LATEST NEWS 04/09/2009

PROTON TAKES PART IN KHAZANAH’S PROGRAM SEJAHTERA

MARAN, Pahang, 4 September 2009 – PROTON Holdings Berhad has pledged its support to the Program Sejahtera by sponsoring five homes for the poor and providing the selected community vocational training.

The programme, spearheaded by Khazanah Nasional Berhad through the Silver Book agenda, is a corporate social responsibility initiative that involves Government-linked agencies (GLC) and aims to support as well as assist vulnerable communities in Malaysia to break away from the plight of poverty.

The programme’s pilot project, “Adopt a Community Programme”, was officiated today by the Prime Minister Y.A.B. Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak who was accompanied by Y.A.Bhg. Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor and witnessed by heads of participating GLCs including Khazanah Nasional Berhad Managing Director Tan Sri Dato' Azman Hj. Mokhtar and PROTON Holdings Berhad Group Managing Director Dato’ Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.

The event took place at the project’s site located in Kampung Teluk Melati, Mukim Chenor in Maran, Pahang and as a pilot project, it encompassed of building 20 homes for 20 vulnerable families identified as extremely poor and in dire need of assistance.

Other than sponsoring five of the houses, PROTON’s contribution also comes with providing mechanical vocational trainings to the communities in Maran and its surrounding areas.

“The trainings aim to assist these communities in setting up and operating basic car workshops of their own,” said Dato’ Syed Zainal.

“We will contribute the technical trainers and training tools such as engines and car parts to ensure that they will gain the necessary skills and knowledge to set up their own car workshops and to operate them efficiently”.

“This programme, we hope, will assist in alleviating these communities from their poverty plight through such business opportunities. We are very proud to be a part of this effort and would like to thank Khazanah for giving us the opportunity to do so,” continued Dato’ Syed Zainal.

The Program Sejahtera focuses on four core areas, namely to rehabilitate dilapidated houses, provide basic amenities such as electricity, water and proper sanitation, provide support and knowledge for self farming for their basic food needs and providing support for sustainable livelihood via skill trainings for employment.

Additionally, together with other GLCs, PROTON also participates in Khazanah’s PINTAR Mobile Unit as part of its ongoing CSR programs. It is an educational touring bus to promote PINTAR GLC members and the activities that they do in PINTAR schools across the nation.

The PINTAR Mobile Unit is equipped with a variety of mini exhibitions as well as various science, mathematics, arts and innovation activities. For PROTON, it has put up an information panel on the process of “how to build a car” accompanied by a table-sized Persona clay model and a style sketching demonstration. It will also distribute colouring sheets featuring Proton cars to the children.