Chance To Perform Tenaga Nasional's Social Obligation

By Wan Nor Azura Mior Abd Aziz

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 (Bernama) -- Students sponsored by the Yayasan Tenaga Nasional (YTN - Tenaga Nasional Foundation) now have the opportunity to help implement the utility company's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.

YTN Director Azman Zakaria said this is an exposure to enable the students to put into practice what they have learnt particularly in the corporate social science aspect.

The CSR programme is also geared to create awareness on the corporate social responsibility for the students to be more responsible and sensitive to affairs in the society.

This programme trains the students to think critically and innovatively towards the needs of the society in the effort to instil them with the sense of belonging, turning them into future leaders capable of leading the nation to more progress.

YTN-SPONSORED

The foundation is now funding 2,050 students at institutions of higher learning in the country as well as abroad.

The students are located at Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), both at the campus in Putrajaya and Bandar Muadzam Shah, Pahang apart from a number of prestigious tertiary education institutions locally and in foreign countries.

In the 'journey' to unearth and create the nation's future leaders, the YTN-sponsored students are accorded with practical training to equip them with the knowledge to face the career industry right after completing their studies.

BUILDING SELF CONFIDENCE

Azman said YTN provides the necessary platform to reinforce the soft skills in the move to build the students' self-confidence to meet challenges in their career as well as in public relations.

The foundation is offering its sponsored students in the local and foreign universities to be involved in the CSR programme by instilling them with 'spiritual skills'.

He said the students would be in charge and prepare all of the groundwork, right until the implementation stage of the programme with the YTN providing the funds as well as the guidelines and objective of the programme.

According to Azman, the students would be totally responsible for the planning, research on the programme's feasibility and level of efficiency apart from the publicity returns and its positive impacts.

The CSR programme is based on the concept of serving the commuity's education development. The students would be given the freedom to draw up the programme's implementation and its contents.

Azman said this would make the students more creative apart from being innovative towards achieving the goals of the programme in an optimum and economic manner and utilising a prudent budget.

AGENT OF CHANGE FOR THE ORANG ASLI

Recently the foundation, through its sponsored students at the UNITEN Campus in Putrajaya and with the collaboration of the Selangor Orang Asli Affairs Department (JHEOA) had carried out a CSR programme to motivate improvement of education among 40 Orang asli children from Selangor.

The 'Strive For Excellence' programme was held at the Putrajaya UNITEN Campus on April 9-11. The Orang Asli children in this programme are those who would be sitting in the PMR examination end of this year.

The programme was carried out by YTN-sponsored students in the engineering and computer science courses. Among the activities held were motivation sessions, tours around UNITEN Campus as well as In Group Training.

Among those who gave the motivation talk is Universiti Malaya's (UM) Professor Dr Juli Edo, an orang asli and former student funded by YTN.

Azman said this programme was staged at the UNITEN Campus in a move to expose the Orang Asli children the 'feel and way of life' in a campus of a tertiary education institution.

"Apart from giving the inspiration and motivation to the Orang Asli children to study really hard and know the direction that they are taking right up to the uiversity level", he said.

YTN's effort is also a two-prong strategy aimed at assisting the JHEOA to develop the Orang Asli community.

YTN FUNDING

Since its inception in 1993, YTN had funded the tertiary education of 8,820 students to the tune exceeding RM500 million and most of them are now serving with Tenaga Nasional.

Tenaga Nasional, via YTN, has contributed to the development of the country's professional manpower and the overall amount given to social activities since the establishment of YTN had reached more than RM35 million.

The programmes implemented showed the concern on the society by Tenaga Nasional and YTN.

The foundation has not only focussed on tertiary education but also moved its funds for education-based welfare activities in line with its mission of 'Improving Education and Encouraging charity'.

YTN provided charity contributions through the staging of education and community development programmes.

Among the programmes held were youth camps, assistance for children who needed urgent medical treatment, contribution of teaching aids for in-community Centres and sponsorship of electricity bills for community cyber centres.-- BERNAMA