BY KOH HUI THENG

SET up 25 years ago to provide jobs for retired police officers and their counterparts in the armed forces, Premier Security Co-operative has grown into a prominent player in the security industry in Singapore today.

The co-op has 500 members and a $12-million turnover, up from last year's $10.3 million. Premier Security's growth shows that co-ops can be commercially profitable too.

This topic, among others, was discussed at yesterday's Annual Co-operative Leaders' Conference 2009, held at the St. Regis Singapore hotel.

Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan lauded the time-tested model of self-help, which has served co-op members well.

He said: 'Co-operatives can play a significant role in promoting economic growth and contributing to (Singapore's) recovery.'

Despite the downturn, when private enterprises are downsizing, co-ops have retained their workforce and some have even increased their staff strength, said Dr Balakrishnan.

Thrift-and-loan societies have also provided loans to Singapore businesses to help them fight the credit crunch.

These are some reasons why co-ops remain relevant. Said Dr Balakrishnan: 'In order to increase the impact of co-ops and their contribution to economic recovery, we should continue to promote the co-op model.'

However, in their pursuit for commercial success, co-ops must not expose members' funds to excessive risk, the minister stressed.

'Our key role is not to generate high returns, but to generate sustainable returns and provide the right risk-reward ratios for our members.'

Co-ops, which started in Singapore in the 1920s, are businesses with a social mission that are jointly owned and controlled by members. There are more than 80 registered co-ops here, with over a million members.

Meanwhile, co-ops need to identify niche areas in which they can play a significant role, including eldercare and health care, said Mr Chan Tee Seng, chairman of the Singapore National Co-operative Federation.

As for Premier Security, the growing demand for security services is clearly a boon.

'The threat of international terrorism means security is a sunrise industry,' said Premier managing director Saraj Din.

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