MIRI: Three oil and gas companies here, namely Wehaya Sdn Bhd, Neopetro Sdn Bhd, and JVC Mega Sdn Bhd, have come together in their 2023 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes to donate a poetry book, ‘Poems from the Jungle Boy,’ along with laptops to their alma maters.
The initiative aims to support education and encourage English language literacy among students.
The four schools in the Miri division selected for the programme are Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Bario, SMK Marudi, SMK St Columba Miri and Kolej Tun Datu Tuanku Haji Bujang.
Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Labour, Immigration, and Project Monitoring) Datuk Gerawat Gala praised the three companies’ CSR initiatives that are in line with the state government’s objective in promoting the learning of English among Sarawak students.
He said that the Sarawak Government has been consistent in maintaining English as the state’s official language, together with Bahasa Malaysia, adding that the state government also recognises the importance of English as a means to access knowledge and for international communication.
“Sarawak has never given up its right to use English as its official language, as enshrined in the Federal Constitution and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63),” he said in his speech when officiating at the donation handover ceremony at Pullman Miri last Tuesday (Oct 31).
The poetry book ‘Poems from the Jungle Boy,’ written by Datuk Mohammad Medan Abdullah, and the laptops are intended for placement in the schools’ libraries.
Gerawat also thanked Mohammad Medan for his inspiring work and continuing passion to create and share his knowledge and extensive corporate experience at a national and global level through his poems, as he has the wisdom to blend his corporate prowess and passion for the arts without having to sacrifice one for the other.
Gerawat’s remark on the importance of using English was also echoed by Wehaya Managing Director Wat Unchard in his speech, as he emphasised that with the global nature of oil and gas businesses, a good command of written and verbal English is the rule of thumb for success.
Wat also said that Medan’s success in publishing his book ‘Poems from the Jungle Boy’ proves that it is possible for us to write books and compose poems in English, even though it is not our mother tongue.
“Some of the poems written in the book are in Kelabit and Bahasa Malaysia, but most of the poems are written in English,” he said.
Wat said he believes that putting down thoughts into words is the fundamental aspect of effective communication.
“One of the objectives of the CSR collaboration is related to the three companies’ long-concerted efforts in constantly developing and nurturing their talent pool through their internship programme.
“We also believe that education in schools and colleges is the primary lever for policies on human capital, and corporates are the key stakeholders in aligning educational programmes with their human capital requirements in the job market,” he said.
He added the provision of quality education and its assurance is the responsibility of the government; however, corporates and the industry offer training to human resources that supplements formal education.
“The two eminent leaders from the corporate world and the government, Datuk Gerawat Gala and Datuk Mohammad Medan, and leaders from the three companies, are alumni of the four schools.
“The CSR slogan ‘Berkarya Bersama Pemimpin,’ or in English, ‘Authoring with Leaders,’ the objective is also to provide intrinsic motivation to students in the four schools regarding the sharing of these leaders’ success stories,” he said.
At the ceremony, Wat presented the books and laptops for SMK Bario and SMK Marudi to President of Rurum Kelabit Sarawak Association, Datuk Dr. Philip Raja, witnessed by the President of the Sarawak Saban Association, Usat Bilong.
For Kolej Datu Tuanku Haji Bujang, Miri, the handover to the school’s representatives was done by Neopetro Sdn Bhd Executive Director Jacqueline Rani Lucas, and for JVC Mega Sdn Bhd to SMK St Columba, it was handed over by Managing Director Jolly Tagong, accompanied by the company’s Operations and Technical Director, Liong Heng Onn.
Also present were Wehaya Sdn Bhd Board of Directors, Executive Director of Business and Finance Larrie Tan, Executive Director of Operations Mac Davies Budot, and Corporate Services Director Hajjah Noriah Epi.
