When rural Banting school SMK Jugra found itself needing to build a new main wall to keep students safe and trespassers at bay, they never thought the fulfilling contribution would come with remote learning access as well.

A total of RM40,000 was committed by OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad who responded to the appeal by the Financial Industry Collective Outreach (FINCO), and reached out to community partners Lions Club of KL Agape Star and Lions Club of KL Cheras for support to implement the plan.

According to SMK Jugra Parents and Teachers Association (PIBG) Chair En Sadeli Salatin, the main wall had come into disrepair in 2019 but could not be attended to due to limited funds and the complications brought about by the pandemic. An appeal was made to FINCO’s financial industry members, and OCBC Bank was quick to respond.

“Boundary walls are a must for any school. What we had was a situation where outsiders could potentially enter our premises without authorisation, with the added risk of students wandering outside the premises during school hours. Keeping in mind the safety of our students and funding constraints, we reached out to FINCO for support.

“We are pleased to share that in addition to constructing the wall, OCBC Bank, through Lions Club, also generously provided much needed devices to support 35 students with access to remote learning. With the uncertainty of how long schools will remain closed, at least these students will not be left behind,” said En Sadeli.

Mr Wong Yat Seng, President of Lions Club KL Agape Star (second from left); Mr Edmond Lee, Senior Manager of OCBC Kajang branch (third from left and quoted in the press release) “handing over” the RM40,000 for repairing the school wall (in the background) and online learning to Puan Hajah Rossita BT Ramlan, Principal of SMK Jugra who is flanked by Ms Natalie Gan of Lions Club of Agape Star and Mr Chan Mun Beng of Lions Club of KL Cheras

According to FINCO CEO Ms Clare Walker, SMK Jugra is one of more than 300 schools FINCO works closely with to provide underprivileged children and youth with the guidance and educational tools they need to achieve their life goals. Beneficiaries are selected by the Ministry of Education Malaysia, prioritising high need schools.

“Under our disaster relief pillar, timely and relevant aid by members such as OCBC Bank with community partner Lions Club contributes towards alleviating some of the stress faced by students in challenging times, potentially accelerating their recovery and bringing the focus back to learning and fulfilling their future potential.

“The integrity of infrastructure is vital. Beyond the home, safe and secure school infrastructure directly affects the health, behaviour, engagement, learning and growth in achievement among students.”

Lions Clubs Presidents, Lion Wong Yat Seng (LCKL Agape Star) and Lion Tony Lim (LCKL Cheras) added that the collaboration with OCBC Bank was a natural one as they have collaborated in community efforts over the past few years.

“We are grateful to OCBC Bank through their Cheras and Kajang branches for their relentless support and commitment to assisting the community amidst the difficulties arising from Covid-19 and these challenging times.

“We would like to thank OCBC Bank for bringing joy to the students as well. We are pleased to have done our little part to help our community and we hope this will help them tide through the current challenging period,” said Organising Chairpersons for the project Lion Natalie Gan and Lion MB Chan.

Speaking on behalf of OCBC Bank, its Kajang branch Senior Manager Mr Edmond Lee Boon Teck said the Bank continues to strive to be more involved in the localities in which it operates and to become even more engaged in the community, going beyond simply providing superior banking products and services to meeting the social needs of the people as well.

“The social and economic effect of the global pandemic is hard for many and so we wanted to reach out to support our own community, particularly those who have been deeply affected during these past few months. We are thankful to FINCO and the Lions Clubs for being part of this relief programme. We hope the children will benefit from the access to online lessons and the new security features of their school. Education is indeed key and no one should be deprived of it. We hope our little contribution will help the school in this rather difficult time,” he said.

In the lead up to this event, OCBC Bank staff from Cheras and Kajang branches came together to prepare heartfelt messages and personalised cards to help encourage the students with their online lessons.

FINCO is a collaborative initiative pioneered by the financial industry in Malaysia with the guidance of Bank Negara Malaysia. Through FINCO, the financial industry’s strategic alignment of shared goals results in deeper and more sustainable long-term impact on target beneficiaries, an investment which contributes to the inclusive growth of Malaysia’s future development. As an active member, OCBC Bank’s contribution includes volunteer support, in-kind assistance, relief aid and programme partnerships.