CSR
2 CSR THE STAR, TUESDAY 17 DECEMBER 2019
Students from four Perak schools celebrated Deepavali with an educational tour at the Lost Tan Sri Razman Hashim, Sunway Group deputy chairman distributing bubur lambuk to B40
World of Tambun. community.
THE STAR, TUESDAY 17 DECEMBER 2019 CSR 3
Integrity, humility
and excellence
> FROM PREVIOUS PAGE country. During the ASEAN Sustainable
Development Summit 2019 at Sunway Resort
Sunway Bhd executive director Sarena Hotel & Spa, he stated, “UNSDGs are not the
Cheah said the run served as a platform to responsibility of governments alone.
bring the community together in advancing Building a sustainable future requires the
UNSDG 3 and 12, which are Good Health commitment of all elements of society – the
and Well-Being and Responsible private sector, academia, civil society and, of
Consumption and Production, respectively. course, every single individual. We are all in
“We want to educate the public on the this together.”
importance of living a healthy lifestyle for a Sunway strives to continue offering its
sustainable future.” support in fulfilling the 17 UNSDGs while
Besides encouraging healthy habits and encouraging and prompting other
lifestyles among the community, the run organisations and the community to work
also advocated sustainability by promoting together to build a healthy, sustainable and
the reduction of waste and single-use inclusive country.
plastic items. Paper cups and single-use
plastics were not provided for the run and n For more information, visit sunway.com. Sunway hopes its efforts towards advancing UNSDGs will inspire other corporations to do
runners were seen refilling their own my/corporate-responsibility the same.
bottles at designated water stations. The
runners’ T-shirts were also made of
recycled polyethylene terephthalate (RPET). Inspiring the next generation
To further foster the spirit of
sustainability, Sunway University and Education has always been the passion with special needs. Since 2006, Sunway has education in Malaysian schools,
Lancaster University launched a joint of Sunway Group founder and chairman assisted the special education class “Kelas particularly in English proficiency. The
collaboration called the Future Cities Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah. He established Khas”, established in SMK Bandar Sunway competition is jointly organised by The
Research Institute in July. The collaboration the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF) with the for students with learning disabilities, and Oxford & Cambridge Society Malaysia, JCF,
is meant to complement the work already personal motto of “I aspire to inspire disorders that affect learning, such as Sunway University and Monash University
being done by the Jeffrey Sachs Centre on before I expire” and pledged all of his Down Syndrome, autism, hyperactivity and Malaysia and has seen the participation of
Sustainability Development to establish an equity, worth several billion ringgit, in William’s syndrome. Sunway has also more than 17,500 students nationwide.
innovative and agile portfolio of research, perpetuity to Sunway’s educational given its full support to the not-for-profit In September, the Selangor Youth
responding to the intractable challenges institutions. He believes that quality organisation Generating Opportunities for Community (SAY) and Sunway kick-started
facing urban environments and deliver education should be made affordable and the Learning Disabled (GOLD), which their three-year Sunway “Seeding
critical changes relevant to their context. accessible to qualified students despite began as a parents’ support group. Inspiration and Leadership Via
Sunway City Kuala Lumpur will be utilised their financial limitations. Sunway also helps train and introduce Knowledge” (SILK) programme. Form 4
as a “living lab” for the research on smart This year alone, RM80mil has been special needs students to the working students from SMK Bandar Sunway were
and healthy cities as well as the awarded by the JCF in the form of world through the Sunway Job Training selected to participate in this community
development of sustainable communities. scholarships and grants. To date, the Programme for Special Students. Endorsed enrichment programme and were exposed
foundation has awarded more than by the Education Ministry, the programme to agriculture in an interactive way. They
True transformation from RM482mil to deserving students. Dr Cheah
had made it his personal goal to award
provides job training and exposure in
hopes of developing and equipping the
were also given the opportunity to learn in
practical sessions.
everyone’s efforts more than RM1bil in scholarships in his students with skills for future employment. With the cooperation of experts from
lifetime. The group’s subsidiaries, including Seeds Malaysia, the Selangor Agriculture
Dr Cheah’s story begins in Pusing, a small JCF was officially recognised earlier this Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway Pyramid, Department and Science Bridge Academy,
town in the state of Perak. Pusing was a tin- year as one of the sponsors for the Sunway University and Sunway Resort it is hoped that students can view
mining town so he witnessed first-hand the prestigious Chevening scholarship, which Hotel & Spa, work together to provide agriculture as a non-conventional career
impact of poverty on families and how it is meant for Malaysian students looking to these students with on-the-job training. path.
