The Field Marshal

NKF - The richest charity organisation in Singapore Have not been following the NKF trial till Struggling Office Boy started sharing the news with me. I am terribly disgusted with what has surfaced so far in the court case brought on my NKF and it's, now infamous CEO, Mr T.T. Durai against SPH and its journalists. I shall not go into details since most of it can be read in the Straits Times. Instead, I just want to do a simple calculation to show that our fellow citizens with kidney impairments deserve so much more subsidies than what they are receiving now. Fact No. 1 NKF has reserves worth around $220 million in 2003. Fact No. 2 NKF spent $31.6 million on tranplantation and dialysis. Fact No. 3 Of the $31.6 million, NKF collected $24.4 million in dialysis fees. Fact No. 4 $31.6 million - $24.4 million = $7.2 million from NKF's pocket. While I am no rocket scientist, there is something fundamentally wrong with the figures. Wrong in terms of principles and ethics, not numerically. What the figures meant is that for every dollar that goes into dialysis or transplantation, the patients got only a paltry 29.5 cents 'subsidy'. The figure was based on divinding 7.2 million by 31.6 million While this calculation is too simplistic and may not take into account many other costs, it still provides an easy to understand picture of what NKF is not doing. That is, to increase it's per dollar subsidy to those who need it most, their patients!!! I have always thought that charities would at least trickle down 60% or more of the funds collected to those they are collecting for. But NKF seems to be targeting the 30th percentile range. Instead of making guesses, it may be a good time now for charities, especially NKF, to declare their assets, and the actual amount of money that goes to their 'clients' - be it the needy or the sickly. One lesson to draw from all this is that transparency is paramount in any organisation, be it profit driven, or non-profit. Only with real transparency will excesses, such as those we have witnessed in the NKF case, be kept in check. Currently, there are calls for Mr Durai to step down as the CEO. Having lost the confidence of the public, NKF would do well now to reflect on what went wrong. Mr Durai should also do some serious soul-searcing, if indeed, he seriously believes that he has handled everything to the best of his abilities. There's an online petition asking for Mr Durai to step down. Here's the link - National Kidney Foundation Singapore Responsibility And here's the full petition letter. To: National Kidney Foundation Singapore The CEO of the National Kidney Foundation Singapore (NKFS), T.T. Durai, has breached the trust of the people of Singapore and all others who donate to him. He has drawn a total salary of about S$1.8 million over the last 3 years, which averages out to S$600000 per year and this money comes from the donations of people, many of whom do not even earn that amount in 5 or even 10 years. In addition, he has been less than truthful with the public, lying time and again in court before withdrawing his statements. The NKF has also played games to keep the truth from the public, with chairman Richard Yong telling the public that senior executives fly business class for long-haul flights. However, Durai told the court that he indeed flew first-class. The above are only two examples of how the NKF has not dealt responsibly with the public. We, the undersigned, petition that the CEO of NKFS be removed from his position. Also, the NKFS must be made more accountable to the public, always showing how it acts in public interest, and publishing information that will allow the public to see exactly how much of their money goes to the needy and how much ends up being spent on expenses. Currently, expenses shown include the salary cost under 4 different categories, Direct Charitable Expenses, Operating/Administration Expenses, Fundraising activities and Public Relations. This is merely hiding the truth from the public who deserves to know. Until the NKFS shows that it is willing to be more responsible, we the undersigned suggest that potential donors think twice and donate to more deserving organizations such as the KDF, the Community Chest and the Salvation Army. For more information, an article from the Straits Times can be found here. http://www.asiaone.com.sg/st/st_20050712_328079.html Sincerely, While I am happy to note that NKF and Mr Durai has dropped the case against SPH and the journalists, I am concerned with the fallout that this saga will have on the patients who continue to rely on NKF. Concern in that donations may suddenly dry up overnight. Perhaps this is the perfect wakeup call to the NKF board to release it massive reserves, while at the same time, try to win back the confidence of the public that it has surely lost.