Opening Remarks by Chairman of Temasek Cares, Mr Richard Magnus

25 June 2009

Good Morning, Ladies & Gentlemen

1. It is my pleasure to welcome you to this media conference. During the short time we have, I hope to provide an introduction to Temasek Cares and share with you the vision we have for Temasek Cares. Although we may not have all the answers to your questions, we will share with you as much as we know at this point in time.

2. Let me begin by introducing you to my fellow Board members:

- Mr Benedict Cheong, Director and CEO of Temasek Foundation
- Ms Vemala Raja, Advocate & Solicitor, Allen & Gledhill LLP
- Mdm Halimah Yacob, MP for Jurong GRC and Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC
- Ms Pang Cheng Lian, First Vice President and Special Assistant to the Chairman, UOB
- Mr Mohd Salleh Marican, CEO, Second Chance Properties Ltd
- Mr Goh Yong Siang, Senior Managing Director of International and Strategic Relations, Temasek Holdings

3. It is apparent and quite clear to you that we come from diverse backgrounds and cultures, we are all here today because we share a common passion and it is the same passion and commitment towards helping the underprivileged, the poor and needy in Singapore. It is our hope that collectively, with our experience, with our networks and our wisdom that we’ll be able to share hope and create opportunities to make a difference in the lives of the underprivileged, the poor and the needy

4. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Temasek Holdings for sponsoring Temasek Cares with a S$100 million endowment. The mandate of Temasek Cares is to help improve the lives of the underprivileged, poor and needy individuals and families, or their caregivers, in Singapore. The aim is fairly straight forward, is to support those who are under-served by existing programmes, as the Chairman of Temasek Holdings has indicated and help them or their caregivers acquire skills and capabilities for a better future. We will serve and support the poor, needy, disabled or underprivileged or their caregivers in Singapore in four ways:

- We help to Build People, by providing support for individuals and families in times of need;
- We help to Build Capability of disabled or disadvantaged Singaporeans or their caregivers, through education, training and other initiatives to improve opportunities for livelihood;
- We want to be able to Build a comprehensive, cohesive and harmonious Community, by fostering and working with groups that are involved already in racial and religious harmony programmes and promoting learning across cultures and languages;
- Most importantly, as the fourth thrust, we want to help Rebuild Lives, by supporting new opportunities, giving them a fresh chance or a helping hand for those who are disadvantaged but willing to try to overcome their disadvantages or disabilities to make a life for themselves or their families.

5. The initial task of the Board will be to decide on the focus areas and programmes under these four main thrusts. Our objective would be to ensure that the programmes we support will help bring about greater impact and benefit for the individuals, families and the community in Singapore.

6. At this point, it is fair for us to say that we want to accord higher priority for those courses and programmes that are meaningful and effective but could do with more support.

7. We will evaluate and develop programmes in partnership with other agencies or non-profit and charitable organisations that have the ability to effectively execute the plans, and to reach out to those in need in Singapore. With this approach, we hope to be able to maximize the amount of funds available for the programmes, and keep our cost structure at the lowest possible.

8. In this way, Temasek Cares hope to do its part for the Singapore philanthropic ecosystem and add to the commendable efforts of others, the other grant makers, the corporate owners, the foundations and the unrelenting generosity of individual donors who contribute to the community, to social service or other charitable courses and programmes in Singapore.

9. Today is the launch and it is still early days and we expect to work through many ideas before narrowing down to a manageable list of programmes. We plan shortly to reach out to partner organisations with complementary expertise, resources and connections, to understand the needs of the sector and subsequently to work out the programmes.

10. Going forward, we’ll propel ourselves on a steep learning curve so that we can start to bring our vision to fruition in the next few months. We’ll be pleased to announce the partnerships and programmes in an appropriate time.

Thank you.

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