Back
UEM SUNRISE FURTHER EXPANDS READING INITIATIVE TO SMK MEDINI
ISKANDAR PUTERI, JOHOR, 13 February 2020 – Further expanding the bid to encourage a reading habit among the young, UEM Sunrise, one of Malaysia’s leading property developers and master developer of Iskandar Puteri, launched the 11th BukuhUb at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Medini together with Deputy Education Officer, Tuan Haji Ahmad Taufik Hamzah from the Johor Bahru District Education Department.
BukuhUb, a community project and UEM Sunrise’s first CSR flagship programme, aims to enhance the living environment of the community while cultivating the habit of reading. It embraces the Company’s three-pronged Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy - Education Enhancement, Community Engagements and Environmental Conservation. Its Education Enhancement programme is based on the firm belief that education is a fundamental human right and must be extended to every child regardless of gender, race, religion or economic status. This initiative is a part of UEM Sunrise’ commitment to support the Sustainable Development Goals spearheaded by the United Nations.
“The BukuhUb program is a UEM Sunrise community initiative to build mini libraries or reading corners to make reading materials more accessible to the local community,” said Zamri Yusof, Chief Operating Officer (Southern) of UEM Sunrise.
He added that the initiative is also part of UEM Sunrise’s efforts in creating a delightful journey and experience for customers and stakeholders in line with its ‘Find Your Happy’ rebranding efforts. It is identified that a happy community is one that is sustainable and vibrant.
“Surely the BukuhUb programme will see Malaysian youths spend their leisure time in a beneficial activity and come together in their pursuit of knowledge at a location that is close to them,” he said.
Marking UEM Sunrise’s commitment in empowering the community as the master developer of Iskandar Puteri, the BukuhUb in SMK Medini is the fifth to be set up in Johor since its inception last year. After having organised a successful BukuDrive programme last year at which more than 10,000 books were collected for this initiative, the BukuhUb in SMK Medini will be well-stocked with at least 2,000 titles from various genres for the young adult readers.
In his speech, Ahmad Taufik Hamzah commended UEM Sunrise for their efforts and commitment in making BukuhUb a resounding success. “This initiative by UEM Sunrise to carry out the BukuhUb programme is in line with the Malaysia Government’s vision to encourage a reading habit by the year 2030,” he said.
He added that the BukuhUb will also instil integrity among students as the books can be taken out without record unlike those at full-fledged libraries. “We need to entrust the public and our children, and BukuhUb is the way to pioneer this culture,” he said.
Also in line with the Ministry of Education’s vision of making 2020 to 2030 the “Dekad Membaca Kebangsaan” or National Decade of Reading, there are plans afoot to explore the possibility of expanding the reading experience to include digital books, free Wi-Fi and more at selected BukuhUbs. More activities are also in the pipeline to make reading fun and engaging.
In collaboration with its strategic partners, UEM Sunrise has also accomplished several notable CSR milestones and projects, including the PINTAR School Adoption Programme, Bijak Al-Quran Programme, Educational Aid Programme with Orphanages, Iskarnival, Back to School Programme, Community Outreach Programme, festive events and celebrations as well as crime prevention and safety talks.