UDA Holdings Berhad (UDA) through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, UDA Cares channelled a contribution of approximately RM50,000 to 200 students around Johor Bahru through the ‘Back to School 2022’ programme.
Each student was given RM200 in the form of a school bag, stationery, and a Parkson voucher for school uniform purchases. The handover ceremony was officiated by Tan Sri Noh Omar, Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development in a brief ceremony held at the foyer of Angsana Johor Bahru Mall. Also present at the ceremony was Datuk Norliza Abdul Rahim, Chairman of UDA, Datuk Zamri Salleh, Deputy Secretary-General (Entrepreneurship Development) and senior management of UDA.
Tan Sri Noh in a statement said, “This UDA initiative is the commitment of the Ministry and agencies in helping the needy, especially in challenging times. This laudable endeavour should serve as a model for other government-linked and private-sector organisations to provide aid to the impacted local communities.”
The recipients of the donations consisted students from nine (9) schools, namely Sungai Danga National School, UDA Complex National School, Bandar UDA 2 National School, Kampung Pasir National School, Pengkalan Rinting National School, Tasek Utara National School, Taman Cempaka National School, School Kebangsaan Seri Kenanga and Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Melati.
Datuk Norliza Abdul Rahim said, “This year’s ‘Back to School 2022’ event is one of UDA’s proactive initiatives in reaching out to the communities surrounding UDA’s business region and easing their burden of preparing for the March return to school. This effort is also planned to motivate all pupils to begin a new school year.”
The headmaster and students in attendance also received Mari Mart vouchers and went shopping at the retail location on Level 2 of the Angsana Johor Bahru Mall. The 1,914-square-foot MARI Mart is one of UDA’s projects aimed at assisting local entrepreneurs, particularly Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (PMKS), in marketing their goods.
Since the 1st of January, MARI Mart, a collaboration between UDA and TEKUN Corporation, has marketed 2,000 products from PMKS entrepreneurs. In addition, UDA intends to open two (2) more MARI Marts this year in order to boost local entrepreneurship.