Poem recital, pantun contest nurture the spirit of ‘Negaraku Sehati Sejiwa’

KUALA LUMPUR: SME Bank held an early National Day celebration with a poem recital and pantun competition for its staff to demonstrate their love for the country on Tuesday.

Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Ahmad Maslan officiated at the opening ceremony of the celebration.

The objective of holding these meaningful activities was to instil the spirit of nationalism and unity among employees.

SME Bank Group ( Corporate Management of Operations Group) chief operating officer Dato Razman Mohd Noor pointed out that the unity of the people led to the country’s prosperity and provided a more comfortable life for all Malaysians.

“Therefore, we must continue to support the efforts undertaken by the government for our present and future benefits.”

At the poem recital session, bank employee Qistina Rahmat recited a poem entitled ‘Jiwa Hamba’ by the late National Laureate Dato Dr Usman Awang.

The ‘ Mencipta Pantun Semarak Kemerdekaan’ competition, which offered total cash prizes of RM2,200 to winners, received 51 entries from 107 SME Bank employees.

Their pantun were immortalised in a giant frame and displayed at the lobby of Menara SME Bank.

Other competitions held included the Best Merdeka Stall, in which each division was required to open and decorate their stall in the most creative way based on the National Day theme, as well as the Best Merdeka Costume.

Ahmad Maslan also presented prizes to the winners of the competitions.

Since its inception in 2005 and until Dec 2016, SME Bank has approved RM27 billion worth of fi nancing to more than 15,740 customers.

SME Bank’s commitment in assisting small and medium enterprises grow and remain competitive has been recognised internationally when the bank became the fi rst development finance institution in Malaysia and Asean region to be a member of The Montreal Group, or TMG.

TMG is an exclusive global forum for state- owned development banks focused on assisting micro, small and mediumsized enterprises.