Some news on the NKF....

SINGAPORE : Records show former National Kidney Foundation CEO TT Durai altruistically refused to accept bonuses and salary increments proposed to him.

But a report by auditors KPMG reveals that, whether intentionally or otherwise, he actually received much more while appearing to accept less. When Mr Durai was appointed CEO in 1992 he was paid S$12,000 a month. His salary jumped to S$18,000 in 1995 and S$25,000 in 1997. With both pay rises, Mr Durai had insisted on receiving less than the S$30,000 proposed by the Executive Committee. He also accepted smaller bonuses than he was offered. But the report says such apparently altruistic acts backfired. A bonus top-up and retrospective salary increments based on his revised pay resulted in Mr Durai getting more money than he appeared to want to receive. Another concern highlighted was Mr Durai's leave allowance. It was increased in 1999 but back-dated to when he started in 1992. He did not use all his extra days off so he cashed in the excess. Between May 1995 and November 2003, he received about S$350,000 in such encashment payments. As part of efforts to improve corporate governance, the NKF has brought in a pay scale structure across the organisation. This includes the CEO's position. Said NKF Chairman Gerard Ee, "The high end, the ceiling in our organisation for a CEO, taking into consideration all possible allowances and bonuses, should be around S$19,000 per month. I'm sure some people will still think that's too much and other people in the commercial world will probably laugh and say, 'good luck to you trying to find someone willing to work for that.'" Mr Ee says a maximum of S$19,000 a month is high for the social service sector but appropriate for running a growing organisation that manages 21 dialysis centres. But if anyone with the appropriate experience and ability comes forward for the job and wants to accept less money, Mr Ee said he would be happy to discuss it. In a written response to KPMG, Mr Durai said that by rejecting the Executive Committee's various proposed offers to increase his salary, he ended up receiving less than he would have if he had accepted the offer, even after taking into account retrospective increment and bonuses. And he pointed out that all his salary increases were discussed and approved by the Executive Committee. - CNA /ct