NKF-that can of worms has already been opened!
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There is more to this than meets the eye.For a huge case like this, the PMO and the Cabinet are strangely silent, almost like a tacit approval for these actions.Originally posted by miong:A lesson we can all learn from here is -
never get entangled with SPH (Singapore Press Holdings).
TT Durai made the worst decision in his life - sue Straits Times. To me, that is tantamount to suing the Government !
Anyway, I have no sympathy towards him even though the blame isn't entirely on him for his fantastic high salary. The entire board of directors (consisting of mostly very old folks) in NFK should take the blame. Government should sack them and replace them with younger people! -
Seems to me CNA is trying to help salvage the suituation for NKF.
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Besides this call for greater accountability, the majority of those who spoke to Channel NewsAsia said they will not stop donations to the NKF.
"Why should we penalise the kidney patients? They are the beneficiaries, it is the management. We should continue to support the patients."
"I will still donate, it is about helping people. What if someone in your family gets kidney disease or cancer?"
"The NKF still needs to raise funds here and there, and as a Singaporean, I don't mind to chip in a bit."
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Majority?? - Trying to play down the issue?
Penalise the kidney patients? - By stop donating, patients will not be affected as they have 30~40 years of reserve left to operate!
What if someone in your family gets kidney disease or cancer? - Go to KDF if have kidney problem, go Cancer Foundation if have cancer! NKF is not the only "Charity" serving kidney and cancer patients!
The NKF still needs to raise funds here and there - Singaporeans stupid or wat? With more than $260K in reserves, NKF dun need ANY donations for the next 30 Years!! -
It is true that TT Durai is doing a gd job , raising so much money , but the question is that do we need a 600,000k per year CEO to run a charitable organisation??? or can we afford to empoly a 600,000 per year CEO to run it? can we still do the job without needing such a high flyer?
first , i wonder how his 10-12 months perfomance bonus is based on? how they judge to give him tt much ?
his intial renovations with expensive items were removed and replaced with cheaper ones. anyone dwell on the fees to remove n replace them? where e money come from ? come from UR CALLS !!!!!!! hahaha... we are so dumb. if only he had e brain n less greed to intially install e cheaper ones , he could have save a few needy patients from a few months of dialysis fee.
Pple and he himself claimed to work his life for NKF , long hrs , blah blah... if i give u 600,000 per year , i am quite sure any one will be more than willing to work his LIFE for anyhing....
at first , he claimed to work 18hrs everyday , sloggin for NKF. then e next time come a report that he held other appts , he is board of directors for other companies .... so i wonder hw much of the 18hrs is spent doing other work? using public funds n money for the needy to earn more dirty money , shame on him !
then he claim that he only attend e meeting for the board of directors, tryin to say that he doesnt do much and his main task is still NKF. how he is trying to cheat? either the company tt appt him is dumb? giving him 25,000 per year to attend 1 meeting , or he is utterly irresponsible , taking pple's money n slacking ,not doing a gd job. or the other possibility is that he is moonlighting ... taking the public's money n doing other task , so maybe 1/3 of the 18hrs a day work is shared btw other jobs..... who knows?
PEANUTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! woa !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PEANUTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
pretty sad when i was on my home , after a 10hr work , waiting for bus , seeing other commoners , thinking abt my 2k pay , while someone says 600,000 is peanuts !!!!!!!!!!!!!! peanuts !!!!!!! monkey to her !!!! throw her some peanuts!!! -
Check this out NKF financial report:http://www.nkfs.org/finance%20data.htm
2003
For the year 2003
Â
Donations
- Tax Deductible-------------$38,585,000
- Non-Tax Deductible--------$28,780,000
Sub-total----------------------$67,365,000
Grants/Sponsorships - - -
Membership Fees - - -
Investment income & gains---$7,565,000
Other Income-------------------$25,344,000
Total Receipts-------------------$100,274,000
Direct Charitable Expenses
- Local ---------------------------$36,191,000
Look at the figure for 2003 donation $67,365,000 and only $36,365,000. 53% use for charity only. Other gain I believe is from the benefit from the previous large reserve, using $100,274,000 as the total gain only 36% being use for charity. The rest will be thrown to reserve and to the CEO salary, car, tap etc. Large room to play around the figure to get 600k per year salary. Using account point of view it is correct large surplus, healthy financial status but this is money donate from our pocket and its for charity.
