Lord of the dance

Mr NTUC Income, Mr Forum letter-writer, Mr Blogger, Mr Singapore Dance Theatre - Tan Kin Lian may have retired but he still wears many hats as he continues his dance of life


FOR someone newly retired, Mr Tan Kin Lian does not behave like a man who has all the time in the world.

On the contrary, he appears to keep as hectic a schedule as when he was chief executive officer of insurance giant NTUC Income.

Although his last day at work was Feb 20, he could only meet for an interview almost a month later as he was busy travelling for 'leisure and business development'.

When we finally meet at the Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) in Fort Canning, he still has the look of a busy executive about him.

Seated at a conference table in a meeting room, he is poring over a stack of papers, his laptop and Blackberry within easy reach.

The 59-year-old has been on the dance group's board of directors since 1996 and was appointed joint chairman in 1999, hence the choice of interview venue.

He seems so deep in thought that the SDT employee who accompanies me to the room has to call out to him several times before he notices us.

This is the man who shaped Income from a modest set-up three decades ago into one of the leading insurers here, with a 15 per cent market share in life, general and health insurance.

As CEO, he never shunned the limelight, even appearing in Income advertisements, and could always be counted on to give juicy soundbites to reporters.

In fact, his decision to step down last September even made it to the front pages of newspapers.

Once we get his attention, Mr NTUC Income, as he is still popularly known, shifts into fourth gear almost from the word 'go'.

Even before I can broach the topic of his retirement, he announces unprompted: 'I've completely adjusted to my new lifestyle.'

That includes working from his semi-detached home in Yio Chu Kang and relying mainly on e-mail and a mobile phone instead of a personal secretary.

It also involves travelling on public transport, something he finds 'very convenient', compared to being chauffeured in a company car, a Mercedes Benz 230, in the past.

'Thirty years is a bit too long, and Income's board and I made a joint decision to make a change,' he says of his retirement.

'Yes, it was a difficult decision but in life you must be prepared to make major changes.'

Ruffling feathers

HE JOINED NTUC Income as its general manager in 1977. It was the top position then, and he was just 29.

Under his watch, the cooperative grew steadily. From a base of $28 million, its assets now total more than $17 billion, with 1.8 million clients.

Because he has appeared in some of Income's advertising campaigns, his face is so well-known that he gets recognised on the streets.

'Many people know me, but I do not describe myself as a celebrity,' he says.

But no one can deny that he is a colourful character.

He was famous within the industry for being one of the most outspoken CEOs around, and has written many letters to newspapers expressing his views on financial and social issues.

In 2005, he raised eyebrows when he started a personal blog (www.tankinlian.blogspot.com), an unusual move for a corporate bigwig.

Industry insiders say he ruffled feathers with his posts, which often portrayed Income as the perfect model and leaving rival insurers in a less favourable light.

With such a controversial background, it comes almost as a disappointment when he turns out to be calm and collected in person, not the Simon Cowell character I am expecting.

He smiles often, which makes his small eyes turn even narrower.

He speaks in an unhurried way, and the pace is at times so even it feels as if he has a mental ruler which he uses to measure the spacing between his words.

His voice is generally soft, with an endearing Singapore accent.

The only time he raises his voice is during a break in the photoshoot - to sing.

He breaks out in song as he recounts how he performed the classic Teresa Teng ballad The Moon Represents My Heart in the four official languages at a fundraising concert last September.

In fact, he is known to be quite the entertainmer. For instance, to keep his international corporate associates entertained at dinners, he would belt out at least one song in various languages, including Malay, Tagalog, Japanese, Spanish, French, Italian and Russian.

Despite his reputation for not mincing his words and being opinionated - people who have worked with him say his favourite refrain is 'rubbish' - he doesn't shoot his mouth off, at least not in this interview.

Yet, he has a ready answer for everything. For example, when I ask for his response to detractors who say he is a 'shameless self-publicist', he barely bats an eyelid.

