Alvin Tan on Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill

The Government is moving to give co-operatives (co-ops) more operational flexibility and ensure that they can continue to do their best to serve their social mission and contribute to Singapore’s thriving society. Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan outlined the key features of the Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill to enable co-ops to help strengthen the social fabric of Singapore. He pointed out that co-ops are one of the earliest forms of community self-help organisations and have continued to evolve and adapt to society's changing needs. Mr Tan said the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth continues to see the inherent value of co-ops in building social capital and a more caring and cohesive society. It continually reviews its policies to ensure they remain relevant and effective. The Bill aims to address three objectives - facilitate co-ops’ operations so they can better serve members’ interests, provide greater clarity on specific legislative provisions and make technical amendments to update the Act in accordance with current practices. One key amendment relates to the co-ops’ distribution of dividends from their reserves. Mr Tan pointed out that over the years, many co-ops have accumulated healthy reserves. Hence, the Government is proposing giving co-ops some flexibility to tap their reserves to pay dividends to their members subject to the Registrar’s approval. Another amendment to facilitate co-ops’ operations is to remove the requirement to obtain the Registrar's approval for the issuance of bonds and debentures.