Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce enters partnership to resolve issues affecting South Asians

Membership into the federation will be done through a ‘Joint-Declaration’ to mutually support and uphold South Asian community organisations in Singapore

The Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) on Tuesday signed a non-binding partnership agreement with 24 diaspora organisations to work as a united voice on issues affecting the South Asian community in this country.

The signing ceremony took place on the side-lines of SICCI’s Fireside Chat with Goh Chok Tong, Emeritus Senior Minister and former Prime Minister.

Named the Federation of Singapore Indian Organisations (FSIO), "the purpose of this partnership is to assist in the presentation of a clear, cohesive and united position in important policy and advocacy issues with a primary, but not exclusive, focus on issues affecting the South Asian community in Singapore", the SICCI announced.

SICCI Chairman T. Chandroo said, "This is a major milestone in the chamber’s history as we embark on a journey to strengthen the Indian community in Singapore. Our focus in the last two years has been on "Building Businesses – Building Communities." The FSIO, which will operate under SICCI, aims at providing community and business organisations a platform to dialogue common issues, share information and aggregate resources to outreach and upskill the community, the SICCI said.

Membership into the federation will be done through a ‘Joint-Declaration’ to mutually support and uphold South Asian community organisations in Singapore.

"We have come to realise during COVID-19, the importance and the obligation of the businesses in Singapore to serve the Singapore Indian community at large. Hence the call for an informal federation of Singapore Indian organisations. This will also be the advocacy platform for participating organisations to engage policy makers and government agencies to address issues related to the Singapore Indian (South Asian) community,” elaborated Mr. Chandroo.

Given the diversity of languages and cultural practices across different Singapore Indian Organisations, SICCI felt the need to consolidate representation and institute an informal grouping to embark on common aspirations and uplift the community. This is the first phase of the call and about 24 organisations have consented, said Kishore Daryanani, chairman of the integration committee and vice chairman of SICCI.

"We are happy that SICCI is taking the lead in this initiative. We believe that the partnership of SFIO will help shape the direction of the Indian Community in Singapore and prepare the community to brace new challenges in the post COVID-19 era," said Arun Mahizhnan, representing The Centre for Singapore Tamil Culture at the partnership signing.

"The partnership of 24 organisations will make FSIO@SICCI a formidable alliance and it will certainly attract other like-minded Indian institutions in Singapore to be a part of it," said Hernaikh Singh, President of Singapore Khalsa Association.

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