As individuals and as an association, The EDB Society's members continue with passion and fervour in support of the EDB mission
As individuals and as an association, The EDB Society's members continue with passion and fervour in support of the EDB mission
As individuals and as an association, The EDB Society's members continue with passion and fervour in support of the EDB mission
As individuals and as an association, The EDB Society's members continue with passion and fervour in support of the EDB mission
As individuals and as an association, The EDB Society's members continue with passion and fervour in support of the EDB mission.
Welcome to the EDB Society
As individuals and as an association, The EDB Society's members continue with passion and fervour in support of the EDB mission
As individuals and as an association, The EDB Society's members continue with passion and fervour in support of the EDB mission
PRESIDENT’s MESSAGE,
EDB Society 35th Anniversary
9 May 2024
Dear Members,
We had a wonderful 35th Anniversary Dinner celebration yesterday at the Fullerton Hotel. Over 370 EDB Society members and guests attended the event, and I am happy to say that all of us had a great time reconnecting with old colleagues and getting to make new friends! Our deep gratitude to Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Lawrence Wong, for gracing our event. His generous and insightful sharing was very inspiring and highly appreciated by our members.
Our heartiest congratulations to Mr Leo Yip, Dr Beh Swan Gin and Mr Lee Suan Hiang on receiving the ‘Distinguished Fellow of the EDB Society’ award.
I want to thank my Exco team, the Organising committee, the sponsors and many others who helped to make this event a success. Organising such an event is not easy, especially since we are all volunteers and it was their hardwork, dedication and attention to detail that made our Anniversary Dinner a night to remember.
For those of you who could not join us yesterday, we are happy to share the event with you through the photo montage that we’ve put together just for you. This photo montage can be found below this message.
I hope to see you soon at one of our next EDB Society events. In the meantime, I wish you good health and good cheer!
Best wishes
Mano
Manohar Khiatani
President, The EDB Society
EDB Society Celebrates its 35th Anniversary!
Opening Speech by
EDB Society President, Mr. Manohar Khiatani,
at the 35th Anniversary Dinner on 9 May 2024
held at the Fullerton Hotel Ballroom
Dear Mr Lawence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance,
Distinguished guests. I repeat, distinguished guests, because there are so many of you, if I was to mention all of you by name, my strictly allocated 5 minutes will be over.
Members and friends of EDB and the EDB society,
A very warm welcome to all to celebrate your Society’s 35th birthday!
Today’s event is unique in many ways:
First, because of the calibre of guests that we have, which reads like a who’s who;
Second, the rich and diverse variety of people, across generations, that are gathered here tonight – we have people who were in the EDB when it started in the 1960s; to those who have been in EDB only since the last few years. To put this in some numbers - people who have been involved in Singapore’s economic development from the time our GDP per capita was just above US$400 to those that are with the EDB today, when our GDP per capita is more than US$80,000 today – a remarkable 200-fold increase! Just let that sink in.
The other unique feature is that tonight’s event is a total inhouse EDB Society production – from the preparation, our charming MC, to the Entertainer and the Moderator whom you will be experiencing, to the special gift creator, all EDB Society members. All inhouse not because we are cheap, but because we just have so much talent within the Society that we can afford the luxury of being cheap!
Still another unique feature of tonight’s event is its serendipitous timing – we have as our guest-of-honour our DPM, who will soon become our PM. Such an occurrence is so rare – it only happens once every 15-20 years in Singapore and we are in that moment. What timing!
For those who may not be too familiar, allow me to say a few words about the EDB Society. Some 35 years ago, one of our former Chairman, Chan Chin Bock, observed how the then 100 year-old Harvard University Alumni association was tapping on its members for new ideas while simultaneously helping them in networking and their career challenges. Chin Bock spoke to then Chairman Philip Yeo, who gave his full support for the setting up of The EDB Society. Thus, the EDB Society was born. It is unfortunate that Chin Bock and Philip Yeo cannot join us today but they send their best wishes to all of us.
