About 150 OCBC Bank staff from both Malaysia and Singapore recently made their way to Melaka to help upgrade a 95-year-old school in Alor Gajah that was in urgent need of refurbishment.

The Bank staff raised RM120,000 through food fairs and personal contribution before putting on their worker’s suits and getting their hands dirty, literally, in their quest to upgrade the school, SJK (C) Peng Min. SJK (C) Peng Min’s students come mainly from lower income families.

In previous years, the Bank staff got together to upgrade other schools in various parts of the country.

Led by senior management staff Mr Lim Khiang Tong, Head of Group Operations & Technology, OCBC Group; and Mr Lim Yau Seong, Head of Operations and Technology, OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, the bankers set out on their annual community development initiative with little construction know-how but plenty of enthusiasm.

As part of OCBC Bank’s growing emphasis on environmental-friendliness and sustainability, its staff volunteers were eager to plant trees at the school compound.

The staff volunteers, who were guided by professionals, contributed their labour by working to improve the school’s facilities including repainting of the school walls, doors, grills, courts, and canteen tables and benches.

Other upgrading works included replacing the roof of the school’s canteen as well as structures that were damaged by termites, cleaning the store room and repairing the cement floors.

Among the items contributed by the Bank to the school and its students were desks and chairs, sports equipment, cabinets as well as stationery.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr Lim Yau Seong said it had become an annual exercise for him and his colleagues to help to upgrade schools in dire need of refurbishment.

“I’m pleased to say my colleagues worked hard for the betterment of the school children here with a conscious aim to make the school compound more conducive for learning. The biggest reward is always in seeing the school look so different following our efforts and the smiles on the faces of the students,” he said.

The 150 OCBC staff who joined the CSR programme.

In thanking OCBC Bank for its efforts, SJK (C) Peng Min principal Mr Yoong Choong Shen said the school is grateful to the Bank for not just raising the funds to make the facilities improvement programme possible but also putting in the efforts personally.

“We are thankful to the OCBC Bank staff who came in large numbers to help us upgrade the school and make it a much better place for us to conduct lessons,” he said.

Mr Lim Yau Seong added that he felt blessed seeing the staff working closely together as a team as they immersed themselves in activities unfamiliar to most bankers.

“Some of us came with some experience in building-related projects through our annual OCBC Operations & Technology community development activities in other locations such as Bandung (Indonesia), Kota Bharu, Sepang, Bentong and Pulau Betong in Penang, Sitiawan in Perak but we all still have a lot to learn and that includes the finer points of collaboration, teamwork and understanding that goes into getting things done well at settings like this. At the end of the day, it was all truly worthwhile and we certainly had lots of fun amidst the hard work,” he added.