National Kidney Foundation Singapore
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The National Kidney Foundation Singapore (NKFS) is a Singapore-based foundation running kidney dialysis and prevention programmes. It is fully supported by charity donations. Every year, it raises part of its fund through two large scale television programmes. Each show on average raises more than S$5 million dollars.
Beginnings
NKFS was established in 1969 by Dr Khoo Oon Teik, a nephrologist, and a cohort of friends successfully established Singapore's first dialysis unit at the Singapore General Hospital. The late Inche Yusuf bin Ishaq, the first President of Singapore and Patron of the Foundation, officially inaugurated the NKFS in Singapore on April 7, the World Health Day.
Facts about NKFS
- NKFS is the largest charitable organisation in Singapore.
- NKFS established the world’s first public-funded subsidised dialysis programme in 1987.
- NKFS is the single largest not-for-profit dialysis provider in the world.
- Singapore first Dialysis Centre opened at Kwang Wai Shiu Hospital in 1982.
- NKFS created history with the first overseas transplant in Singapore in 1983.
- The Foundation's determined efforts in lobbying for Human Organs Transplantations Act achieved its desired result with the passing of the Act in May 1987, making Singapore the first Commonwealth country to adopt such legislation.
- In 1992, NKFS organised the 1st International Congress on Organ Transplantation in Developing Countries.
- In December 1991, NKFS made possible the first transplant in Southeast Asia using the kidneys of a Muslim accident victim in Singapore.
- One of NKFS’ patients became the first kidney patient in Asia to bear a healthy baby in 1992.
- The NKFS, together with the Ministry of Health, officially launched the Singapore Renal Registry (SRR) in 1993; the first of its kind in Asia, the Registry gathers comprehensive data and statistics from dialysis centres and hospitals on kidney disease in Singapore.
- The NKFS introduced a novel fundraising method using technology – the telepoll, in 1994.
- The NKFS appointed an independent audit committee to enhance its system of internal control in 1995, making it the first and only charity in Singapore to do so.
- In 1996, the NKFS launched the Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) programme with its first CAPD Centre in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore.
- The NKFS launched its Exercise for Life programme, the first in Asia in 1997, enabling kidney patients to improve their physical fitness and gain better control of their health.
- NKFS blazed prevention trail by offering free health checks for Singapore's workforce through the Partnership for Prevention Programme in 1997.
- NKFS established Singapore's first Kidney Resource Centre in Aljunied in 1998.
- NKFS established the Khoo Oon Teik Professorship in Nephrology in 1999.
- NKFS' Institute of Nursing Education and Research (INER) initiated the formation of the Association of Renal Professionals of Asia Pacific (ARPAP) in 2001, a first in the region.
- NKFS established the Children's Medical Fund to help chronically ill children and young adults in 2001.
- NKFS opened the Shaw - NKFS Children's Kidney Centre, Southeast Asia's first one-stop paediatric renal centre in 2002.
- In 2002, a unique 18-station dialysis and fitness centre was opened which is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia—this centre revolutionised the training and rehabilitation of elderly kidney patients through customised exercise programmes to ensure that they continue to enjoy independence and sustained quality of life.
- Possess reserves of S$262 million as of July 2005.[1]
Current Management
On 15 July 2005, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan named Gerard Ee as the interim chairman and acting CEO of NKFS.
Controversies surrounding the NKFS
The National Kidney Foundation Singapore (NKFS) and its chief executive officer, T.T Durai, sued Singapore Press Holdings and their senior correspondent Susan Long for an article she wrote on the April 19, 2004 edition of The Straits Times.
The NKFS objects to the first six paragraphs of the article, which carries an account from an anonymous plumber who worked on the attached bathroom of Durai's private office suite.
The plumber said he 'lost it' when he had to install, among other things, 'a glass panelled shower, a pricey German toilet bowl and a gold-plated tap'.
