SINGAPORE - IF YOU want to smell like roses and help the world's
less privileged people, part with some of that extra money and give
it to Lee Poh Wah.
'Philanthropic money is like manure. It smells if you have too
much of it in the bank,' said the 40-year-old chief executive
officer of the Lien Foundation, one of Singapore's most
high-profile philanthropic organisations.
'Its intended use is to fertilise and support ideas that can
improve society, so we should spread it wisely,' the earnest,
bespectacled promoter of 'radical philanthropy' told AFP in an
interview. As Singapore celebrates 45 years of independence this
month, it takes pride in its transformation into one of Asia's
richest societies, and the idea of sharing wealth is gaining
broader support.
A report by the Boston Consulting Group in June said Singapore
had the highest concentration of US dollar millionaire households
in the world, with 11.4 per cent of families owning investable
assets in seven figures or higher. Donations to charitable
organisations grew from S$381 million in 2001 to S$687 million last
year, according to the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre
(NVPC). This includes foundations established by wealthy families
including the Liens, whose patriarch Lien Ying Chow founded the
Overseas Union Bank.
Other wealthy Singaporean families who made their fortunes from
banking and trading have also set up foundations involved in a wide
range of activities. Even middle-class Singaporeans are getting
their hands dirty by doing volunteer work, said Kevin Lee, NVPC
director of sector development.
'Singapore's volunteerism rate has been rising over the past
decade. It has risen from 9.3 per cent in 2000 to 16.9 percent in
2008. This 16.9 per cent, or 590,000 people, gave 45 million hours
of their time,' he noted. -- AFP