closed off avenues for advancement, further their studies in the United This real-world experience under Dr Cheah believes in working with the
particularly in education for children. This Kingdom. Dr Cheah said “The selected supervision by experienced personnel best and learning from the best. Therefore,
experience shaped his views on students would be great assets to our pool works to instil confidence, independence Sunway University has established
sustainability, which led to him becoming of talented people who will go on to and social skills in the students. To date, partnerships and collaborations with
one of the more prominent sustainability contribute to the betterment of the nation more than a hundred special students from world-leading universities such as
figures in Malaysia. upon returning to Malaysia.” various backgrounds have graduated from Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford, Lancaster,
Starting his business with an investment Dr Cheah is also a patron of the the programme. California Berkeley, and are currently
of just RM100,000 in 1974, Dr Cheah has Malaysian creative community. JCF has establishing partnerships with
since expanded Sunway into one of
Malaysia’s largest conglomerates with a
extended scholarships to creative arts and
music students by establishing the Tun Dr
Collaboration for educational Massachusetts Institute of Technology in
Boston and University of Peking. These
combined market capitalisation exceeding Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali Scholarship for equality collaborations and partnerships are aimed
RM17bil. Sunway attributes this success to Creative Arts and Music in September and at pursuing common objectives in research
the founder’s discipline in upholding the will be giving out scholarships worth Dr Cheah believes that establishing and education.
group’s core values of “Integrity, Humility RM10mil in perpetuity. strong and strategic partnerships have Over time, some of these partnerships
and Excellence.” always been Sunway’s method to ensure a grew and expanded. The Sunway-
Dr Cheah explains the definitions of
these values:
A stepping stone for the needful sustainable business and environmental
ecosystem. Therefore, Sunway has
Cambridge partnership, dating back to
2014 with the establishment of the Jeffrey
l Integrity is about conducting oneself Learning can be done anywhere and collaborated with countless governmental Cheah Professional Fellowship Fund in
with honesty and trustworthiness. It is anytime, but with the addition of a and NGOs to work towards this goal. Gonville and Caius College of the University
about being professional, ethical and comfortable learning environment and One such partner is Teach for Malaysia of Cambridge, was further bolstered in
honest. It is not just doing the right thing skilled support, the experience can be a lot (TFM), which enlists Malaysia’s most June when the “Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical
but doing things right. more wholesome and holistic for students. promising future leaders in their mission Centre” (JCBC) was launched in the
l Humility reminds us to be humble, Sunway and JCF jointly “adopted” eight to end educational inequity. Since 2012, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the largest
polite and respectful. It reminds us that no schools nationwide and have contributed foundation has sponsored RM150,000 biotech cluster outside the United States.
matter how much we think we know, we more than RM30mil for school restoration annually to assist TFM in achieving its With such precious and fruitful
still have a lot more to learn. and upgrading works, including to upgrade mission of reducing the gap between rural partnerships, Sunway has come far in
l Excellence is about constantly learning facilities, multipurpose halls, and urban schools. building towards academic equality in
pursuing the highest standards in all that classrooms and school administrative Beginning 2014, Sunway initiated the Malaysia. Nevertheless, there is still much
we do. blocks. To date, more than 30,000 students Sunway English Language Development to be done, and Sunway pledges to strive
nationwide have benefited from the Programme and kick-started the annual until every child in Malaysia attains equal
That said, he believes all educational programme. Sunway-Oxbridge Essay Competition with access and opportunities to a good
institutions should not only impart Dr Cheah also has a heart for students the aim to elevate the standards of education.
knowledge and skills, but also good values
in their students to build a well-educated
and civic-minded society.
Dr Cheah practises what he preaches. In
2015, 193 members of the United Nations
General Assembly adopted the United
Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development and introduced the 17 United
Nations Sustainable Development Goals (17
UNSDGs). However, the 2018 SDG Index
and Dashboards Report showed Malaysia
ranked 55th out of 156 countries and none
of the countries were on track to achieve all
goals by 2030.
He recognises that these goals cannot be Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah and Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng with the scholarship recipients of the JCF Scholarships and Awards
reached if only the Government is held Ceremony 2019.
solely responsible for transforming the
4 CSR THE STAR, TUESDAY 17 DECEMBER 2019
When it comes to an equal charity run saw 1,600 challenge their limits. One of the
society, those with special needs participants and raised RM65,000 events under this new initiative
should not be forgotten. to support improvement efforts was a charity fun run, the Toyota
Danajamin Nasional Berhad in education and awareness for Outrun, to raise funds for the
(Danajamin) just had its fourth the National Autism Society of Paralympic Council of Malaysia.
Danajamin Mighty Run (DMR) Malaysia (NASOM). A total of RM151,100 was
earlier this month, which aims to In conjunction with the 2020 raised, derived from the
spread awareness and celebrate Tokyo Olympics, Toyota Motor participants’ registration fees.
people of all abilities, including Corporation launched its “Start The run saw the participation of
people with autism spectrum Your Impossible” (SYI) campaign over 3,000 people, including 20
disorders (ASD). The annual to encourage the public to people with multiple disabilities.