Summary don't donate to NKF. -
does anyone knows how to stop donations to nkf using giro, i had sign the donation card to monthly deduction from my giro.
Decided to cease my contribution for their ceo expensive personal spending for his own comfort. -
silence is golden. they dun want to attract too much attention to GIC's secrecy and their own peanut salary.Originally posted by LazerLordz:There is more to this than meets the eye.For a huge case like this, the PMO and the Cabinet are strangely silent, almost like a tacit approval for these actions. -
A little bit more background info on Durai
Confident, cocky, combative and...
By Karen Wong
July 14, 2005
MR T T Durai strode into court on Monday, the first day of the defamation court hearing, looking self-assured and confident.
One could even say, a little cocky.
In the first hour or so of being cross-examined by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, he shot back, 'Best of luck,' when the lawyer told him that it was Singapore Press Holdings' case that the National Kidney Foundation, under his management, had been less than transparent about its financial affairs.
After two days on the witness stand, Mr Durai's tone had slowly lost its confident ring as he withdrew his libel lawsuit.
His face was now drawn, his voice shaky.
While answering reporters' questions, he could barely string his sentences together.
At certain points, he had to be prompted by one of his employees from the communications department.
As Mr Durai, 57, left court defeated, his supporters, mostly NKF employees, rallied around him.
Two were seen shedding tears outside the courtroom.
One of them, Ms Joanne Long, said she was 'upset' by the outcome.
Asked if she'd continue working in the NKF in the light of the recent revelations, she replied emphatically: 'Of course, I'll still continue with the organisation. He's doing everything possible for it.
'At the end of it, it's the patients we're talking about.'
Who is this man who gets paid $600,000 a year and sues a newspaper for reporting that gold taps had been installed in his office bathroom because it gave the impression that he spends donors' funds on personal luxuries ?
Who is this man whom Mr Singh had accused in court of having 'misled the public' and 'mismanaged' NKF funds?
Who is this man who justifies using NKF funds to fly first class, saying it is within his 'entitlement' as long as it was pegged to Singapore Airlines' business-class rates?
Who is this man who inspires deep loyalty from his staff and supporters?
Who is this man who has, through his 37 years in the NKF, has become the foundation's alter ego?
Criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan, who was two years his senior in the law faculty in university in the late 1960s, said: 'He was involved in the NKF from the time he was a student.
He was a former vice-president of the then University of Singapore Students' Union.
'He was very active in the students' union. He was always well-dressed and he had a lot of friends,' said Mr Subhas.
'I thought he was ambitious.'
Mr Durai was also a grassroots leader.
Former Cabinet minister Othman Wok, 80, said that Mr Durai had helped him in constituency work when he was MP for Pasir Panjang in the 1960s.
'At that time, he was just a young man, a nice person. I appointed him as a member of the Pasir Panjang Community Centre management committee.'
When asked if Mr Durai struck him as politically ambitious, Mr Wok said: 'I can't recall. He never expressed his views to me. But he was keen to serve in the community.'
Mr Durai graduated with a law degree and worked in the government legal service for six years until 1977.
During that time, he also studied for and obtained a master's of law in London.
In 1979, he joined law firm Rodyk and Davidson and was there for four years. He later left and was a director in several companies before taking up his CEO position in the NKF in 1992.
Mr Durai is, by his own admission, the NKF man.
He said in his own sworn statement: 'After more than 30 years with the NKF and 13 years as its CEO, my reputation is closely intertwined with that of the organisation.'
