That’s the story of Lar Faizah, a single mother with four kids, who lives in the house that was partly completed with her children. Not only was the house built with uncompleted floor, windows and doors, the family had to live without electricity and proper water supply. But Lar Faizah is determined to go on with her life and raise her kids in the house.

Concern about her unfortunate living condition, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) today came to lend a helping hand to the single mother by assisting to complete the construction of her house in a ‘gotong royong’. More than 70 TM employees, including members of Persatuan Anggota-anggota Wanita dan Isteri-isteri Anggota TM (TIARANITA) as well as Badan Kebajikan Islam TM (BAKIT), came down to Kampung Pejing, Maran and together they had improved the condition of the house.

Also present at the ‘gotong-royong’ was Dato’ Wan Danial Wan Ibrahim, State General Manager, TM Pahang.

Speaking to the media after the activity, Dato’ Wan Danial said, “TM is glad to be able to provide our assistance and help Lar Faizah to improve her living condition so she and her children can have a better and proper life, despite her limitations. We have also roped in our employees from our Pahang offices statewide to participate and assist in this ‘gotong royong’ activity as an effort to encourage staff to contribute towards giving back to the community. We really hope that her family will enjoy and live comfortably in the newly completed home.”

The construction of the house was also supported by Yayasan Sejahtera. TM, with the cooperation of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), has also provided the electricity to the house.

“Today’s activity is an initiative under TM’s Sejahtera programme and in line with one of our Corporate Responsibilities platforms, namely community/nation building. By participating in Program Sejahtera, we now have the opportunity to reach out to another group of society that needs help and support. At TM, we focus on the sustainability aspect in contributing to the society that we operate in as we believe that to help any community or individuals to stand on their own means that the help given must be sustainable,” added Dato’ Wan Danial.

After the ‘gotong-royong’ was completed, Dato’ Wan Danial handed over the key of the newly completed house to Lar Faizah in a simple, yet meaningful ceremony.

The ‘gotong royong’ activity is part of TM’s Sejahtera programme, a community programme driven by Khazanah Nasional together with Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) towards improving the living standard and socio- economics of the community as well as providing a sustainable living, especially for the poor across the country. In support to the overall programme, TM has taken up the initiative by adopting families of poor single mothers.

The objectives of the Sejahtera program are to assist the identified single parents and their families to improve their standard of living and to earn their living through a sustainable source of income; assist in the development of their children, especially in academic to provide them with better educational opportunities; help the single mothers to be a meaningful contributor to the community; educate those involved in the program to excel in areas where they are skilled and talented through the use of ICT; and to provide them with networking and business opportunities.

Via the Sejahtera programme, TM aspires to empower the adopted single-parent families to independently provide for their families, stand on their own and improve their lives long after the project is completed. In order to achieve this, TM has therefore built the sustainability factor into the project. During the period, the adopted families will be provided with training in basic skills and workshops on entrepreneurship. Depending on their interests, TM will provide small grants for the single parents involved to set up their own business to assist them in supplementing their income. In addition, for the children who are sitting for UPSR, PMR and SPM, TM will be supporting them with scholarships, given through its Yayasan TM. The children who qualify to further their studies to tertiary level were also given educational assistance by enrolling them into Multimedia College (MMC), a subsidiary of TM, to study in the diploma programme offered by MMC for free, including free accommodation for the duration of their study, thus giving them the opportunity to help their families in the future with the education provided by TM.

TM’s participation in Program Sejahtera will complement TM’s larger corporate responsibility initiatives for the community under its three-pronged approach namely education, community/nation-building and environment.

TM IN COMMUNITY AND NATION-BUILDING
Under the Community and Nation-building platform, TM also focuses on enriching the lives of the needy and less fortunate by bridging the digital divide between urban and rural communities and offering donations to welfare homes, charitable organizations and NGOs.

EDUCATION
Under the education platform, among the initiatives are the establishment of Multimedia University (MMU) as the first private university in the country in 1996. So far, the university has produced more than 13,000 graduates, and one fact that TM is particularly proud of is that more than 96% of them was employed within the first six months of finishing their studies. And recently, MMU made it into the top 200 Asian Universities, under the QS.com Asian Universities Rankings 2009.

Besides that, Yayasan TM, the social arm of TM, has awarded scholarships worth RM30 million this year to 823 deserving students to pursue their studies at government schools and universities in Malaysia and abroad. Since its inception in 1994, more than 11,000 students have benefited from this scholarship programme which amounted to over RM390 million.

TM also has other initiative to support education and community development. Starting 2005, TM participated in Promoting Intelligence, Nurturing Talent and Advocating Responsibility (PINTAR) programme initiated by the Ministry of Finance and driven by Khazanah Nasional Berhad together with Government-Linked Companies (GLCs). Under the three-year programme, TM adopted two schools, namely Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Indera Muda and Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Penanti, in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

Under this program, TM conducted various activities including training and workshops on UPSR examination, English Language workshops, computer management and maintenance workshops, motivational courses and educational visits to Kuala Lumpur. TM also equipped the schools with computers, complete with broadband connection for better access to the Internet. Internet Application and Computer Maintenance classes as well as motivational courses were also provided for the benefit of the students.

Besides PINTAR, TM also kicked off the second phase of its school adoption programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture (KPKK) in July 2009. This school adoption programme is a continuation from the first “Sekolah Angkat” project in collaboration with the then Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications in 2004. Under the first project, TM adopted Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ayer Lanas, in Jeli, Kelantan (SMK Ayer Lanas) for three years from January 2004 until January 2007.

Under the three-year programme from July 2009 until July 2012, TM adopted three schools - Sekolah Kebangsaan Teriang in Kuala Klawang, Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pakan, Sarikei, in Sibu, Sarawak and Sekolah Menengah Rendah Agama Repah in Tampin, Negeri Sembilan. The programme has a three-pronged objective which is to introduce the use of ICT in education, to introduce schools as community centres for ICT knowledge dissemination and to bridge the digital divide. Under this programme, the IT facilities and telecommunications infrastructure in the three schools will be upgraded. Apart from that, educational activities such as computer classes will also be conducted for the teachers, students and the community in the area.

ENVIRONMENT
Meanwhile, under the Environment platform, TM has produced its own Environmental Manual which outlines eco-friendly procedures for its day-to-day operations. TM has also launched an internal campaign to enhance the awareness and inculcate eco-friendly habits among its employees.

TM also has made a good stride in harnessing ICT as a green technology by implementing teleworking for its staff. TM launched teleworking involving 140 staff from its Corporate Sales Division earlier this year. The Company also enforces remote meetings via teleconferencing and live streaming between its regional offices nationwide.

TM has also published its inaugural Sustainability Report earlier this year. With this report, TM has taken a step further in communicating its increasing commitment for transparency and accountability. The report provides additional perspective on TM’s performance in the marketplace, workplace, community and environment showcasing TM’s sustainable business practices. Consistent with the need for triple bottom line reporting, TM’s Sustainability Report has been written in a format which complies with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, an internationally recognised standard for sustainability reporting. The Report has also been accorded GRI Application Level A+ by the GRI International Secretariat.

TM bagged the Gold Awards for the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Report in the National Annual Corporate Report Awards (NACRA) 2009. In addition, TM was also accorded the first runner-up for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) category for two consecutive years for the Malaysian Business-CIMA Enterprise Governance Awards 2008 and 2009.

For more information on the Company’s other CR programmes, visit www.tm.com.my .