Giving the next generation a voice
Four corporations adopt PSAs crafted by students in conjunction with National Sports Day
KUALA LUMPUR: It came as a complete surprise when a team of four students was told that its winning entry in a poster contest would find its way into The Star for all the nation to see.
The students, who call themselves Team Fantastic 4, will have their voices heard, thanks to Orando Holdings Sdn Bhd.
The property developer picked the team’s poster to put forward a public awareness call on sports and its benefits to the nation.
The sponsorship of the poster is tied to the Game4Life contest organised by The Star’s Newspaper-inEducation (NiE) programme.
The contest required students to craft Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on the theme of sports and its role as a vehicle for social change.
The contest, which ended in June, saw 17,000 school students nationwide submit their posters, encouraged by an array of attractive prizes to be won.
The team from SMK Bintang Utara, Kuala Lumpur, is one of four in the contest that will have its PSAs sponsored as full-page advertisements. These will be published in the StarEducate pullout tomorrow, in conjunction with National Sports Day.
As an extension of the NiE contest, corporate companies were invited to select exceptional PSAs to give participating students a platform for them to air their views on the theme.
Orando managing director Datuk Dr Eng Wei Chun said that sponsoring PSAs crafted by students of the Star-NiE contest proved to be one of his most meaningful projects.
It is among the many Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects undertaken by Orando. The company sponsored a PSA for last year’s NiE contest, We Are Malaysia.
He said that this sponsorship was significant.
“It’s different from contributing resources to the less fortunate. This project helps students to be far-sighted and to think progressively. And when they have matured mindsets, they can think for themselves and prosper independently,” he said.
Dr Eng said he hoped that Malaysia will grow to become a high-income nation. He also noted that there was a need to improve the international language.
In light of the company’s recent home sponsorship to badminton ace Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Dr Eng said: “It has been awhile since we experienced this spirit of being united. No matter what race or religion, all Malaysians who watched the Olympics had the same objective, which was to see the country fight and win.”
He said that Malaysians must embrace the muhibbah spirit.
“If we are united, we can become very strong. We are not far from becoming a developed country. We need Malaysians who have mature and moderate mindsets, this is critical to the country now,” he said.
Team Fantastic 4 member Choy Ai Rain said the main focus of their artwork was teamwork.
“Malaysia is a multi-racial country, so it is important for us to have teamwork in our daily life. We mustn’t push others down in order to go up. We should instead strive for success as one.”
The other three companies that sponsored PSA ads were EkovestBhd, LBS Bina Group Bhd and Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
Those sponsored were Team Zephyrus from Chong Hwa Independent High School, Kuala Lumpur; Team Modulus from SMJK Kuching High, Sarawak; and Team Ace Breakers from SMK Permas Jaya, Johor. See StarEducate tomorrow for the full report.