Singapore (April 17, 2004)

Good afternoon, Professor Tan Ser Kiat, CEO of the Singapore General Hospital; staff from the Singapore General Hospital; Mr Au Foo Yien, our fellow sponsor from Chevron Oronite; burn patients and families; ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for attending today’s Launch of the Burns Support Group, Singapore.

The Burns Support Group started out in 2001, as a brainwave of a few concerned individuals. These individuals include both burn survivors and concerned burns care professionals. All of them have placed the needs of others before their own and have put their experiences to good use.

The vision of the Burns Support Group is to help all burn survivors and their families recognize that open communication, patience and love are powerful healing forces. Their aim is to support and motivate other burn survivors and their families in their time of need. They also hope to be able to educate the public on how to handle burn patients and survivors, at the time of an incident and in the aftermath.

At ExxonMobil, we too believe that education is the key to the prevention of incidents. Safety is our top priority. We are committed to running safe and reliable operations worldwide.

We have many programmes to recognise risk and to encourage safe behavior, such that everyone returns home in the same condition, as when they arrived. Year before last, ExxonMobil achieved its safest year ever, well above industry standards, and our industry is one of the safest in the world.

We believe that all injuries are preventable and we demand the same standards from our contractors and vendors. This is not an impossible goal. Two years ago, we had a contractor with a less than ideal safety record. With ExxonMobil’s assistance and insistence, they have worked diligently to improve their safety record. In February this year, they celebrated two years of work without any injuries, and that performance continues, having achieved 26 months today.

While our philosophy is "Nobody Gets Hurt", we have had incidents in the past. It was with the help of trained medical professionals and support groups like the Burns Support Group, that the injured were motivated and were able to recover at a rapid pace.

We are glad to sponsor this worthy cause. We must recognize that when incidents occur, the injured and their families sometimes feel helpless in the face of crisis. But, they are not alone. The Burns Support Group will be there to assist them in anyway they can. They visit families, share their valuable experiences, offer practical advice and sometimes, they are just there simply to lend a listening ear.

Many have already benefited from the support and motivation given by the pioneers of the Burns Support Group. Many have also given back, by sharing their experiences, both positive and negative, with recent patients. I would like to encourage all past patients to become a part of this Burns Support Group, to allow others to support you through this difficult stage of your life. Moreover, you too, can become a fellow supporter one-day, and help others in their difficulties.

I recall a ten-year-old boy, Nicki, while on a scout outing in the Philippines, fell, up to his neck, into a steam-water pit. He was "medivac'd" to SGH after being stabilised in Manila. When he was recovering and the itching would not stop, he was screaming and pulling at his bandages. No one, not even his parents, could quiet him. I saw Freddie Neo and Major Ang talk to Nicki - looking eye-to-eye, they make a spontaneous connection. Nicki had trust and respect for them, he listened, and today he is doing fine as a burn survivor.

Burn patients and survivors have special needs. All of us here appreciate that. You, the burn survivors, also have special capabilities. I hope you realise that and share those skills through the Burns Support Group.

I would like to thank all who were involved in making this Burns Support Group a success. They are, staff of the Singapore General Hospital and volunteers from the Burns Support Group. Thank you, for responding to the needs of others.