Driving Force
We congratulate Bernard Tay on becoming the new President of the Automobile Association of Singapore (AA). He speaks to The Highway about his professional and motoring experiences, the responsibilities his new role brings and his vision to take AA forward.

New AA President, Bernard Tay says he is looking forward to taking part in some of the AA's AutoVenture™ trips
in his Honda Odyssey, when time allows

Please tell us about your professional background.

I qualified as an accountant in the late seventies whilst working in a Chartered Accountants Firm in London. Following which, I have served in public accounting firms in the United Kingdom and Singapore, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and various companies in commerce and industry. I am currently managing my own Corporate Advisory Services Company and an Independent Director of several public companies listed on The Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX).

Share with us your experiences with cars.

The first car that I bought upon return to Singapore was a Honda Accord. This was a simple car that served my basic needs of transport to work and for weekend outings.

The cars that I subsequently drove were the Toyota Corolla and Mercedes Benz. These were cars my Company provided to me to discharge my official duties.

Recently I decided to get a car that would serve the dual needs of taking my extended family on weekend outings as well as that of fitting four golf bags in the rear boot without too much hassle, hence the Honda Odyssey Multi Purpose Vehicle ("MPV") I am currently driving. I intend to use this MPV to take my family on AA Auto Venture Expedition holidays in the region soon.

Could you tell us about your beginnings with the Automobile Association?

I joined the AA as a Life member in 1983. My main motivation to take up AA membership at that point of time was for roadside assistance in case my car breaks down. It was a reassurance for me knowing that I could call on AA for assistance if I were on the roads and my car suddenly ran into trouble.

In 1988, the AA President then invited me to be a member of the AA Staff Subcommittee where I was part of the team involved in strategising Human Resource policies and procedures.

In 2000, I was elected to the General Committee to assist in the matters concerning the management of the Association. Subsequently in 2004, I was appointed as Vice- President of the Association.

What made you take on your previous position within AAS as Vice-President?

In 2004, with the resignation of the previous Vice-President, there was a vacancy in the Vice-President position. As a result, there was an urgent need to find a replacement. Mr Gerard Ee, the AA President then, approached me to assist him by taking over as Vice-President.

What is your direction for the Association over the next few years and what are some of the biggest challenges you envision the Automobile Association is likely to face?

The next few years will be very challenging for AA as more motorists purchase brand new cars that come with complimentary roadside assistance.

In addition, the upcoming integrated resorts and the changes in the basis of taxation for jackpot earnings will have significant financial impact on this main source of revenue for AA.

Our tasks ahead will be to ensure growth in our membership base and to continue to enhance value for all AA members. AA will continue to identify new business opportunities, as well as review and formulate strategies to increase existing revenue sources. As Vice-President of the Singapore Productivity Association, I would also like to look into enhancing the productivity of AA in order to contain costs.

With many Singaporeans travelling extensively for work and leisure, we also hope to promote more extensively that the benefits of an AA membership goes beyond roadside assistance, but includes worldwide savings.

How would AA be attracting new members?

AA would position itself as a members-driven association, with emphasis to formulate additional membership benefits to attract new members. Our recently established golf section, where members can participate in golf trips and auto ventures around the region is one of the many new initiatives.

In addition, besides providing roadside assistance, we will continue to leverage on state of the art technology to render value-added services to our members.

With AA affiliations at over 120 locations worldwide that brings to members numerous benefits and savings, we hope to emphasize to members the AA benefits beyond Singapore.