Another accolade for Sarawak Energy for helping to improve the livelihood of the Penans affected by the Murum dam

KUCHING, June 9, 2017 - State-owned power supplier Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) continues to receive an international award for its investment initiatives in improving the livelihood of the communities affected by the Murum hydroelectric plant.

Another accolade for SEB: Senior manager of social investment and community development Joanne Tan, chairman of Enterprise Asia Tan Sri Fong Chan Onn, SEB's assistant general manager for CSR Jiwari Abdullah and community relations executive Bit Surang at the award presentation ceremony.

Assistant general manager of SEB's corporate social responsibility (CSR) Jiwari Abdullah senior manager of social investment and community development Joanne Tan and executive community relations Bit Surang received the Social Empowerment Award at the Asian Responsible Entrepreneurship Award ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand, recently.

Executive vice president of corporate services Aisah Eden said the award showed SEB's commitment to help uplift the standard of living of the communities affected  by the construction of the Murum dam.

They have been resettled at Metalun and Tegulang.

"We established contact and worked closely with the resettlers, consisting mostly the semi-nomadic Penans, prior to actual resettlement. This allowed us to understand their real needs and map out programmes to benefit them for the long term," she said.

She said SEB has recognised the importance of education in advancing social and economic development of the affected communities.

She said one of the key areas is to enhance the level of education and literacy of the Penan community, apart from helping them to enhance their skills towards entrepreneurial development for a sustainable livelihood.

Jiwari said SEB will continue to work closely with the villagers to provide the support they need.

" While there is still more to be done, winning this award goes to show that we are on the right track in terms of our work in CSR," he said.

Among the efforts being  carried out by SEB at  the Tegulang and Metalun resettlements are the contribution of funds to the Bakun Charitable Trust Fund to encourage education among the Penan communities of Belaga, helping set up  two primary schools and carrying out the Murum Penan Literacy Programme which is specifically tailored to close the literacy gap among the Penan adults.

Around 400 adults can now read, write and count following the success of the literacy programme.

The resettled communities have also greatly benefited in terms of modern housing, healthcare and basic amenities comprising clean water and electricity supply. Sarawak Energy also assisted to help obtain MyKads and birth certificates for the Penans in Murum.

Prior to this, SEB’s CSR efforts were also recognised at the Annual Global CSR Summit & Awards for ‘Excellence in Provision of Literacy and Education Award’ in 2015 and 2016. 

In addition, the power supplier also received the CSR Excellence Award at the Sin Chew Sin Chew Business Excellence Awards 2016.

This year the team was awarded Gold in the “Best Community Programme” category at the 9th Annual Global CSR Summit & Awards for its efforts in Batang Ai.

ends One for the album: From left, Joanne Tan, Sarawak Energy’s Senior Manager of Social Investment and Community Development, Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn, Chairman of Enterprise Asia who is also former Minister of Human Resources and former Deputy Minister of Education, Jiwari Abdullah, Sarawak Energy’s Assistant General Manager for CSR and Bit Surang, Sarawak Energy’s Community Relations Executive.