identify themselves with society’s concerns and demonstrate their goodwill in the eyes of the community, employees and customers.

I also hope to see more individual philanthropists come forward as we build on our spirit of charity giving. For example, in July this year, Mr Sim Wong Hoo of Creative Technology gave $20 million to start an education foundation. Like him, there are many other individuals who have recognised that giving back something to society is part of their social responsibility. I hope such individual acts of philanthropy will resonate deeply among those who have attained a measure of success in life, and encourage more to follow suit.

Before I conclude, I want to take this opportunity to commend all participating organisations and the many sponsors of this year’s President’s Challenge. They have helped to cover administrative costs, so that 100% of all donations raised for President’s Challenge will go to the beneficiaries. In this regard, I must extend my appreciation to Singapore Pools, which has continued to give its strong support as the main sponsor for President’s Challenge since its inauguration last year. I would like to also extend my personal appreciation to Ms Lim Soo Hoon, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Community Development and Sports, and her Organising Committee, for their noteworthy efforts involving months of preparation for this President’s Challenge.

With this launch of President Challenge 2001, I am renewing my call to corporations and individuals to play a greater part in helping the disadvantaged. There are Singaporeans out there who need help, and you as Singaporeans can help by reaching out to them. I would want to personally ask each and everyone of you that for today and every day of your life, find a way to do some good for someone less fortunate. Give your time or resources so that together, we can build a better and more caring society for all.

Thank you.