Healing & Empowering Lives Dinner (in aid of Compassionate Care Foundation and Protect & Save the Children Association)

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

YB SENATOR TENGKU DATUK SERI UTAMA ZAFRUL BIN TENGKU ABDUL AZIZ
MINISTER OF FINANCE MALAYSIA

HEALING & EMPOWERING LIVES DINNER
(in aid of Compassionate Care Foundation and Protect & Save the Children Association)

1 APRIL 2022 | One World Hotel, Petaling Jaya

Assalamualaikum wbt, Salam Sejahtera, Salam Keluarga Malaysia,

Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye
Board Director, Compassionate Care Foundation

Yang Berbahagia Datin Nariza Hashim Petra
President, Protect & Save the Children

Generous sponsors of tonight’s event

Esteemed guests

Members of the media

Ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

1. Firstly, I would like to thank Compassionate Care Foundation (CCF) and Protect & Save the Children Association (PSC) for inviting me to this fundraising dinner aptly themed “Healing & Empowering Lives”. It is a great honour to be here, together with all of you, supporting two noble causes: one, on healing the underprivileged suffering from chronic diseases; secondly, on a very difficult cause, which is protecting sexually abused children and healing them.
   
   
2. I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the good work that both NGOs have done since their inception:
   
   
   1. CCF, in partnership with IR Care, provides complimentary molecular hydrogen therapy to help the underprivileged heal from their chronic diseases. Within two short years since CCF’s establishment in 2017, roughly 1,400 hours of hydrogen therapy had been administered to help 30 individuals heal from their chronic diseases.
      
      
   2. PSC, I was made to understand, is focused on protecting and healing the victims of child sexual abuse through education, awareness, case management and healing therapy. In the last 10 years alone, PSC has assisted more than 12,000 child victims, and facilitated personal safety education in schools and communities. One notable success is how PSC had assisted on exposing and tracking down the serial child sex offender Richard Huckle, which led to Huckle’s arrest by the UK police in 2014, and his conviction of 71 counts of serious sexual assaults against Malaysian children.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Malaysia’s 12th Malaysia Plan’s Aspiration and Budget 2022: Strengthening Security, Well-Being and Inclusivity

3. To help our society recover holistically from the pandemic, and build our people’s resilience, we must embed and embrace sustainable development principles, including those that ensure the well-being of our Rakyat Malaysia.
   
   
4. The 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) has clearly set out Malaysia’s strategic priorities to promote sustainable economic recovery as well as provide better social protection to vulnerable segments of society. Under the second theme of the 12MP, which is Strengthening Security, Wellbeing and Inclusivity, one of the key game changers to strengthen inclusivity and uplift the B40 and vulnerable groups is to address poverty holistically and increase the standard of living of the rakyat.
   
   
5. One key reason why this is important is because those mired in poverty and stuck in a poor standard of living are more likely to compromise decent values to survive. Further, the pandemic has worsened the ability for these groups to survive daily, and to cope with mental stresses. And stress due to poverty could also lead to domestic violence and abuse. Therefore, it is extremely important to alleviate the effects of poverty in society, even while we find ways to improve their ability to earn better incomes. And, in addressing poverty and its effects, it is the annual budget that breathes life to the aspirations of the 12th Malaysia Plan.
   
   
6. On enabling the needy and ensuring their well-being, I would like to share that through Budget 2022, the Ministry of Finance has provided RM2.4 billion for monthly welfare assistance to children, the elderly and the disabled who are unemployed. We have also allocated RM450 million for COVID-19 health kits for 3.6 million B40 families that include face masks, self-test kits, pulse oximeter and thermometer. There are also meal programmes for B40 schoolkids, as well as free medical screening at public hospitals for vulnerable segments of society, and many other types of support.
   
   
7. Nonetheless, there are always pockets of society that may still not be captured in the government’s central database. And this is where partnerships with NGOs – with its strong ground network – is extremely crucial, particularly to identify those that fall outside the social safety net.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

NGOs as the Government’s Partners in Developing a Kinder Malaysia

8. A few years ago, I raised funds for Make-A-Wish Foundation via a marathon I was running. Friends, family and colleagues pledged to raise funds if I completed the Tokyo Marathon, which I did on 28 February 2016.
   