The article says the taps were 'scaled down' after his outburst. When contacted for a response to his story the NKFS said it was 'difficult for us to give an answer to enlighten your readers' since The Straits Times would not say who the man was.
Four days after the article appeared, the NKFS served a writ on the paper. The NKFS says the paragraphs implied it had misused funds collected from the public and splurged them on its CEO's office; that it mismanaged public donations; that it had 'scaled down' the installations only because the plumber protested; and that it avoided providing details on the alleged incident. The Straits Times is arguing that the alleged incident is true, and therefore justified publishing, and that the entire article was not defamatory but a fair comment on the lack of transparency and controversy surrounding the NKFS.
Plaintiffs are the NKFS and CEO T.T. Durai, represented by Senior Counsel Michael Khoo. Defendants are The Straits Times and Susan Long represented by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh.
Two days after the trial started, NKFS withdrew the defamation lawsuits. [2]
NKFS reserves
The court was told NKFS's reserves stood at S$262 million as of July 2005. [3]
Davinder Singh says NKFS has been telling Singaporeans its reserves won't last more than 3 years, according to statements made by its officials, however he argued that if the NKFS stopped all fundraising activities and concentrated on treating kidney patients, it would still have enough money to see through its operations for 30 years, based on its expenses scheduled for 2003.
In June 2005, the NKFS had told The Straits Times that it needed about $2,600 a month to support each of its 2,000 patients, a total of $62.4 million per year.
The charity cited those figures to bolster its argument that its reserves were not excessive. Based on its expenditure of more than $60 million a year for dialysis, the reserves would last 3 years, it said. But on 12 July 2005, during the defamation case NKFS had launched against Singapore Press Holdings, the court was shown how the NKFS in fact spent far less on dialysis than the public had been led to believe.
According to its 2003 audited financial statement, it spent $31.6 million that year on dialysis and transplantation. Of that amount, $22.9 million came from dialysis fees it collected from patients and a further $1.5 million came from other related income. So NKFS was out of pocket by only $7.2 million. A report by Lianhe Zaobao shows that for every dollar donated to NKFS in 2003, only $0.105 went to patients' dialysis and transplantation treatment. [4]
Durai initially disagreed with Singh, saying that no one could be sure patients would continue to pay their share for the treatments. But he finally agreed that NKFS' assertion that the reserves would last only 3 years was 'not accurate'.
Singh noted that even if the NKFS had to foot the entire dialysis bill of $31.6 million a year, its current reserves of $262 million would last more than 8 years.[5]
Number of patients that NKFS serves
Davinder Singh argued that NKFS had overstated its patient numbers and this would have given the impression to the public that more funds were needed to run its operations. [6]
In May 2004, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan informed Parliament that the NKFS had treated 1,414 patients in 1999 and 1,512 patients in 2003. A letter written to The Straits Times in April 2004 by the chairman of its Children's Medical Fund board, Dr Gerard Chuah, had claimed that the NKFS had 3,000 patients. Singh pointed out the number had been overstated by about 1,000. Durai said he realised there was a mistake only after the letter had been published, but had not corrected it.
Singh asked: 'So in addition to the travel and the reserves, we now know that even the number of patients that were being put out as being treated by NKFS was erroneous and remains uncorrected; right?' 'Yes,' Durai replied.
When asked why he had done nothing to correct it, he said: 'It was an oversight. I did not think it was of material importance. The donor gives us money because of the brand of the NKFS and I did not think it was so important at that point of time to correct this error.'