Today, the EDB Society has over 1200 members across generations of EDB officers. In my own somewhat biased opinion we are not only the oldest stat board society in Singapore but, probably, the most active and successful one as well. Being totally volunteer led, we have limited resources but unlimited enthusiasm and organise a wide range of events for our members. For example, last year, in addition to our other events, we partnered with the Temasek Alumni Network (TAN), of whom my friend and EDB alumnus Robin Hu is the President, to organise a series of talks and discussions on countries such as China, India and Indonesia, which were very well-received.
EDB society members may span multiple generations and may have very different experiences and expectations but our links to EDB, and belief in the EDB mission, binds us intrinsically. The belief that Singapore must never take its success for granted; that we must always be obsessed in ensuring that Singapore remains relevant for business and that we continue to create good jobs for Singaporeans. These are the timeless beliefs that bind us. We fondly remember the time we spent in EDB and, for many of us, EDB has molded and shaped our lives. There is a saying ‘You can get out of EDB but you cannot get EDB out of you!’. I leave it to you to decide whether that is good or bad. The more musically oriented draw parallels to Hotel California – ‘You can check out anytime, but you can never leave’.
Throughout the years, many illustrious Alumni have made outstanding contributions and significant difference to Singapore’s economic growth and success. To honour them we designed The Distinguished Fellow of The EDB Society Award. Since its inception, 16 Awards have been given out. Later today, we will be presenting this Award to three of our illustrious members, Former EDB Chairmen Mr Leo Yip and Dr Beh Swan Gin as well as Mr Lee Suan Hiang.
I do want to express a special thanks to our Guest of Honour, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong for gracing this event and spending so much time with us. We all know how busy you are and we see you in so many events everywhere, all at once. Sometimes I wonder whether you have been able to create some great AI-powered replicas of yourself to do all this. But really, it means a lot to us, you spending your precious time with us despite your crazy schedule. I have known DPM Wong for many years. Not so long ago, we were colleagues in MTI – he was CEO of EMA and I at JTC. At that time, we were peers, now of course he is peer-less! Congrats on this incredible journey and we are fully behind you as you bring our nation forward to even greater heights.
Note of Appreciation
Before concluding, I would like to express The EDB Society’s deep appreciation to our Partners, Sponsors and Supporters who have made this event possible.
Our special thanks to the leadership of EDB for their unstinting support always, without which EDB Society would not be possible. To the EDB Staff who have helped us on so many fronts. Also, a thanks to the table sponsors for their generous support.
I would like to thank my incredible EXCO and the Organising Committee, in particular Wee Lin, Lisa, Sidat, Fiona, Susan and Timothy for their hard work and dedication.
Finally, my thanks to all of you – our members - for all the support you have given to the Society, for this event and over all these years. The response to this event was overwhelming and we had to close registrations. My apologies to those who were not able to get seats but please do join us for future events and do sign up early.
The past 35 years of the Society have been very fulfilling. At 35, we are at the peak of our abilities and the best is yet to be. We look forward to your continuous strong support, including coming forward to volunteer, to make the next 35 years even more exciting and rewarding for all members.
Thank you.
View Our Photos & Videos
In Case You
Missed It
Speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, at EDB Society's 25th Anniversary Gala Dinner
EDB Society 34th AGM
The EDB SOCIETY 34th AGM & Dialogue Session with our Special Guest, Mr Png Cheong Boon, Chairman EDB 20 March 2024.
We had our 34th AGM meeting on 9 March held in EDB. Chairman EDB addressed the members before the AGM commenced.
Some photos to capture the moment.
PM gets EDB Society award for playing 'ivotal role in positioning Singapore for future
Society News
* MEMBERSHIP FEES ARE WAIVED FOR THE PERIOD APRIL 2023 - MARCH 2024. THIS STATUS WILL BE REVIEWED AT THE AGM IN MARCH 2024
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* We want to enhance & enrich our Website! We welcome Members contributing photos relating to their EDB days, links to their blogs, articles/books they have written, feedback on what you would like the EDB Society to do for you!
