Reply to "Two Great Leaders Who Miss Being Great"

26 April 2007

Editor
Today Paper

I refer to your editorial by Mr P N Balji entitled "Two Great Leaders Who Miss Being Great".

Mr Balji made the following statement about me, "Every press release, even an innocuous one-line statement, had to be approved by him. Every advertisement had
to be vetted by him. It was central control all the way".

This statement is incorrect.

NTUC Income handled our media statements and advertisements in the following manner:

* The media relations manager was authorised to provide information to the media, without getting prior clearance from me. She was only required to get the facts approved by the relevant business manager.

* To ensure that the facts are correct and worded in the proper perspective, she sent a copy of their statement (at the time of release to the journalist) to a few key people, including me. This allowed the recipients to correct any mistakes before they are finally printed in the paper. It also met the tight deadline required by the
journalist.

* The same arrangement was applied to our advertisements. In this case, there was usually no pressure of time.

In past years, many press statements from NTUC Income were issued in the name of the business managers. Some statements were issued without my prior knowledge, although an e-mail might have been sent for my information.

NTUC Income was able to get many of our views reported in the newspapers. It applied to all the media, including Today paper.

The approach adopted by NTUC Income was more open and relaxed that most other organisations. It could hardly be described as "central control all the way".

Mr Balji also made a statement about my unwillingness to find a successor. This is incorrect and did injustice to several general managers in NTUC Income who, in my opinion, are suitable to take over as the chief.

Tan Kin Lian