80th Anniversary Commemorative Book - Singapore Manufacturing ...

SMF members had good reason for cheer in 2000.As the Singapore Confederation of Industries, which had been reformeda few years earlier, they had a wider sphere of influence and clout, whichhad led to better recognition, greater exposure and stronger links with theGovernment.Big plans were in the works: A new logo was unveiled in 2000, and a$3 million Internet portal to showcase the products of 1,500 local andoverseas manufacturing companies was launched. Meanwhile SMF’sleaders continued with the day-to-day tasks of organising dialogues withthe Government and other organisations, arranging trade missions andpromoting Singapore’s industries and services. It was also during this timethat the designation of Secretary-General was created. Prior to that, theposition had been known as Executive Director.Going back to basicsHowever, this all changed in 2002 when the Government felt that itwas necessary to restructure the Singapore Federation of Chambers ofCommerce and Industry (which then comprised the Singapore ChineseChamber of Commerce and Industry, the Singapore Indian Chamberof Commerce and Industry, the Singapore International Chamber ofCommerce, the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industryand the SMF), into a new entity.The new Singapore Business Federation would champion the interests ofthe wider Singapore business community in trade, investment and industrialrelations. In one stroke, the umbrella role which the SMF had played wasaltered.Honed by years of adapting to change, the SMF leaders faced the newdevelopment head on. They decided to refocus on members’ corecompetence: Manufacturing.A special task force was formed to look into the SMF’s role. It decided to:• Rename the Singapore Confederation of Industries the “SingaporeManufacturers’ Federation” or “SMa” for short.Initiating Change 1997 – 2012 69