Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Endorsement by Chang Chiu-Cheng

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Endorsement by Chang Chiu-Cheng

Prof Chang Chiu-Cheng writes this endorsement of Tan Kin Lian.

Dear Singaporean Voters of the coming presidential election:

I decided to write this letter of endorsement in support of Mr. Tan Kin Lian’s candidacy for

Singapore’s presidency due mainly to the following reasons:

1. While I worked as an Associate Professor and Director of Healthcare Economics and Management, ACES, Nanyang Business School, NTU, in Singapore, I had the privilege and honor to also serve as a Consulting Actuary and/or Advisor to various institutions in Singapore; one of them is NTUC Income Insurance Cooperative headed by Mr. Tan.

2. I attended a conference “CFO INNOVATION ASIA” in June, 2011 at Swissotel in Singapore as an invited VIP. During my one week stay, I talked to numerous people from taxi drivers, my friends, former colleagues, all the way to many CFOs, professionals, CEOs, and speakers. It suffices to conclude that Singaporeans for the first time in its history have shown their great interest in politics because of Mr. Tan’s candidacy.

3. Since I have so far worked in seven countries (U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and China) in my long career as an Actuary in financial service industry, Professor at various universities, Consultant and Advisor for Watson Wyatt and my own firms, I consider my working experience in Singapore most favorably memorable. In other word, Singapore among all those seven countries is the one I liked and admired most. In fact, I felt proud of having been working in Singapore and I do want to see Singapore further its already excellent international reputation.

Let me start with a seemingly simple fact: at age 27 Mr. Tan, without attending a college, got his FIA (Fellow, Institute of Actuaries, U.K.). Being a Fellow of four international professional institutions, I am fully qualified to say that Mr. Tan is a genius! This is because so many actuarial candidates even with advanced degrees including Ph.D.s could not pass the rigorous and unusually long sequence of actuarial exams. As you may agree with me on my long-term observation, only geniuses without college education such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Ted Turner, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison (who said repeatedly that diplomas are for the losers) etc. can revolutionize their industry for the good of the humanity. I am sure Mr. Tan if elected will make such a great country as Singapore an even greater one.

Before I got appointed as NTUC Income Insurance’s Consulting Actuary, one of my former colleagues at NTU who had previously served such a role told me that Mr. Tan is so sharp and tough that he could NOT work under him. With such a warning in my mind, I not only had to work harder but also observed more keenly how CEO Tan managed the cooperative. As a result of this observation and our working relationship, I found that Mr. Tan was the most hands-on executive, always well-prepared to ask sharp and penetrating questions, one of the most effective and efficient CEOs who put substance well ahead of form, and was direct and straight forward.

In addition to Mr. Tan’s FIA and CEO position, I also found that he has been leading a very healthy lifestyle. As an example when we happened to be on the same panel speaking to 4th Asian Healthcare Insurance Conference in Mumbai, India. As usual I’d run outside in the early morning but because of poor air quality and too many homeless people sleeping around, I turned back to our hotel to jog on treadmill and there Mr. Tan was jogging alone on a treadmill. During the conference I found that Mr. Tan was very creative and innovative and full of endless ideas and thoughts. It was my impression that even the most productive academician may have hard time to match his creativity and originality. This should not be surprising if you just recall his FIA without attending a college and his most hands-on working style. I always give my graduating class the quotation I created “The Best Approach to an Ageless Body and Timeless Mind is to constantly Exercise both in an Integrated Way.” In my opinion Mr. Tan is the best real life pursuer of the quotation.

While working as a hands-on CEO primarily Mr. Tan has managed to be very active in many professional societies and business organizations by holding important positions and also many directorships. Along the way he has received many professional and service awards. Putting Mr. Tan on a global scale he is really a great professional and public servant based on my seven- country working experience. And so when I read his personal values of honesty, fairness, positive attitudes,

courage and public service, I not only totally and completely trust in him but also believe that he will anxiously act and realize them just as those geniuses without a college degree revolutionize their industries. I also believe him entirely that he will be a voice of the people and act by the views of the people: Just look at this every time I called him it is he himself who answered the phone!

One of Mr. Tan’s missions is to safeguard CPF and he is fully qualified for doing that. As a beneficiary of CPF I have published a number of papers around it and some of them even received international prizes. It suffices to say that CPF is a great social security system (SSS), especially if you compare it to many SSS of Western countries. I am sure that with Mr. Tan’s ingenuity and hands-on working style CPF will be continuously enhanced if he is elected. In fact, I keep thinking of Germany when a former Vietnamese orphan got elected to become Germany’s Deputy Chancellor, the second most powerful position in Germany. This fact greatly enhances Germany’s reputation. Likewise if Mr. Tan gets elected, Singapore’s great international reputation will be further enhanced. I am so envious of you Singaporean that I can not help but rephrase the slogans of

two large American insurers as follows: “Like a good neighbor, Mr. Tan is there.” “You are in good hands with Mr. Tan.”

In my long career as a university professor, consultant and advisor, senior executive of insurance companies, I have attended numerous conferences, seminars, forums, workshops, etc. but I have never seen a participant who has so UNSELFISHLY made so many contributions to the meetings as Mr. Tan has. This is consistent to Mr. Tan’s pledge that if elected he will be donating at least one half of his salary for charity purpose. I am sure that having served as CEO of NTUC Income Insurance Cooperative for so many years, Mr. Tan must have developed unusually strong compassion and sympathy with those who are less well off.

During the recent global financial crisis of 2008-9, hundreds of thousands of investors lost all their money due to the collapse of well-known financial institutions such as Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns, etc. Many people told me that in Singapore it is Mr. Tan who helped those victims to recover their losses. This is possible because Mr. Tan, having mastered the pricing structure of these financial products, was able to persuade institutions selling these products to return at least part of the selling prices. Based on my international experience I tend to believe that Singapore is the only country in the world where such a modern day Don Quixote’s rescuing mission is accomplished!!! And who is the Don Quixote? I am NOT surprised at all that Mr. Tan can do this: Simply recall the following----Mr. Tan’s hands-on working style, compassion and sympathy, FIA, and being a genius.

Combining and integrating all the above points together, I hope that a picture has emerged showing clearly that Singapore itself has produced an unusual genius who can greatly elevate Singapore to another higher level of greatness. By all means vote for Mr. Tan for your own benefit and your country’s better future. Thanks.

Written by

Professor Dr. Chiu-Cheng Chang, Ph.D.

FSA, FCIA, FAIRC, FSII, CLU, ChFC

Former Associate Professor and Director,

Healthcare Economics and Management,

ACES, Nanyang Technological

University (1993-96)

Former Chairman, Department of

Business Administration,

College of Management and Director,

MBA program, Chang Gung University

Full Professor, Chang Gung University