Company Contributes RM80,000 For Students to Learn Beyond The Classroom

To encourage continuous learning, Malakoff Corporation Berhad (Malakoff) recently organised its annual three-day Learning Beyond The Classroom programme for its ten adopted schools. The programme saw 130 students explore and learn from places such as Kidzania, Petrosains, Pusat Sains Negara and High 5 Bread Museum.

Organised for the 12th consecutive time, Malakoff invested RM80,000 this year for the Learning Beyond The Classroom programme, offering young students learning opportunities outside of their everyday school routine. Since the inaugural trip in 2001, Malakoff has sponsored close to RM960,000 for the programme, benefiting over 1480 students from all the adopted schools.

Speaking about the trip, Zainal Abidin Jalil, the Chief Executive Officer of Malakoff said, “Malakoff’s Learning beyond the Classroom initiative is an integral component of our Company’s flagship Corporate Social Responsibility platform – the Malakoff Community Partnerships. This is in line with our commitment to promote academic excellence among eager students through various educational tools.”

“We recognise the importance of making learning fun through various platforms and we want to do our part to help the students in this. Field trips allow students to experience first-hand what they study from their text books, thus enhancing and stimulating their interest in learning even further,” he added.

This year, the Standard Six students were selected from Malakoff’s ten adopted schools located near Malakoff’s operations. The participating schools included SK Segari, SJK (C) Pei Min, SJK (T) Ladang Huntly in Lumut, SK Khir Johari, SJK (C) Chung Hwa, SJK (T) Prai in Seberang Prai, together with SK Sg Boh, SK Seri Sinaran Chokoh, SK Andek Mori, SJK (C) Pei Chiao in Pontian Johor.

Student, Farah Najihah Purba binti Muhd Hasan, from SJK (C) Pei Chiao, Pontian, enjoyed attending the educational trip. "The visit to Kidzania was the most enjoyable as I was able to try out many 'professions' that I have never dreamed of," said Farah, who aspired to be a doctor someday. Although she has been to the Klang Valley a few times before, this was the first time she was taken around to visit places of interests.

For student Thoga Lingam from SJK (T) Ladang Huntly, Lumut, the educational trip was like a dream come true. Born to parents who are both labourers, he is determined to work hard to become a scientist one day and improve the living conditions of the family. The visit to Petrosains opened his eyes and fueled his interest in science and technology as he and his friends explored the huge centre and soaked in the valuable knowledge from the exhibits.

In addition to organising annual school excursions for its adopted schools, Malakoff also allocates RM200,000 each year under its Education Fund to provide better academic facilities for these schools. Under this Fund, the schools are able to apply to Malakoff for development and improvement of facilities such as sports complex, libraries as well as science and computer laboratories.

Encik Mohd Fauzan Bin Ishak from SJK(C) Chung Hwa 3, Prai said, “The Learning beyond the Classroom programme provides our students with a great outdoor learning opportunity while building closer bonds with their peers.”

“We are truly grateful to Malakoff for their continuous effort to motivate students to excel in their studies through such trips. The smiles and excitement on the students’ faces were priceless,” he expressed.

Over and above the Learning Beyond The Classroom programme, students from the adopted schools were also involved in other initiatives such as Malakoff’s ‘Kenali Penyu, Sayangi Penyu’ programme. Additionally, Malakoff has rolled out another initiative called ‘Project Sunshine’, through which 5.23 kilowatt-peak (kWp) photo-voltaic systems is being installed at selected schools across Malaysia.