He is known to work 12 to 14-hour days, seven days a week.
He often schedules staff presentations of projects to him on a Sunday.
He is described as one former employee as being a 'hands-on' boss.
So 'hands-on' that he has weekly 'training sessions' with all staff in the Kim Keat headquarters auditorium called 'CEO speak', sometimes lasting up to two hours.
Mr Durai had separate sessions for 'management staff', said the Indian expat who left the NKF recently.
Under Mr Durai's helm, NKF's work has been ground-breaking.
About 80 per cent of his own sworn statement is about the work he has done with and for the NKF.
The self-professed 'private man', spoke of how he has helped raise funds for the NKF, of how he has opened satellite dialysis centres and the programmes he has come up with.
He said: 'I had painstakingly built the NKF on strong fundamentals and guarded its reputation.'
Ironically, though, it is Mr Durai's pursuit of redress against his and NKF's reputation that may spell the beginning of the end for the man and, by painful extension, his cause.
WHAT WAS REVEALED
The court proceedings revealed his $25,000 monthly salary (a closely-guarded secret until now), which shocked many.
Also revealed: His bonus and car perks, non-disclosure of outside business interests and paid directorships.
The NKF was also shown to have led the public to believe its reserves could last only three years when there was enough for about 30 years. It also overstated its number of patients by 1,000.
This has sparked a backlash as some donors withdrew their support. (See report on page 6).
After withdrawing his lawsuit yesterday, Mr Durai told reporters: 'The track record of the NKF will speak for itself. We are all not perfect. It's inevitable that mistakes occur...
'I have not done anything wrong or deceived the public.'
- Additional reporting by Clarence Chang
I just love the last line. Classic Denial -
How can Mrs Goh said that Mr Durai salary is peanuts
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There is nothing wrong with a CEO of any company earning above $10K/month. It's remuneration for leading the company to greater heights. The company will progress with the CEO's vision. So it is important I get a good man to lead the company. Quality man means quality pay. So far so good?
The point of contention is that. NKF is a charitable organisation. It is not just any business organisation. Its' priority should be to provide for in the best interest of the needy. That's why charitable organisations don't pay tax.
So, if the top man of NKF were to mention so many times that it is perfectly ok for him to draw so much pay and benfits because he is the CEO of a BUSINESS ORGANISATION. Sorry to tell you this, but he is not suited to run any organisation because he does not understand the cultures, basic objectives and operations of the organisation that he is heading. -
Even if the entire sum of $67,365,000 collected for 2003 is not used, and a sum of $36,365,000 is only spent, it will still leave $31,000,000 of the donation for a "rainy year".Originally posted by Rig:Check this out NKF financial report:http://www.nkfs.org/finance%20data.htm
2003
For the year 2003
Â
Donations
- Tax Deductible-------------$38,585,000
- Non-Tax Deductible--------$28,780,000
Sub-total----------------------$67,365,000
Grants/Sponsorships - - -
Membership Fees - - -
Investment income & gains---$7,565,000
Other Income-------------------$25,344,000
Total Receipts-------------------$100,274,000
Direct Charitable Expenses
- Local ---------------------------$36,191,000
Look at the figure for 2003 donation $67,365,000 and only $36,365,000. 53% use for charity only. Other gain I believe is from the benefit from the previous large reserve, using $100,274,000 as the total gain only 36% being use for charity. The rest will be thrown to reserve and to the CEO salary, car, tap etc. Large room to play around the figure to get 600k per year salary. Using account point of view it is correct large surplus, healthy financial status but this is money donate from our pocket and its for charity.
Summary don't donate to NKF.
This sum added to the RESERVE Total of $262,000,000 (as at end-2004) could have easily earned an interest from any local bank of $7,860,000 at 3% interests per year.
