SPEECH BY MR ONG YE KUNG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND COORDINATING MINISTER FOR SOCIAL POLICIES AT THE COMPANY OF GOOD CONFERMENT CEREMONY 2025

Mr Seah Chin Siong, Chairman, National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC)

Ladies and gentlemen,

1.             I am very happy to join you tonight at the Company of Good Conferment Ceremony, to celebrate the contributions that companies have made to build a more inclusive and caring Singapore.

2.             Societal issues are very complex, and governments cannot possibly solve them alone. So we need a diverse range of community as well as economic partners with expertise and passion in many fields. Through the concerted efforts of the government, community organisations and beneficiaries themselves, we can deliver a very meaningful collective impact on society.

3.             In this regard, I would like to acknowledge the work of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC). You started as the National Volunteer Centre, focusing only on volunteerism. Today, how have you grown. You have evolved into a champion of giving and this is an important and integral part of the social service landscape in Singapore today.  

4.             The growth of NVPC also reflects our nation’s growing commitment to social responsibility, across the public, private and people sectors. Thank you NVPC for your tireless efforts in fostering this national culture of giving.

The Value of Organisations

5.             A major stakeholder in NVPC’s work are the corporate entities, which are encouraged to do good. Indeed, corporate social responsibility is gaining importance. Some people, including myself, sometimes worry that this may not be sustainable, because the world increasingly glorifies the individual rather than the company. The gig economy is expanding, and the concept of organisation, we always ask – will it weaken over time?

6.             This worry is not unfounded. In many democratic systems, personal freedom of thought and action is highly valued, sometimes above shared effort and responsibility. Social media exacerbates this by rewarding personal expression. You have a good post that is quite funny, a clever comment, you put it out at the right time – you get lots of likes and personal affirmation.

7.             AI takes this to a whole new level. Today, one person – armed with the right AI tools – can build an app, design a pitch deck, or even launch an online business. Tasks that once took a whole team to do now can be done by a single person, with the help of AI.

8.             The gig economy continues to fragment traditional notions of work. Gig workers can now work on their own terms – without being part of a company and organisation, or under any supervision.

9.             I am of the view, notwithstanding all this, that organisations will continue to thrive. This is because however fast the world evolves, human nature does not change. We are, fundamentally, social beings who thrive in the company of others who share our purpose, our passion, and our ethos. Personal autonomy is only meaningful in the context of collaboration and community. The world may take a slight detour to focus on individualism, but I do believe it will steer back to the organisation.

10.          Humans have learned that a band outlives a family, a tribe outlives a band, a village outlives a tribe, and a society outlives a village. By organising ourselves into a larger collective, our lives improve. The most successful companies in the world are well-run organisations with a distinct corporate purpose, not a collection of gig workers alone.

Social Responsibility of Organisations

11.          But the survivability or strength of the organisation is not to be taken for granted. Fragmentation of work and individuals retreating into their own cyberspace can undermine the organisation over time, and we need to counter such forces.

12.          One way to do so is to continue to emphasise the value of individuals physically coming together to accomplish more than their business objectives, to help others, to bring about social objectives. And that’s what NVPC is doing. It is all about strengthening the organisations. With all of us working together, we achieve more than having our individual contributions.

13.          We see many inspiring and creative ways that companies have embraced corporate citizenship. One example is one of today’s winners, Sheng Siong. Since 1985, the founders moved from pig farming to opening a small provision shop. Today they are one of Singapore's most beloved homegrown retail chains.

14.          Since 2012, their partnership with Red Cross Youth has transformed their stores into community giving hubs. Over 12 years, Sheng Siong has collected and distributed over 344,000 hampers, valued at over $3 million. Sheng Siong employees assisted to prepare and distribute hampers of food, toiletries and household items to vulnerable groups, including single-parent households, low-income households, seniors, migrant workers, everyone who needs help.

15.          As a Champion of Good, Sheng Siong leads by example through NVPC’s Queen Bee programme. This is a mentorship initiative where established companies with experience in doing good guide other businesses to follow their footsteps in developing sustainable corporate giving practices.

16.            Sheng Siong’s help extends to their employees in a very meaningful way. It has an Education Grant programme that has disbursed over $6 million towards supporting the education of around 600 employees’ children each year, since its inception in 2013. One beneficiary is Mdm Meng Donge (蒙东娥), a 54-year-old retail assistant. She is a single mother of two who has worked for Sheng Siong for 20 years. This programme gave her not just a job in Sheng Siong, but also brought up her children with good education. I am sure in her heart she will know that by working for Sheng Siong, her children will do better than her. And that is social mobility, brought about not just because of Singapore’s education system, but companies like Sheng Siong.

17.            Another notable company is Hegen, our homegrown brand known for innovative breastfeeding products. They have partnered Safe Place, a charity providing support services to women facing unsupported pregnancies, to conduct pro-bono antenatal workshops. These workshops teach mothers comprehensive infant care skills and practical parenting knowledge and provide good emotional support.

18.            I should not forget about public agencies. We also have the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), a good example of a public service agency not just with a public purpose, but also a social purpose. They have repurposed state properties into interim community spaces that foster social cohesion and wellbeing. SLA has also been encouraging their tenants to embrace sustainability practices and take up social causes.

19.            For all their good work, we are conferring 62 organisations, including Sheng Siong, Hegen and SLA, the accolade of Champion of Good tonight. They are amongst 393 organisations being recognised tonight. These organisations have embedded social objectives into how they lead, operate and grow.

20.            Collectively, the 2024 and 2025 cohorts of Companies of Good have contributed over one million volunteer hours and more than $357 million in donations and touched the lives of more than 1.8 million people. Notably, Small-Medium Enterprise (SME) participation has doubled this year, showing that you don’t have to be big with lots of resources to make an impact.

21.            I talked about organisations. When organisations come together, you form a community of doing good. Over the last couple of years, these awards were changed into a four-tiered format, so companies can come in at a certain level as long as you have some accomplishments. Then you can look at others who have done better and achieved higher tier awards, and benchmark your practices against them.

22.            I hope more companies will take up this challenge – whatever tier you are, it is an opportunity to improve. We can always do better.

23.            Congratulations to all the Companies and Champions of Good conferred tonight! I wish everybody an enjoyable evening. Thank you.