Berjaya donates RM100,000 to St John's Nepal fund

KUALA LUMPUR: As part of its ongoing international aid efforts, Berjaya Corp Bhd recently donated RM100,000 to St.John's Ambulance Malaysia (SJAM) for its Nepal Earthquake Relief fund.
Expressing gratitude to Berjaya for its continuous support to SJAM, its commander-in-chief Datuk Dr Low Bin Tick said Berjaya has been its biggest single donor thus far.
He said the RM100,000 will be used for a specific cause - to purchase a four-wheel drive vehicle to be used as an ambulance to transport victims from disaster sites to the hospital.
He said the Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund, launched one week after the disaster on March 24, has raised over RM307,000 to date and is expected to increase this week.
"We are in contact with the National Eye Hospital of Kathmandu and have met the Nepal ambassador to Malaysia with regards to the fund. We were informed that the one thing they need very urgently is an ambulance.
"So we will be using this fund to get a vehicle for that purpose. Although it will not be a fully equipped ambulance, it will certainly be very useful to transport victims," he told theSun after receiving the mock cheque from Berjaya Corp CEO and chairman Datuk Seri Robin Tan at his office.
A nine-member SJAM team led by the relief fund's organising chairman Datuk Mah Weng Kwai, including three doctors, has arrived at the disaster zone for its relief mission today.
"We have a very focused mission this time. We want to ensure that the ambulance is on the road at least by the time we leave the place.
"SJAM has one fully equipped ambulance ready to go there, it is just a matter of logistics now. We have contacted the Defence Ministry to get military assistance to transport the ambulance there," Mah said.
Calling all Malaysians to come forward and once again show their generosity by contributing to the fund, Mah said Malaysia cannot just keep talking about human rights and humanitarian aid if it does not show it in action.
Those wishing to donate can do so via bank transfer to "SJAM-Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund", Public Bank Bhd – Account No: 3-1939411-29.
In striking a balance between profitability and social responsibility, Berjaya Corp has donated cash and kind to the needy and to victims of natural disasters all around the world with the most recent one being the typhoon Sendong victims in the Philippines.
Other humanitarian projects by Berjaya include theSun-Mercy Malaysia Bosnia Flood Disaster Relief Fund, Tabung Wira Lahad Datu Media Prima, theSun Typhoon Haiyan Relief Fund, children with acute malnutrition in Africa, Japanese earthquake and tsunami victims, Palestinian Humanitarian Aid Fund, flood victims in Vietnam's Quang Nam Province, victims of earthquakes in Sichuan Province, China and Pakistan, as well as tsunami victims in Bandar Aceh, Indonesia.