That amount would have easily covered the deficit of $7,000,000 per year from the current reserve of $262,000,000 - which then can last into perpetuity IF MORE PEANUTS are NOT PAID OUT !!!!
So far nothing has been said about Fixed Deposits or Interests earned by having such a huge pool of CASH sitting in its Reserve; surely a good Fund Manager can grow this Reserve of $262,000,000 ???
Some "secret revenue" source still not revealed ?
At $7,860,000 interest earned per year, the $21,000,000 NKF Building would have been fully paid in three years !!! -
can't believe someone with a high profile can say things like that.... 600,000 maybe peanuts to mrs goh, but to ppl who earns barely enough to support the family, its a bonus that the person can only dream of.
as for tt durai, i believe there are ppl more guilty than him. who will reject a bonus of 10 to 12 months? it is the ppl that decide to give him the money that ought to get shot. -
$600,000 for the NKF CEO T T Durai? We should organise a robbery on him. J/k..btw what im stating here doesnt really match the main discussion.
My simple theorycraft with respect to a single person.
Based on my calculations of an average Singaporeans' that earn an average of $2000/mth, it takes 300 months=25 years to earn that amount of money. Assuming u save at least $1000/mth,u take 50 years by then. By the time u are already in your 70++.
For those earning above the average pay,lets say $5000/mth. It takes 120mths=10yrs to earn this amount and 20 years to have this figure in your bank account. At the age of 40++ u have this amount,good for u.Can start to prepare for a luxurious post mortem working life.
BUT WAKE UP YOUR IDEA,u think its possible to save $2.5k/mth? Daily expenses,petrol,monthly home & car installments,entertainment,insurance,PUB,HP bills,supporting parents, will mount to a bill of at least $3k+ monthly.
How how how? Many Singaporeans are trying to meet their ends meet and hardly have much savings in their bank account. I am very disappointed with the comment from Mrs Goh,$600,000 is peanuts. Fantastic i should say. I can buy a WRX + a condo with some spare cash. Comment is given without thoughts bout the norm of Singaporeans conditions.
$600,000? Only if u are a $5k-er monthly and a hardcore saver. -
and don't forget. Durai holds a directorship in a business that supplies NKF. So he has more than one revenue stream. Clever.
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Can i get back my money which i call the 1900 numbers over the last 2 weekends?
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Of course,all intelligent money-makers will have more than 1 source of revenue.Originally posted by dryver:and don't forget. Durai holds a directorship in a business that supplies NKF. So he has more than one revenue stream. Clever. -
Originally posted by C J:
errmmm... is'nt a hundred million = 1 billion?
Of course it seems alrite if u compare $600,000 wif the reserve of a few hundred million dollars!
[b]Thank GOD the reserve wasn't like a billion dollars!
Else who knows how much these ppl are drawing yearly!
[/b]
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he maybe siphon the money to India...sources says that he has a bank account there
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Asshole has the cheek to say he use own money to top up SIA business class cost, in order to travel first class of other airline.
It's public money and he should support our national carrier, SIA.
The arguement that this man does a good job and managed to spur up NKF over the years. This is not a commercial organisation where the CEO will steer the company towards higher revenue, thus profit. All the money flows from the public, and it's thru sympathy/empathy of the needed. If the public no longer donate, and he can help the needed, while at the same time grow the reserves; I'd consider him outstanding in performance.
While I believe the cause and mission of NKF is right, and they should continue to help the patients, they have an obligation to provide accurate and truthful info to the public. There're many charity organisation that need donation, and there's limited amount of money that comes from the public. If NKF has sufficient reserve, then they should not mislead the public that they desperately need more, this'll indirectly reduce the donation to other organisation that truely need money to continue their effort. In my opinion, TTD has lost credibility and respect from the public!
Wait a minute, since there's 30years of reserve, we don't need him and the board of directors anymore. Hire a CEO 25years later! Perhaps, the savings from their salary/perks could sustain the patients for much longer. -
I think u mean a thousand thousand=a billion..Originally posted by Axelheat755:errmmm... is'nt a hundred million = 1 billion? 
