ANNUAL DINNER OF THE PENANG TEACHERS’ COOPERATIVE DINNER

SPEECH BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW FOR THE ANNUAL DINNER OF THE PENANG TEACHERS’ COOPERATIVE DINNER

30 June 2019

 

Ladies & gentlemen

 

First and foremost, I thank the organisers of this evening’s event for inviting me to officiate the Penang Teachers’ Cooperative Society (PTCS) Annual Dinner at Lot33.

The PTCS is one of the oldest teachers’ cooperatives in Malaysia. It was established more than 90 years ago in 1928 and today, its membership has grown to be more than 5,000.

With a history spanning more than 9 decades of providing services to its members which include subscription loans, surety loans, emergency loans, family special loans, consumer purchase schemes, car tyre/battery/repair schemes, renewal of road tax / insurance for vehicles, share credit scheme and overdraft facilities, it is indeed a labour borne out of love for the teaching profession that PTCS has survived until today!

For this, I wish to applaud your labour of love and tenacity in the provision of such a comprehensive list of services for your members!

 

I am confident that the well-being of your 5,000 over members is in good hands as they reap multiple benefits from being a PCTS member such as having easy access to loans, death benefit scheme, mutual benefit fund, education grant, seminars, cash discounts on purchase of petrol and so forth.

 

As we all know, the primary objective of every cooperative is to serve its members by providing goods and services to them, thus enabling them to attain increased levels of income and savings, investments, productivity and purchasing power in addition to equitable distribution of net surplus through the maximum utilization of economy of scale and also cost as well as risk-sharing.

This has been duly conducted by the Board of the PTCS since its inception so many decades ago as indicated in the Directors’ Report which states a dividend payout of 4.01% on members’ subscriptions and 2.00% dividend payout on share capital.

This year, I was told, the PTCS has recorded an impressive profit of over RM 1.5 million!

With a substantial pay-up capital and share capital of more than RM36 million, the Penang Teachers’ Cooperative Society is one of the most well-managed cooperatives in the country.

This is indeed a great achievement by the cooperative and a testament that sound financial management, transparency and good governance are key to success. Congratulations and keep up the good work!

The PCTS annual dinner taking place this evening is the right time to honour members who have stayed the longest with the cooperative. It is indeed commendable that such loyalty persists towards your cooperative even after one’s retirement!

The PCTS, in the capable hands of the Board of Directors led by Dato’ Tan Gin Soon, has indeed come a long way since its inception. And with this, I wish the PTCS every success, best wishes and good luck for many more years to come.

Thank you.