To round off 2024, we recount the favourite and most read stories by fellow co-operators for this year.
We are grateful for another year of publishing exclusive content on local co-operatives with pieces that run the gamut from sustainability, talent development, and long-form profile reads. We thank you, our esteemed readers, for helping us document these special moments.
Recounting the memorable happenings in the past year, here are the most read stories that our fellow co-operators have read and loved for the year 2024.
“I am able to influence a change as a co-operator,” NTUC FairPrice's Tng Ah Yiam
Tng Ah Yiam has done some “purposeful work”, as he calls it, at Singapore’s largest and only co-operative retailer, NTUC FairPrice. The phrase is most apt. After all, this man had stood by his first job, through thick and thin, like a committed marriage, growing from an ambitious youth with a hasty attitude and a swanky motorbike to the organisation’s chief procurement officer several decades later.
Read more here.
“Recognise my disability, appreciate my ability”, says Runninghour's Chris Hortin-Tan
Runninghour Co-operative’s Chris Hortin-Tan was only 14 years old when she was diagnosed with juvenile glaucoma, a rare condition that affects children as early as three, leaving them with failing eyesight as they grow older and, eventually, blindness.
Read more here.
11 New emerging leaders presented solutions to attract youths, retirees, and customers
The Emerging Leaders Programme 2024 by the Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) featured 11 new emerging leaders from eight co-operatives.
Read more here.
"Punched as a teen, it inspired me to be a policeman,' says retiree and POLWEL Co-op's Jason Chin
When he retired from the Singapore Police Force in 2023, Singaporean Jason Chin tossed around some ideas of what he’d to do next. Travelling? Perhaps. Becoming a house husband? Maybe. A full-time retiree? Not quite. That’s when he discovered POLWEL Co-op!
Read more here.
Good leadership is key to co-ops’ growth: Lim Swee Say at the SG Co-op Forum 2024
In early May, co-operative leaders came together at the Singapore Co-operative Forum 2024 to glean insights on talent development and leadership succession from thought leaders in the co-operative, corporate, and union sectors. The theme? “Do today for tomorrow’s needs”, a reminder for co-operatives to innovate and create solutions to stay relevant.
Read more here.
CCFC bids farewell to outgoing chairman Mr Tan Kian Chew & member Mr Yoong Ee Chuan
The Chairman of the Central Co-operative Fund (CCF) Committee Mr Tan Kian Chew has stepped down from the board from 29 February 2024. The Central Co-operative Fund, or CCF, is a fund set up under the Co-operative Societies Act 1979, and is under the purview of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY). The Minister for MCCY appoints the Committee for the purpose of overseeing the CCF.
Read more here.
“Easy experiences for customers is what I want to deliver”: FairPrice Group’s Group CEO Vipul Chawla
FairPrice Group’s group chief executive officer (GCEO) Mr Vipul Chawla was once chastised by an aunty while working at the till at a FairPrice supermarket. “I was too slow,” he recounted.
His stint as a cashier was part of a self-imposed directive of investing at least 100 hours in familiarising himself with the work on the ground as the new GCEO of Singapore’s largest retailer back in 2022. “Unless I invest at least 100 hours doing something, I don't have the licence to even have a conversation with my team, let alone make decisions,” added Mr Chawla.
Read more here.
SCM Insider: Run club turned co-op Runninghour celebrates 10th anniversary of ‘Run For Inclusion’
More than 1,800 participants took part in Runninghour Co-operative’s flagship event, Run for Inclusion 2024, held at the Jurong Lake Gardens on a rainy Saturday in early November.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the event reaffirmed Runninghour’s mission to foster an inclusive society through sports, bringing together persons with and without special needs for a meaningful cause.
Read more here.
“When serving the community, have your heart in the right place,” says Vernon Khoo of CCFC
For Vernon Khoo, co-operatives aren’t just structures on paper or names in a registry; they’re real lifelines. His journey with the Singapore Co-operative Movement began with the Industrial & Services Co-operative Society (ISCOS), where he served as a Board member and eventually with the Board of Trustees. There, he witnessed how the co-operative provided vital support to ex-offenders and their families, helping them rebuild their lives. “Given the opportunity to help make lives better was a rewarding experience which I found very fulfilling,” he says. Now, as the newly appointed Chairman of the Central Co-operative Fund (CCF) Committee, also known as CCFC, Mr Khoo’s commitment is to support Singapore’s co-operatives in practical and meaningful ways.
Read more here.
New S$1M fund to bolster co-ops’ support for vulnerable communities in Singapore from 2025
The S$1,000,000 Empowering Communities Fund (ECF) is set up by the Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) and the Registry of Co-operative Societies (RCS), with support from the Singapore Co-operative Movement and the Government. ECF will be officially launched in early 2025.
Read more here.
By Sng Ler Jun
