AT A media conference to launch the Temasek Foundation two years ago, a foreign journalist asked its chairman Goh Geok Khim a pointed question.
Is the outfit - which was set up with a $500 million endowment by Temasek Holdings - an independent philanthropic organisation or a spin machine for the Government-linked corporate behemoth?
Two years on, the question still surfaces.
'I can't blame them. The Temasek name probably has a lot to do with it,' he says of the corporation which manages a portfolio of more than US$100 billion (S$149 billion), mostly in Asia.
What has not helped is the backlash against some of its investments.
Temasek Holdings' 2006 purchase of a 49 per cent stake in Shin Corp, a telecommunications outfit owned by former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, led to public protests and culminated in a military coup which forced him out of office. At one point, the Thai military even accused Singapore of using the company's cellphone network and satellites for spying.
Mr Goh, however, waves off speculation that setting up the foundation was Temasek Holdings' way of buying goodwill in countries where it has invested heavily.
He points out it has projects in places where Temasek Holdings has no presence, such as the Philippines, Bhutan and Laos. The foundation, he maintains, is independent and does not take instructions from its patron company.
In fact, its autonomy is one of the reasons why the robust 76-year-old - who also chairs the National Museum of Singapore - agreed to become its first chairman two years ago.
'None of the directors is from Temasek Holdings,' he points out. 'I've not had to report to Madam Ho Ching or the board of Temasek Holdings ever since we started.'
He says he does not know why he was chosen for the post but accepted it after three weeks of deliberation. 'I thought to myself: It's not every day that people offer you a job like this. I felt quite privileged but the problem was: Can I do it?'
The ebullient man, however, has never backed down from a challenge.
'If you have a curious mind, you will be able to adapt,' says the foodie, whose passions run the gamut from fine wines to horticulture to deep- sea fishing.
And adapt he has all his life.
The third of 12 children of a rubber trader and his wife, he was an engineering graduate from the University of Colorado.
However, after a stint working with his father, he entered the stockbroking business. He founded GK Goh Securities, one of the largest stockbroking firms in Singapore, and ran it for 26 years until he sold it in 2005 to Malaysia's top investment bank, CIMB Bhd.
Ms Jennie Chua, the chairman of the Community Chest and deputy chairman of the Temasek Foundation, has known Mr Goh for decades. She says he has all the qualities required for the job: 'Stature, gravitas, great people management skills, a good understanding of the geo- politics of the region and the social environment.'
She adds: 'He's a successful business person with a very cultivated network in the region. But most importantly, he has this 'grey- hair' wisdom which is so essential for the job.'
On his part, Mr Goh says: 'I just have a very good team. When all the processes are in place, it makes work a lot easier.'
He works with a team of eight staff, led by chief executive officer Benedict Cheong, former head of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS). They pick their own projects and find their own partners.
'Benedict assesses each project and decides if it falls within the scope of what we set out to do,' he says.
The key focus is helping communities in Asia and funding sustainable initiatives in health care and education in the region. For example, instead of building schools or hospitals, it prefers to fund training programmes for nurses or teachers.
Its first project in 2007 was a skills- transfer programme involving about 80 Filipino school principals and teachers. They attended courses on teaching methodology and educational leadership conducted by lecturers from Singapore's National Institute of Education.
Last March, it funded a $1.25 million nursing training programme conducted by Nanyang Polytechnic for senior health officials, educators and nurses in Hainan.
Among other projects this year, the foundation will work with the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise to modernise Laos' treasury, tax and customs departments, as well as develop programmes in education leadership and information technology education for Bhutan.
It spent $16 million funding 14 programmes in its first year, and $20 million on about 30 projects in the current financial year which ends in March. Each year, it can spend up to 10 per cent - or $50 million - of its $500 million endowment.
Besides sustainable education and health-care programmes, it also sets out to develop skills and talent, build bridges between communities in Asia, and promote good governance and ethics.
The foundation's LEaRN (Leadership Enrichment and Regional Networking Programme) project, for instance, is an exchange programme for promising students from Singapore and countries such as China, India and Vietnam.
Besides spending a term at some of Asia's leading universities, the participants interact with local communities by living with host families and taking part in community service projects.
Mr Goh says the idea is to give promising youth regional exposure and develop their leadership potential.
He says the best way to silence detractors is to let the work of the foundation speak for itself.
'We could have named it the ABC Foundation, but people will probably just dig and ask why we are hiding behind another name,' he says. 'There is no need to hide. The money comes from Temasek.'
The way he sees it, Temasek Holdings is merely fulfilling its duty as a good corporate citizen in setting up the foundation.
After all, despite its scant natural resources, the little red dot has become a thriving metropolis and is often seen as a role model in modern development.
'Singapore benefited from countries such as Japan and Germany in its early days, and we are now paying it forward by passing on our expertise and helping other communities in the region.'
'It's an investment in talent and human resource.'
An inter-connected and prosperous Asia, after all, is a winning proposition for everyone, he says.
'No man or country is an island. I have always felt that it can only be in everybody's interest if regional officials can relate to each other, and discuss before anything becomes either a policy or problem.'
Mr Goh, who goes with his team of eight on almost all trips to launch the foundation's initiatives, takes great pains to emphasise that its work is not about 'bragging rights'.
'We don't over-promise and we don't sing loudly, just enough to connect us to local communities. Ultimately, we have to listen to their needs. They are the owners of the programmes, not us,' he says.
He acknowledges that Singapore has a reputation of being condescending with its neighbours. The Temasek Foundation team, he says, takes care not to come across as overbearing when it is out on the field.
'We can help without making our neighbours feel small because if you do, all the good that you've done is gone.
'If you help, help without bragging, and only when asked. Don't make them ask more than once by making them wait. If you can't help, let them know as quickly as you can.
'Finally, never say, we are helping you. Always say, we are collaborating with you,' he adds.
To cope with the current downturn, Mr Goh says the foundation will adopt a 'back to basics' approach this year.
Besides academic programmes which focus on key subjects such as Maths, English and Science, it will up investments in vocational training and programmes which boost employability in the region.
'We want to prepare people so that they are ready when the upturn comes again.'
While it will not be increasing its budget, it will not be scaling back either.
'When we start a foundation, we cannot say we won't do anything the moment times turn bad. The momentum is just starting,' says Mr Goh, who adds that the foundation has set aside $20 million this year - the same amount as last year - for its regional initiatives.
'The downturn could be long-drawn so we have to make sure the endowment is sustainable. At the end of the day, if you don't have money, you cannot do a thing,' he says, adding that the foundation recently formed a unit to assess the progress of its projects.
The idea is not to set hard goals.
'We won't be able to see the fruits of our labour for several years but we need to know whether our programmes need adjustments. We measure success by measuring outcome. After training, do these communities go back and transfer what they have learnt, improve their standard operating procedures?
'They have to show commitment, it cannot be a one-way street,' he says.
On being the chairman of both the Temasek Foundation and the National Museum of Singapore
'In Temasek, the biggest plus is I never have to worry about whether the money is coming. It's there. But with the museum, I worry about funding all the time. At every meeting I have to spend half an hour poring over budgets.'
On starting a venture
'You must be prepared to learn, that is the most important thing. If you think you're the boss and that it's not important to learn how things work, you're in deep trouble.'
On the current financial meltdown
'This one is the mother of all problems. Credit has shrunk, banks don't trust banks or customers. How do you do business?'
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