Kwek family singapore

Addressing a large business audience at the International Singapore CSR Summit in August, Kwek Leng Joo declared: “Businesses have never before faced the moral challenges that they face in today’s global economy”.

It was to be one of his final speeches as president of the Global Compact Network Singapore, which organised the event.

In a gentle but firm exhortation, he said: Companies must realise that their actions are open to scrutiny, and they must accept the reality that they have to be accountable to society. Responsible business practices must become mainstream.

In business and in personal life, Kwek – the deputy chairman of Singapore-listed property giant City Developments - devoted much of his time pursuing this ideal.

Over the decades, he had come to be known in Singapore’s corporate landscape as a CSR titan, driving the corporate sustainability movement with his big ideas and gentle yet persuasive approach.

On Monday, aged 62,