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I think u mean a thousand millions = a billion..Originally posted by Axelheat755:errmmm... is'nt a hundred million = 1 billion? -
Anyway, i'm so disappointed that there wasn't any backlash
from Mrs Goh comments on the case in the newspapers today.
No wonder she defended him. She's on the board herself.
The rich will protect the rich, and the poor will huddle together.. Sigh..
Im headed for a job interview at NKF's this afternoon,
anybody wanna join me?
Heard they pay peanuts, but you get to use their expensive toilet with gold taps
whenever you have the urge or when you need some privacy to devise your next plan
on how to con a nation using patients like animals in a televised live program like some reality show.
Throw in some famous celebrities doing mindless stunts like wasting food
and preaching about saving lives while endangering themselves
as a good example to children watching the show.
If you good at it, maybe you get 10-12mths bonus
and of cos, there's always "entitlements". -
I am very agitated on hearing that Durai earns 25K a month. A charity organisation that has been getting its funding from the public. But we must admit he is a capable man, successfully establishing NKF as one of the most known and trusted charity organisation.
There doesn't seem to be a problem if he has used his entitlement for business class to travel on first class. Afterall, he is not a volunteer. He is an employee who has been hired so as to lead the organisation forward.
What is the justifiable amount of bonus that one should get in a charity like NKF? Shouldn't this be benchmarked to some where? A 12 month bonus is grossly exorbitant, especially when the message thrown across was that -though there is a huge reserve, it will dry out some day. Shouldn't any extra income collected in the annum be put into the reserve or spent for the benefit of the patients?
The bottomline is that who is keeping all these tabs on these charities? Why were they allowed to have such an operating budget where they can afford to have expensive taps and all. Shouldn't the funds mainly go to the welfare of the patients? Extra funds other than put in the reserves should go to purchasing more dialysis machines or higher subsidies for the patients. Is there a necessity to establish NKF as a world class professional body? Is this the vision of NKF?
Can we stop the donations because we are furious with the management of funds? The stopping of funding does not mean that the reserves will be used FOR the patients. This shortage of funding may just turn to be a reason for increasing the payment by the patients themselves!
These are just my thoughts. The accountability of charity organisations has really become questionable. -
I'm utterly disappointed that statement made by Mrs Goh, it's maybe peanuts to you it may be the expense of a year for lot of family. If it's peanuts to you why don't you start giving $600K to the society every year. Originally posted by C J:Anyway, i'm so disappointed that there wasn't any backlash
from Mrs Goh comments on the case in the newspapers today.
No wonder she defended him. She's on the board herself.
The rich will protect the rich, and the poor will huddle together.. Sigh..
Im headed for a job interview at NKF's this afternoon,
anybody wanna join me?
Heard they pay peanuts, but you get to use their expensive toilet with gold taps
whenever you have the urge or when you need some privacy to devise your next plan
on how to con a nation using patients like animals in a televised live program like some reality show.
Throw in some famous celebrities doing mindless stunts like wasting food
and preaching about saving lives while endangering themselves
as a good example to children watching the show.
If you good at it, maybe you get 10-12mths bonus
and of cos, there's always "entitlements". -
Peanuts are for monkeys ......... insenstive ba boon !!!!
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Some questions about GIRO and 1900 donations.
For GIRO donations, you can
1) Call the NKF
2) Call your bank
3) Terminate GIRO arrangement through internet banking
4) Visit your bank
5) Visit NKF
to terminate the GIRO donations.
For 1900 donations, it seems people have had success calling SingTel to ask them to cancel the donations, and this is only possible because it has not been deducted in your bill yet. So if you wish to try this (no guarantees) you should call soon before it appears in your bill.
[/list]Originally posted by decipher:Can i get back my money which i call the 1900 numbers over the last 2 weekends?