Petronas Chemicals empowers Sipitang schoolchildren
SIPITANG: Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG) yesterday contributed daily schooling needs to 1,000 children from 29 schools around Sipitang through its annual Back-toSchool programme as part of its core sustainability priorities in education, community wellbeing and development, as well as environment.
Third in the series this year, the Back-to-School programme also saw PCG organising Mathematics and Science workshops for 200 primary one to five students and their teachers from 21 schools in the area.
PCG's back to school initiative is held under the ambit of Program Sentuhan Ilmu Petronas to promote human capital development in the communities where the group operates in support of the government's effort to nurture a holistic learning experience and improve the overall academic performance of rural school children, focusing on Mathematics and Science, as well as upskilling creative teaching among teachers.
PCG Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Datuk Sazali Hamzah said, “At PCG, we see the importance of education as it touches all spheres of life; it could change human behaviour, give a person positive selfesteem, enhance decision making ability, help to develop moral and civic values, as well as enable a person to be independent and empowered. Above all, education allows society to have an enriched and extensive value system based on facts, logics and experiences.
“Throughout our 32-year journey, we have taken various initiatives to elevate the standards of education among our communities, as well as adopt innovative approaches to education in helping children reach their full potential. Because we don't want to just build a business, we want to build the people around our business for them to have a sustainable future,” he added.
During the presentation of school bags and certificate, Chief Executive Officer of Petronas Chemicals Fertiliser Sabah Sdn Bhd, Tuan Hj Mohd Kamis Manap, spoke extensively on the crucial role of businesses in leading the education in communities, an initiative that has been a core strategy of Petronas for many years.
“Aside from developing the petrochemical industry for the country, we would like to see the communities that live in the vicinity of our operations to grow and prosper with us. Over the years, we have developed some meaningful programmes to empower and nurture communities to elevate their standard of living. We hope they would be able to benefit from the positive change Petronas is bringing to Sipitang.
“The people of Sipitang are important to us. Through the Back-to-School programme, we provide annual assistance of school supplies to equip the students with necessities as a kick-start towards improving their academic performance. We see this as an opportunity to improve their lives and create meaningful change in the community for them to later be able to give back to the future generations there,” he added.
In 2016, PCG organised BackTo-School programmes in Sipitang, Kertih and Labuan which saw 1,175 school children being provided with bags and stationery before the start of the new academic year. PCG also started to organise Science and Mathematics workshops for students and teachers from 44 primary schools nationwide last year.
Since being listed in 2010, the petrochemical entity of Petronas has continued to give back substantial amounts annually to support education in the areas where it operates.
Apart from Sipitang, the Back-to-School programme for 2017 was also held in Kertih and Labuan in July and August respectively. The final programme for the year will be held at Gurun by end of November.
It was all smiles when the students received school essentials from Sipitang member of parliament Datuk Sapawi Haji Ahmad.