Mr Teo Ser Luck at the Consumers Association of Singapore Walk with CASE 2013, in Conjunction with the World Consumer Rights Day

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY MR TEO SER LUCK, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT THE CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE (CASE) WALK WITH CASE 2013, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE WORLD CONSUMER RIGHTS DAY, ON 17 MARCH 2013, 8.30AM, AT TANJONG RHU OPEN FIELD

Mr Lim Biow Chuan, My Parliamentary Colleague and President of CASE,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased to be here with you this morning to celebrate World Consumer Rights Day and “Walk with CASE 2013”.

Introduction on World Consumer Rights Day

World Consumer Rights Day falls on 15 March annually and has its origins from US President John F Kennedy’s address to the US congress on consumer rights on 15 March 1963.

In his landmark speech that drew worldwide attention to the importance of consumer rights, President Kennedy said, “Consumers are the largest economic group, affecting and affected by almost any public and private economic decision. Yet they are the only important group… whose views are often not heard”.

World Consumer Rights Day is a good opportunity to highlight the importance of consumer rights and consumer protection around the world. Consumers must recognise that their rights and responsibilities go hand-in-hand. For instance, consumers should learn to assess the quality of goods and services provided, and exercise their choice appropriately to ensure that they get a fair deal.

Consumer organisations around the world celebrate this day via various outreach activities to further educate and empower consumers to make smart choices. For example, in conjunction with World Consumer Rights Day 2013, consumers around the world can participate in an educational web seminar organised by Consumers International, a world federation of consumer groups.

At home, CASE is celebrating this year’s World Consumer Rights Day with activities centred around the theme – “A consumer-friendly Singapore”. This theme is also the Vision of CASE, and reflects CASE’s commitment towards championing consumers' interests and promoting fair-trading.

Following the success of the first “Walk with CASE” ¹ held in 2007, CASE has since brought together thousands of consumers each year to raise awareness for the consumer rights movement in Singapore. I am glad to see CASE put together this nation-wide event that reaches out to consumers from all ages and all walks of life.

Consumer Association of Singapore works hand in hand with the Ministry of Trade and Industry

I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the close partnership between CASE and MTI in enhancing fair trading legislation to better protect consumers.

The implementation of the Lemon Law in September 2012 marked a significant milestone in our joint efforts in protecting consumer rights. It first started in September 2008 when CASE and MTI collaborated to form a taskforce to study the feasibility of implementing the Lemon Law in Singapore. I am happy to say that our joint effort has paid off, as the Lemon Law now offers consumers greater protection for defective goods, and also encourages businesses to seriously consider consumers’ interests and improve their product quality.

Recently, based on CASE’s feedback, MTI has proposed amendments to the timeshare-related provisions in the Consumer Protection Fair Trading Act (CPFTA). We have also sought the public’s views on the proposed changes which will help enhance consumer protection for timeshare and other related contracts. Beyond this collaboration and moving forward, MTI will continue to work with CASE to roll out changes that will continue to protect the rights of consumers.

Conclusion

While such consumer protection laws may be in place, it is important that consumers are educated on their rights and how to exercise them. I encourage consumers to be prudent and take responsibility for their transactions, and at the same time, I urge retailers to act fairly and honestly toward their customers.

To conclude, I commend CASE’s efforts in raising consumer rights awareness in Singapore. And to the consumers, I believe that your proactive support today will go a long way towards CASE’s mission to champion consumers' interests and to promote fair-trading in Singapore.

I wish everyone a pleasant walk and a good day ahead.

¹ CASE has organised ‘Walk with CASE’ every year since 2007, except in 2012 where they held a gala dinner in conjunction with World Consumer Rights Day.