Mr Chan Soo Sen, Parliamentary Secretary (Prime Minister's Office & Ministry Of Health) Meets The Singapore Traditional Chinese Medicine Organisations Coordinating Committee (STCMOCC)

16 Aug 1999

The Singapore Traditional Chinese Medicine Organisations Coordinating Committee (STCMOCC) invited Mr Chan Soo Sen, Parliamentary Secretary (Prime Minister's Office & Ministry of Health) to address them on 14 August 99. Mr Chan Soo Sen delivered a speech in Mandarin.

Following the speech, Mr Chan had a dialogue session with the STCMOCC council members. The session, which lasted for one and a half hours, was conducted in an atmosphere of openness and sincerity.

In essence, STCMOCC expressed their support to the issues touched upon in the speech, in particular the move to eventually register all TCM practitioners, to assure their professional standard and image, as well as to safeguard the interest of the public and patients. They also appreciated the fact that Ministry of Health (MOH) had taken them into confidence in government's efforts to upgrade and register TCM practices, and for offering to seek their input while formulating policies related to TCM in Singapore. They accepted Mr Chan's point that the next 3-5 years would be crucial in establishing a solid and sound framework for the future development of TCM, and pledged to support MOH's effort to improve TCM practice in Singapore.

During the dialogue, Mr Chan also encouraged STCMOCC to aim towards establishing itself as the creditable and authoritative body representing the mainstream TCM community in Singapore. He told the STCMOCC council members that MOH would like to have STCMOCC as the single point of contact when seeking input on TCM matters. The more credible and authoritative it becomes, the better STCMOCC can play the role of the catalyst to facilitate the development of TCM in Singapore. To achieve this, STCMOCC must earn the respect and support of its member organisations by establishing its own process of consultation and decision-making. The member organisations should give full support to decisions which are reached through this decision making process at STCMOCC. Disagreements over minor points should not slow down decision making on major issues, lest such indecisiveness should undermine the cohesion and credibility of STCMOCC.

Responding, STCMOCC agreed it would strive towards strengthening itself to undertake this challenge. STCMOCC would cooperate and work with MOH towards the regulation and registration of TCM practitioners, starting from acupuncturists. It would also work with MOH to upgrade the practices of TCM. STCMOCC should work towards good professional ethics and high standard of practice among the TCM practitioners, so as to safeguard public interest and confidence.