SDP chief says Orange & Teal cooperative is still awaiting registration after 18 months
SINGAPORE: In a social media post on Thursday (Nov 12), Singapore Democratic Party chief Chee Soon Juan wrote about the delay he has encountered in the endeavour to register the cooperative called Orange & Teal Social Enterprise and Cooperative (OTSEC), which had been announced shortly after the May 2025 General Election.
He said that the cooperative is meant to be a “people-centric economic counterweight to the PAP-NTUC nexus” and reiterated that its aims include “empowering members through employment and training; re-investing surpluses into a solidarity fund for members in need; and promoting democratic ownership, economic inclusion, and co-operative values.”
However, despite the length of time since the application was submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth (MCCY), OTSEC has yet to be registered.
Dr Chee wrote that MCCY emailed OTSEC with a list of questions, including those pertaining to the position it intends to champion, Dr Chee’s role in the organisation, and how it would correct misconceptions about its relationship with SDP.
He included excerpts from questions reportedly asked by the MCCY, such as “Specifically, we would like to know the measures that will be put in place to ensure that there is no conflict of interest between Dr Chee’s political views and interests, and that of running OTSEC.”
In another question, the organisation was asked to “please confirm that…OTSEC will not engage in any party-political activity.”
MCCY was assured in the organisation’s reply that OTSEC was independent from SDP, adding that its members would have the final say on matters governing it, and not DP or Dr Chee.
Dr Chee wrote that on July 15, 2026, MCCY sent an email acknowledging it had received two documents from OTSEC which were under review, and it would get back to the organisation if it had more questions or comments.
However, the organisation did not hear back from the ministry, and on Sept 6, sent a reminder saying it was anxious to begin operations and asking for help with expediting the registration process.
On Sept 7, OTSEC received a reply in which MCCY said the Government “is going through the due processes for registration and will reply on the outcome of the application as soon as we can. Thank you for your patience.”
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In his post, Dr Chee noted that over two months have gone by, as well as more than 18 months since OTSEC’s application was first submitted.
“It is hard to attribute the delay to the slow grind of bureaucracy. After all, it took only days for Parliament to announce and approve increases to Ministerial salaries,” he wrote, adding an appeal to MCCY Minister David Neo, whom he urged “not to hold up OTSEC’s registration any longer. The inexplicable and inordinate delay does not sit well with the Singaporean public.” /TISG