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Furry folk at PAWS get RM54,000 from OCBC friends toward building a state-of-the-art home

Furry folk at PAWS get RM54,000 from OCBC friends toward building a state-of-the-art home

  • 10 Jan 2022

The furry folks at PAWS Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in Ara Damansara found a new friend in OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (OCBC Bank) when its Consumer Financial Services division staff raised over RM54,000 from their own pockets to chip in to build a new home for them.

When completed in 2025 the multi-storey eco-friendly animal shelter – able to accommodate up to 500 animals – will become the country’s first state-of-the-art animal centre, replete with solar power and rainwater harvesting facilities to keep it sustainable and environmentally friendly.

PAWS needs to raise RM3.5 million for the entire project and have to-date collected a little more than ten percent of the amount; so anyone looking to chip in as well may do so by writing to pawshelter@gmail.com or https://www.paws.org.my/ or by calling 6011-21935651.

According to OCBC Bank Managing Director & Consumer Financial Services Ms Anne Leh, she and her colleagues were touched by the plight of the animals recently and were eager to assist the country’s oft-neglected animal community.

“We are generally most familiar with how the pandemic has affected humans but not much is publicly known about the animals that contribute to our ecosystem and are, really, our friends as well. We wanted to extend our humanitarian support, so these animals are given the care they need as well during these challenging times.

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The official virtual handover of the donation witnessed by OCBC Bank CEO Dato’ Ong Eng Bin

“After the call went out to our staff to contribute to the cause, I was amazed by the response we received in such a short period of time. This is all, of course, over and beyond what the staff were already doing for fellow human beings affected by the pandemic. I was indeed touched by the outpouring of generosity from within. Our CEO Dato’ Ong Eng Bin was himself quick to join in the exercise by making a substantial contribution. We are grateful for the supporting environment in the Bank that has now made contributions such as this second nature,” she said.

Ms Leh added that the Bank, which has itself been actively pursuing the sustainability agenda through its product and service offerings, was impressed by the efforts taken by PAWS to make the new shelter sustainable.

“We were moved by the PAWS initiative to build a sustainable centre. Among the iconic details of the sustainable elements of the new shelter are commendable initiatives to install solar panels and a rainwater harvesting system,” she said.

According to PAWS Shelter Manager Mr Edward Lim the funds from the OCBC Bank staff were a light at the end of the tunnel.

“Our sincerest gratitude to OCBC Bank for the generous donation of RM54,152.81! Thanks to their Consumer Division’s contribution to our PAWS building fundraising effort, we are yet another step closer to a sustainable home for our furry friends. Our utmost appreciation to Dato’ Ong Eng Bin and Ms Anne Leh for spearheading this initiative.”


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