Singh suggested that the number had been inflated to create a false impression of need. In fact, according to Minister Khaw's reply to Parliament last year, NKFS' 'share' of kidney patients in Singapore had dropped, from 54 per cent in 1999 to 44 in 2003.[7]
Durai's Salary
Durai was paid a monthly salary of S$25,000 in 2002 and recieved 10 months performance bonuses (S$250,000) for that year, making a total of $550,000 for 2002. He was paid a monthly salary of S$25,000 and recieved 12 months performance bonuses (S$300,000). He was paid a total of S$600,000 in both 2003 and 2004. He was paid a total of nearly 1.8 million Singapore dollar in 3 year from 2002 to 2004. These figures were revealed during the trial. [8]
Singh said Durai had tried to give the impression in his affidavit that he was being thoughtful when he agreed to come on board as CEO in 1992 for just $12,000 a month even though he had been offered $20,000. The truth, counsel said, was that Mr Durai had agreed to the lower pay in exchange for freedom to earn extra income outside the NKFS.[9]
However Mrs Goh Chok Tong, wife of Goh Chok Tong, Singapore's senior minister and former prime minister and Patron of the National Kidney Foundation defended Mr Durai.
"For a person who runs a million-dollar charitable organisation, S$600,000 is peanuts as [NKF] has a few hundred millions in reserves," Mrs Goh said.[10] Mrs. Goh stepped down as NKF's Patron on 14 July 2005. [11]
On July 16, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said his wife regretted saying that the charity's ex-CEO TT Durai's annual pay package of some S$600,000 was "peanuts".[12]
Durai flew first class when he traveled at the organisation's expense
NKFS volunteer Archie Ong and aero-modelling instructor Piragasam Singaravelu who said Durai flew first class were taken to court separately in 1998. Both apologised and paid damages and costs to the NKFS. [13]
The NKFS, including chairman Richard Yong, had maintained that senior executives fly business class for long-haul flights.
Durai told the Singapore court on 11 July 2005 that he does in fact fly first class. For the past two years he has been entitled to a fare equal to SIA's business-class rate - which can translate to first class on other airlines. Previously, he paid the difference himself.
On Cars
The NKFS has a fleet of eight cars with company drivers and Durai is one of six officers who can make use of them at any time, the others are four doctors and a senior nurse educator. The office cars are also used to transport VIPs and guests of the charity. In his sworn affidavit, Durai said that the office fleet was used by officers who had to visit NKFS facilities to attend to the needs of the centres and patients. [14]
Durai also has his own Mercedes-Benz 200 car for his personal and family use, and his wife also drives it. But the NKFS pays the car's road tax and picks up the bills for maintenance and repair.
Senior Counsel Davinder Singh questioned him on the cars. Durai said that as CEO, he was entitled to use any of the cars any time he wanted. He also admitted that he had used the office cars for personal use.
Durai undeclared directorships outside NKFS
While Durai worked full-time as the CEO of NKFS, he was also a director of a number of other companies. He was paid sums of up to $25,000 a year by them, over and above his NKFS remuneration package. But he never told the NKFS board, and did not list these directorships in his curriculum vitae. [15]
It was also revealed that Durai had a business relationship with Matilda Chua, a one-time employee of the NKFS, who left to start her own company. Not only did he invest in her business, but the NKFS also gave her telemarketing contracts, and she eventually became a member of the NKFS board as well.
When Singh produced Durai's CV and asked if it was complete, Durai answered: 'Not exactly.' He disclosed that he had once worked for a company known as Bonyad Marketing Industries, which he described as an Iranian charity, for $7,000 a month. He said he was its representative here from 1990 to 1992 but decided to give that up when he became NKFS' chief executive. Durai admitted that in 2000, he had invested in Chua's company, Global Net Relations, but did not disclose to the NKFS board that he was a director of the company.
Counsel Singh then probed him on the director's fees he had collected while he was working full-time as the NKFS' CEO.
Durai said he was paid $25,000 a year each as a director of Amcol Holdings between 1990 and 1996 and an Australian company, Overseas & General, 'for a couple of years'. He also received 'some nominal sum' as a director of MediaCorp TV12.
Davinder Singh told him: 'The position is this: While you were expected to be and paid as a full-time CEO, you were earning fees outside NKFS which were not disclosed to the NKFS or to the public.'
