KUALA LUMPUR, 12 April 2018 – YTL Power International Berhad (YTL Power) today signed a Collaboration Agreement with Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM) and Global Peace Foundation Malaysia (Global Peace) to provide RM184,600 of funding into the Communities Unite for Purewater (CUP) social intervention programme run by Global Peace. YTL Power was represented by Dato’ Yeoh Seok Hong, Executive Director of YTL Power while Naser Jaafar, Chief Executive Officer of AIM and Dr Teh Su Thye, Chief Executive Officer of Global Peace represented their respective organisations.
CUP seeks to provide clean and safe water to uplift the welfare of targeted rural and underserved communities, particularly Orang Asli communities in West Malaysia and other indigenous communities in East Malaysia. Based on the latest estimates from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme 2017, it has shown that 3 in 10 people worldwide, or 2.1 billion, lack access to safe, readily available water at home, and 6 in 10, or 4.5 billion, lack safely managed sanitation.
From left: Naser Jaafar, Chief Executive Officer of AIM; Dato’ Yeoh Seok Hong, Executive Director of YTL Power, and Dr Teh Su Thye, Chief Executive Officer of Global Peace.
“YTL Power is pleased to support the Communities Unite for Purewater programme, which fits perfectly with the work the YTL Group is doing to assist underserved communities. We continuously look to support projects and initiatives that provide remote or marginalised communities with the necessities that many urban residents take for granted, such as clean water and sanitation. We are inspired by the impact CUP has achieved so far, and through this innovative funding solution by AIM, we are able to increase the number of people and communities they are able to help,” said Dato’ Yeoh Seok Hong, Executive Director of YTL Power.
The funding was achieved through AIM’s innovative Social Outcome Fund (SOF) that seeks to drive funding for social intervention programmes by social-purpose organisations (SPOs) to address social issues. The SOF, launched in 2017 by AIM with an initial budget of RM3 million from the government, invites private funders to provide financing for social intervention programmes. What is unique is that the funding provided by the private funders will be returned by the SOF if predetermined outcomes are achieved by the SPOs.
“The SOF is a funding model that focuses on the outcomes of social intervention projects. In this model, the government and private sector work together to address social issues more effectively and increase the impact of funding in the social sector. We would like to invite more collaboration and participation from private funders in social finance models like the SOF,” said Naser Jaafar, Chief Executive Officer of AIM.
The signing ceremony.
CUP was one of the eight projects identified for investment by AIM under the SOF. Launched in 2010, CUP has benefited more than 3,000 villagers from eight communities in Perak, Pahang, Sabah, and Sarawak. These communities face obstacles in obtaining a clean water supply and sanitation facilities due to their remote location, which leads to health problems such as skin diseases, diarrhoea and cholera. The funding will enable CUP to develop sustainable solutions to make clean drinking water accessible such as constructing groundwater wells, installation of ultra-filtration water filters in the villages, providing training on water, sanitation and hygiene, and more.
Dr Teh Su Thye, Chief Executive Officer of Global Peace, added, “We are indeed excited and hopeful as this partnership with AIM and YTL Power will relieve our targeted communities in Sarawak from their long struggle in obtaining clean drinking water. This collective effort will ensure that our social impact is sustainable, in addressing the needs and rights of underserved communities in Malaysia.”
