Khazanah wants to up fund for CR initiatives

By Sharen Kaur
Published in NST on April 3, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR: Khazanah Nasional Bhd said one of the key initiatives for the company this year is the continuous effort to build capacity of its Civil Society Partner Organisations (CSPO).

The government investment arm is raising its investment for its corporate responsibility (CR) initiatives this year by 20 per cent to RM100 million, as part of its commitment to CSPO, said its managing director, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar.

 

He said through the company's CR grants programme, CSPOs will be able to broaden their impact by strenthening their service delivery, governance, and financial sustainability.

 

Khazanah also reaffirmed its pledge to deepen and expand its CR initiatives via the newly incorporated Yayasan Hasanah.

 

The foundation is a strategic approach to support and empower communities, encourage social inclusivity and improve local environments, Azman said.

 

Azman said the establishment of Yayasan Hasanah is significant as Khazanah celebrates 20 years in operations and stands at the cusp of completing 10 years of its transformation programme to boost Malaysia's economic competitiveness and growth.

 

He said Yayasan Hasanah will consolidate while expanding Khazanah's existing CR work in five core sectors, namely education, community development, environment, arts, heritage and culture, and knowledge.

 

"Khazanah has spent RM335 million on its CR initiatives since 2006 and we will continue investing, if required," he said yesterday, after launching the 2013 Corporate Responsibility (CR) Report and the Khazanah-Wolfson Press Fellowship Programme.

 

The 2013 CR report, the fifth since 2009, maps out the various CR initiatives that Khazanah and partner organisations completed last year.

 

Azman said Khazanah spent RM80.5 million on its CR initiatives last year, as compared to RM62.4 million in 2012.

 

He said the increase in spending was due to the Healthcare Assistance Fund, a cooperation between Khazanah and its investee company IHH Healthcare Bhd.

 

An amount of RM50 million was set aside when IHH Healthcare went public in 2012 and RM16 million was allocated out in 2013, he said.

 

Azman said funds were also allocated for flood relief and disaster preparedness in 2013 for affected communities in Malaysia.

 

For 2014, Khazanah is offering CR grants to CSPOs in two cycles.

 

Under cycle 1, the recipients include OrphanCARE Foundation, MERCY Malaysia, Persatuan Pengasih Malaysia, Voice of the Children, Yayasan Chow Kit, Johan Cruyff Foundation, Teach for Malaysia, EcoKnights, Enactus Malaysia Foundation and Reef Creek Malaysia.

 

Meanwhile, the Khazanah-Wolfson Press Fellowship Programme, established last year, is a joint venture with Wolfson College and University of Cambridge, to further develop journalism in Malaysia.