Durai replied: 'That's correct. The NKFS board gave me the liberty to do so.'
Davinder Singh continued: 'Mr Durai, your CV is yet another illustration of the lack of transparency with which you operate.
'You do not come clean on what you do, you do not tell the board what you do, how much you earn. You do not tell the board about your commercial relationship with a person who has a contract with the NKFS. Is that transparency?'
Durai said: 'They were not very consequential, in my opinion.'
He said it was not necessary for him to disclose to the board and added that the directorships were 'just appearances'.
Subsequent Fallout and Public Backlash
As a result of the controversies, 6,800 donors have cancelled their monthly contributions to the organisation [16]. An online petition started by a former donor, Lawrence Tan, called for Durai to step down and for more transparency and accountability in NKFS. The petition collected responses amounting to 42,975 signatures before it was closed by the author after the board of NKFS stepped down. The petition author wants to give the new board a chance to set things right in terms of transparency and accountability (the petition can still be viewed here).
For comparision, an online petition dealing with the controversial and hotly debated casino issue in Singapore gathered only about 150 signatures in a few days, increasing to about 30,000 signatures only four months later.
Although NKFS is not a government body funded by taxpayers' money, as a result of the investigative journalism by The Straits Times, there has been a spirited public debate on the large salary expenditures of NKFS. This is probably also the first time in Singapore that there has been a public debate on the salary paid out to a public figure. Singapore has always believed in paying government executives top salaries for clean government as well as to attract top talent. However, the same argument cannot be easily applied to the case of a charity such as NKFS.
Several abusive calls was made to the NKFS by disgruntled donors following the revelations. The NKFS headquaters in Kim Keat Road was also vandalised with spay paint. On one of its perimeter walls, the words "big liar" and "Da Pian Xian" (Big Liar) were spray painted in Chinese characters along with the words 'Hang Turi', Turi here refers to T.T. Durai. The NKFS signboard was also vandalised with the words "liar" spray painted in both English and Chinese. The graffiti was quickly painted over and the affected areas of the signboard were quickly covered up.
On 14 July 2005, Durai and the entire NKFS board (including patron of NKFS Mrs. Goh Chok Tong) decided to resign. Singapore Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan was given the task of reinstilling public confidence in the charity organisation and of setting up an interim board to see to the day-to-day operations of NKFS while a new board is set up. All of its fund raising activities have also been suspended.
Donors were also upset when Mrs. Goh Chok Tong described Durai's salary of $600,000 as "peanuts" and there is an on-going petition (see here) to demand her public apology for that comment. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong later told the press that Mrs. Goh regretted making that comment. [17]
The recovery phase
Just 24 hours after the National Kidney Foundation's entire Board and its Chief Executive Officer TT Durai stepped down, an interim chairman has been found.
On 15 July 2005, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan named Mr Gerard Ee as the one to take over. Ee got straight down to work with Mr Khaw. They have come up with some names for the interim Board, which will only be finalised a week later. The interim Board is expected to be made up of at least six corporate leaders, medical doctors, and even a lawyer. Mr Ee will also serve as acting CEO until a suitable candidate is found.
Khaw also announced that a full independent audit of NKF would be carried out. He added that all charities were accountable to the Commissioner of Charities. That post is currently held by Moses Lee, who is also the Commissioner of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Moses Lee was the former permanent secretary of Ministry of Health.
At the same time, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has also convened a Parliament session on 18 July 2005 to address on this NKF issue and not ruling out setting up a public inquiry.
Other responses from government
- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that it was time for the NKF to start afresh. He said while he understood these sentiments, especially with many having donated to the NKF, he also called for calm, adding that "... spray painting the premises is not going to make things better." [18]
- Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan called for calm and patience, and he urged the public not to overreact or rush into judgement and " ... wait for the interim board to get into position and conduct their investigations and let us know what really happened and what the true situation is." [19]
External Links
Related Links
National Kidney Foundation Singapore Reference Resource Page