'They are entitled to their opinions. Good luck to them.'

Income's head of business development, Mr V. Vijaykumarr, 42, says his former boss is 'very direct'.

'If you're not used to his style of saying things as it is, you'd feel that he's very blunt. But it makes working with him quite easy as you don't have to second-guess him,' he says.

Blog crazy

AS MUCH as Mr Tan enjoys talking about the strengths of his previous company, it is his personal blog that really gets him going.

He mentions it at least 10 times during our two-hour chat, sounding like an excited father who has just witnessed the birth of his first-born.

In fact, his passion for his online journal is so overwhelming that it would not have surprised me if he had grabbed his laptop and started blogging about the interview in real time.

Started in March 2005, the blog contains mainly financial planning advice which he dispenses in a professional manner.

The other entries are an odd mix of writings on NTUC Income products, notes on his travels and promotion of something called 'Logic9', a book he wrote which is his version of the popular numbers game Sudoku.

He writes in simple, short sentences, something he says he does consciously so that ordinary Singaporeans can understand and enjoy his blog.

'Some people are good at using flowery language. I'm good in communicating,' he says.

The blog attracts about 400 visitors a day. In comparison, popular bloggers like Xiaxue and mr brown draw over 17,000 and 2,700 respectively.

In fact, he even sees his blog as being a 'rival' to The Straits Times.

While some may see his self-confidence as being nothing more than that of a big ego, his former colleague Mr Vijaykumarr says the ex-insurance man is simply being very positive.

'He believes in himself. He has become what he is today by believing in himself,' he says.

Tackling opposing views

THE second son of a seaman father and housewife mother, Mr Tan and his five siblings grew up in a small rented room off Lavender Street.

He remembers how, from the age of about seven, he would fill in for his mother at her mahjong games when she had to make dinner.

He'd also wait for his father at the bus terminal when the latter came back from his long sea journeys, and then both of them would enjoy a duck rice meal together.

'I could feel that my father had a difficult life, and it'd be nice for him to be received home,' he says.

His father died in 1996 and his 80-year-old mother still plays mahjong at least once a week despite suffering a stroke three years ago.

Although a top student at Raffles Institution, he had to stop schooling in 1966 as his father had lost his job then.

His interest in insurance started when he became a clerk at a local insurer.

For 10 years, he self-studied and focused on subjects such as mathematics, statistics and investment to prepare himself for the tough actuarial course. In 1975, he qualified as an actuary.

His wife of 31 years, Vivian, is a 50-year-old housewife. They met through his cousin and married after more than a year of courtship because 'she is pretty and willing to be a homemaker'.

They have two daughters and a son: Su Ling, 30, is an architect; Ai Ping, 27, is an IT manager and Boon Keng, 24, is studying information systems at the Singapore Management University.

Su Ling notes that as head of Income, her father often had to tackle opposing views head-on.

'The decisions he made were not always popular, but he had the courage to go ahead with them and I respect him a lot for that,' she says.

Now that he is retired, Mr Tan says he will focus his energy on providing consultancy services to new and existing insurance companies operating outside Singapore.

Under his Income contract, he cannot compete locally in the next two years.

'I have a lot of ideas,' he says. 'Some will materialise, some will not, I don't know.'

Then, ever the indefatigable salesman, he gives himself another plug: 'But I'm more active in blogging, so you must tell people to go read my blog.'

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Flashback

'We were not spoilt. That's what built my character. I never see myself as the most important person. Never.'
Mr Tan, at the age of five with his elder brother Albert, and when he was 14 years old with his pet Alsatian, on his childhood

'Negative Singaporeans like to comment about other people behind their backs. I hope that there are more positive Singaporeans than negative ones'
On whether he received a lot of flak when he personally fronted NTUC Income advertisements

'Who doesn't make mistakes? Does it really matter?'
On the grammatical and typing errors in his blog

'He cares for other people, more than himself'
On what he would want to be the first line in a book about him