   
9. Together, we raised over RM200,000 for Make-a-Wish Foundation. What was most meaningful for me is what the Foundation stands for, which is to make the wishes of children with critical illnesses come true. One of the young children chosen had leukaemia. He was 8 years old and his wish was to be an army officer for a day. So, using some of the funds raised, we took him to the Sg Besi air base, kit him up in an army uniform, and pretended that he was our army general for a day.
   
   
10. The sense of happiness in that child’s eyes melted the hearts of the toughest army officers who were there on that day. It was an incredibly fulfilling experience for me, and thereafter I continued to raise funds for charity through the London, Boston and Chicago Marathons.
    
    
11. I am not recommending that we all run marathons to start raising funds for causes closest to our hearts. What I am saying is that there are so many ways we can help, and now that I am in the Ministry of Finance, on the policy-making side, we do appreciate suggestions and proposals on how best the Government can help in ensuring as many people as possible in our Keluarga Malaysia are supported, and most importantly, enabled to heal, so they can thrive and lead their best lives.
    
    
12. And when we talk about charitable leadership, it is not just about championing obvious and popular causes. True leadership is about all of us caring for people who have been forgotten, or who have been discriminated against, or who have been subject to unspeakable violence, or have to make difficult choices on a daily basis. To lend a voice to the voiceless and be the support to the helpless. That's true leadership.
    
    
13. In terms of the cause championed by PSC, for example, many children who are victims of abuse are likely to suffer mental health in later life, and are also likely to become abusers themselves. Many spend a lifetime trying to forget dark episodes of their childhood. Although the Government has provided an allocation for mental health, prevention is always better than cure, and this is where NGOs like PSC should be supported.
    
    
14. And it isn’t just kids that deserve love, protection and stability. The underprivileged, particularly those suffering from chronic diseases, need such support, too, which is what CCF is providing.
    
    
15. And I see in this ballroom tonight, faces of the people who have selflessly dedicated their time and resources to these two noble causes. I believe that the more that we help, the more compassion we are spreading particularly among the younger generation, creating more opportunities for them to support their respective communities as future leaders. All of you represent a beacon of hope to the beneficiaries of PSC, CCF and a better Malaysia, and you deserve a round of applause.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Rebuilding Malaysia to be More Socially Resilient

12. Part of MOF’s commitment to sustainable development and building resilience is to create a better, safer and more inclusive society for our children and the underprivileged. And while we have made significant progress, particularly in areas such as poverty eradication, public health and well-being, there is always room for improvement, which brings me to my next point.
    
    
13. In the last two years, MOF has begun quite a few reform initiatives to pave the way for sustainable socio-economic progress. These include several ways in which the Government and NGOs can work better together in the future:
    
    
    1. Firstly, through Budget 2022, the MOF has also allocated a RM100-million matching grant for NGOs for programmes such as capacity building and tackling mental health issues through awareness programmes; as well as after school education and online teaching. The MOF is also open to receiving proposals on allocations meant for other purposes for Budget 2023.
       
       
    2. Secondly, we do have a CSR-related coordinated platform via the Government Linked Investment Companies (GLIC) and Government-Linked Companies (GLCs). Called GDRN, which stands for GLIC/GLC Demi Rakyat dan Negara, this aligns GLCs/GLICs’ existing social impact contribution in 3 key areas which are (i) education, (ii) sustainable livelihood and well-being (including environment) and (iii) humanitarian response. I would urge NGOs such as PSC and CCF to also reach out to GDRN, which is jointly managed by Yayasan Hasanah and Yayasan TM, to see how we can work together on promoting specific causes.
       
       
    3. Thirdly, building a better and more resilient society is a shared responsibility. The MOF will soon start its Budget 2023 engagement process and I welcome proposals from NGOs such as PSC and CCF on how best to empower civil society organisations so that we can all do our part to create a better society.
       
       
14. Before I end, I just want to mention that in a world that is so full of harshness and cruelty, having a soft heart and compassion is a mark of courage, not weakness. And having the courage to champion causes that are so difficult for people to talk about openly, let alone accept – like child sexual abuse and the sick underprivileged – requires even more courage, as well as stronger hearts and minds.
    
    
15. Therefore, I urge all of you present here tonight, representing your organisations, to generously support NGOs like CCF and PSC. Because a nation’s economic progress is pointless if our vulnerable and children are not cared for and protected.
    
    
16. May Allah ease our journey and bless all our efforts on creating a safer, kinder, and more compassionate Malaysia together. Thank you.