A Pledge For Hope For A Violence-Free World

November 25 was declared as “The White Ribbon International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women” by the United Nations. For the first time in Malaysia, computing students of Sunway University College developed the pledge module on the www.journeytowardshope.com website to enable Malaysians to make a personal pledge from 10 am on November 25. This event was also held around the world particularly in Australia and the U.S.A

During the period surrounding this date men and boys especially, are encouraged to undertake the White Ribbon pledge “not to commit, condone or remain silent on violence against women and children”. This event is an initiative of Dr Valli Batchelor (a Malaysian residing in Australia). A similar pledge which was pioneered in Perth by Dr Batchelor last year was highly commended internationally.

The aim of this event is to raise awareness for the U.N White Ribbon campaign and to create safer and sacred places for all Malaysians of diverse culture, religion, gender and ages to celebrate lives free from violence.

A paper pledge can also be done by filling in a palm paper pledge, e-copies of which are also available from Christopher Ong (016-2061580). The palm paper pledges will be collected from now to be displayed on a “tree” for 16 days of activism for elimination of violence against women and children, at Sunway University College from November 25.

Sunway students were asked what they thought of the pledge. Kevin Zachary, a first year computing student said “This is a very good initiative. Violence should be stopped and it is great that this awareness is created at the level of students”. Kumaran A/L Reventhran, also a first year computing student said, “I hope more people will come forward to pledge and more people should be made aware of violence particularly domestic violence which can go unnoticed”

This project is presented by Sunway University College in association with Journey Towards hope Dance Projects, Australia, World Council of Churches and the Guru Dharma Society.

Young minds intrigued by Corporate Social Responsibility

Students of Sunway University College successfully hosted the Undergraduate Business Student Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) attended by over 400 students from various institutions. This first-of-its-kind conference was co-organised by students and opened to all their undergraduate peers studying in universities in Malaysia.

The conference with the theme ‘Business with a Heart’, attracted students from local, private and public universities who were shown valuable insights into CSR as a sustainable business practice in Malaysia. The student initiative was jointly organised by Sunway University College and their business partners CPA Australia and KPMG in Malaysia, who also presented their best practices at the conference.

“Through this conference, we hope to infuse the CSR mindset amongst undergraduate students by profiling organisations that do not only practice profit maximization, but also behave responsibly towards their community at large, “says Dr. Foo Yin Fah, Head of the Australian University Programme at Sunway University College.

The day was filled with interesting presentations on CSR initiatives by the Sunway Group, The Body Shop, HSBC, DiGi, WWF, Malaysia Nature Society and Environmental Protection Society of Malaysia. The crowd was also entertained by various drama, dance and choral speaking performances, and drawing the day to a close was a special forum entitled “Environmental Conservation : Can Corporations Do More?”, jointly chaired by Dr. Foo along with WWF, Malaysia Nature Society and the Environment Protection Society of Malaysia.

Through their long-standing partnership in advancing business education, Sunway University College, CPA Australia and KPMG in Malaysia have observed that CSR concepts are incorporated in theory to differing degrees in university business curricula. Through the conference, they hope to inspire students to start a CSR movement of their own, by exposing them to actual best practices of well-recognised corporations and organisations in Malaysia.

All three organisations are strong advocates of CSR integration into their respective businesses.

Sunway University College runs on a non-profit basis and is completely funded by the Sunway Education Trust Fund, setup by the Sunway Group in line with their CSR objective of developing human capital through excellence in education. To date, the trust has also awarded up to RM40 million in scholarships since its inception in 1997. In the field of accounting and finance, CPA Australia’s CSR strategy leverages on their craft; from influencing the development of sustainable regulatory policies to assisting corporations in responding effectively to ever-growing CSR demands from shareholders, governments and society. As a leading audit, tax and advisory services firm, KPMG conducts itself as a responsible corporate citizen to clients and colleagues, and is also a positive force in the community through a myriad of activities such as the KPMG Community Day, reef conservation and its Education Trust Fund which assists needy students to pursue their studies in Accounting and Finance.

Dr. Foo adds, “We are truly excited about the good turnout and to see this initiative materialise. We realise that we are at the point of promoting awareness, since CSR education and practice is still nascent in the minds of our young. However, we are confident that this is a great start in inspiring students to become true advocates for community well-being, who will then become the next generation of CSR leaders of our future corporate Malaysia. We hope to sustain this conference and make it the interlude for all students to undergo as part of an education in CSR”

The one-day conference helped to raise RM5,580 in donations and student participation fees, which was donated to the SMK Bandar Sunway’s special class for students with learning disabilities.

Proud to be Malaysian

Dr Lee Su Kim spoke on championing our Malaysianness in a pre-Merdeka talk entitled “Celebrating being Malaysian: A Peranakan Woman Writer’s Perspective” at Sunway University College.

Speaking to Morals and Malaysian Studies students who packed the auditorium, Dr Lee gave amusing examples of how English has developed into its own with phrases and words which would sound completely strange to native English speakers. Words like ‘cousin brother, ‘send you’, ‘gostan’, ‘heaty’ and ‘cooling’. Awkward though they may be, these examples show how our spoken English has evolved into a Malaysian type of English popularly known as “Manglish”.

It was during her four years in Texas pursuing her doctorate that Dr Lee came to write her latest book, ‘A Nyonya in Texas: Insights of a Straits Chinese Woman in the Lone Star State’, which is a hilarious narrative of cross-cultural encounters. “It is only when you leave this country that you find out that you are Malaysian” shared Dr Lee.

Dr Lee’s parents are both Peranakan but from different states. She enjoys the Melaka Peranakan influence from her paternal side and the Penang Peranakan heritage from her maternal side. Pointing out how Peranakan culture is unique in the world and is a beautiful synthesis of two cultures, Chinese and Malay, Dr Lee explained that the culture was at its height of glory during British colonial rule, from the mid-19th to the 20th century. After Malaysia obtained its Independence in 1957, the Peranakan found themselves caught in an identity crisis as their culture is a culture of hybridity, and they claimed Chinese identity. Since World War II, the Peranakan culture has gradually become diluted and lost its lustre. However, the Peranakan culture today is undergoing a great revival and has attracted a lot of interest worldwide, particularly in its material culture.

As a teenager, Dr Lee was not sure of “who” she was but now she has come to accept her Peranakan ancestry with great pride and confidence. She encouraged everyone to celebrate the multiracial harmony that has taken root deeply in Malaysia. “Malaysia is a wonderful meeting place of cultures. This idea of multiple identities helps us to be more open-minded and less ethnocentric. We are who we are, Malaysians and we should appreciate our commonalities, enjoy being multi-cultural, speak out for our rights and dare to be different” said Dr Lee.

About Dr Lee Su Kim
Dr. Lee Su Kim was a guest speaker invited by the Language and Compulsory Subject Centre, Sunway University College. Lee is the author of ‘Malaysian Flavours: Insights into Things Malaysian’, ‘Manglish: Malaysian English at its Wackiest’ and ‘A Nyonya in Texas’. She is an Associate Professor in English at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi. Dr. Lee has a Doctorate in Education from the University of Houston and her research interests are in the area of Language, Culture and Identity and World Englishes.

She is also the President of the newly-formed Peranakan Association of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.