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.

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