Giving back to the community
Date：2014/10/01
BEFORE 2005, when Mah Sing Foundation was established, Mah Sing Group had been doing charitable works on an ad hoc basis.
“We found that these projects require a lot of teamwork and cooperation,” said Mah Sing Foundation chairman Datuk Syed Norulzaman Syed Kamarulzaman.
“In order to do charitable works effectively and efficiently, you need to have coordinated effort. The foundation was built to raise and channel funds to appropriate recipients in a coordinated manner,” he said, after handing over a mock cheque worth RM30,000 for the sponsorship of Step Up pullouts by The Star.
The Star’s acting group chief editor Leanne Goh received the cheque.
The Step Up programme, an initiative under The Star’s NiE (Newspaper-in-Education) programme, is a 24-page bilingual educational pullout that aims to enhance the command of English among primary-going pupils.
Syed Norulzaman said that the foundation focuses on contributing help to educational and medical causes as part of its philosophy.
“We try to help communities in distress, whether in Malaysia or overseas,” he said.
“This particular programme by The Star is in line with our philosophy and we are quite happy with what has been done. It benefits the children and they are the future of the country,” he added.
With the recent move to make a pass compulsory in English for all local universities, the sponsorship of the pullouts have come at a pertinent time. Syed Norulzaman noted that English literacy is much needed in today’s global society.
“Knowing the language gives you an edge in a lot of things, employability in particular. Without this language, you will be held back from various opportunities. It will definitely affect your career development,” he stressed.
Mah Sing Foundation has recently provided scholarships for eight students to attend Tunku Abdul Rahman University College. The scholarships cover living expenses and tuition fees. Apart from that, the scholarship recipients also have the opportunity to be attached with the company during their course.
As a successful property developer, the Mah Sing Group is dedicated to its responsibility towards society. The group’s managing director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum was awarded the Asia HRD Awards 2014 for the contribution to society category.
“We have been successful because of the support that we get from people and we will remain committed in this endeavour, to give back to the community,” said Syed Norulzaman.
The Step Up pullout features syllabus-based content which tackles themes set by the Education Ministry.
The pullout consists of 17 issues per year, which includes four revision issues in examination format.