NEWS & UPDATES
Sarawak Energy Supports Penan Education
Allocates RM200,000 revolving fund set up under Belaga Charitable Trust
KUCHING, TUESDAY, 17 August 2015: Sarawak Energy is continuing in its efforts to progress and light up communities within its area of operations by setting up a Penan Education Fund under the umbrella of the Belaga Charitable Trust.
The State’s energy provider has allocated a revolving fund of RM200,000 to provide educational assistance for Penan communities from the Belaga district - this includes the six Penan villages involved in the Murum resettlement area and another other 19 Penan longhouses in the Belaga district. The resettled Kenyah Badeng of Long Malim Kenyah will also be eligible for this special fund.
Sarawak Energy Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Torstein Dale Sjotveit presented a cheque for the amount to Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing, Minister for Land Development and Chairman of Belaga Charitable Trust at the latter’s office here today.
Torstein said the company was honoured to continue to play a strong role in the future progress of the Belaga Penan community, by empowering them through educational opportunities.
The fund provides academic incentive awards for primary and secondary students, as financial aid for students pursuing higher learning such as certificate, diploma, degree programmes or skill development training, as funding for other educational development programme and provision of teaching and learning activities.
“Education makes a huge difference as to whether a community progresses or not. It opens doors to opportunities, paves the way to a good career and shapes character. Sarawak Energy advocates sustainable development and we thank the Belaga Charitable Trust Fund under Tan Sri James Masing’s chairmanship for this platform to build up knowledge and skills for the Penan community,” he said during the call.
In building on this platform, Sarawak Energy has worked with the Department of Education to set up two primary schools in the Tegulang and Metalun Resettlement Areas in Murum. These currently have a total enrolment of 278 students plus another 50 pre-school children attending classes at the two schools. The company’s flagship Murum Penan Literacy Programme enabled over 300 adults to undertake basic reading, writing and arithmetic.
Sarawak Energy also supports Penan artisans in their craft making and buys these handicrafts as the company’s corporate gifts, in its quest to ensure the communities have a sustainable livelihood.
Torstein was accompanied by Peing Tajang, head of Corporate Communications, Jiwari Abdullah, head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Joanne Tan, manager for Social Investment.
Sarawak Energy focuses on four key CSR areas - education and young people, community development and entrepreneurship, environmental management and conservation and culture and heritage in order to meet the real needs of the project affected communities.
