CO-OPERATIVES are a corner-stone of Singapore's racial harmony and its nation-building efforts and serve their members' social and economic needs in both good and bad times.

That was the key message Mr S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State for Trade & Industry and Education, wanted to drive home in a speech marking the Singapore National Co-operative Federation's (SNCF) 28th anniversary on Friday night.

Mr Iswaran said that over the last decade or so, co-ops have encountered some major economic challenges, including the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2000 dot-com bust and the Sars crisis in 2003.

'They've overcome these adversities and emerged stronger,' said Mr Iswaran, who was speaking at The Grassroots Club in Ang Mo Kio.

Co-ops are businesses with a social mission and they are owned and controlled by their members.

They were introduced in the early 20th century as thrift and loan societies to counter post-World War I inflation when illegal money lending was rampant and financial institutions only catered to wealthy customers.

Now there are 88 registered co-ops with a total of over one million members. Some of the largest in terms of membership include TCC, whose members include taxi drivers and postal workers, and the NTUC family of co-ops that includes Income, Eldercare, Childcare and Healthcare.

Co-ops often pay annual dividends to members, offer education and home loans and take on community projects and help out in times of crisis.

Mr Iswaran's speech comes on the heels of a recent address by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon urging Governments to adopt policies that support the establishment and development of co-ops.

'In countries hit by the financial crisis, the co-op bank and credit union sector expanded lending when other financial institutions had to cut back, easing the impact of the credit freeze on the most vulnerable,' Mr Ban said.

Read the full report in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.