2022 JCI Malaysia Sustainable Development Award (JCIM SDA) Project Launching Ceremony
Speech by the Chief Minister of Penang YAB Tuan Chow Kon Yeow for the 2022 JCI Malaysia Sustainable Development Award (JCIM SDA) Project Launching Ceremony
17 February 2022 @ Pusat Harmoni Pulau Pinang
Ms Ellen Lu
2022 JCI Malaysia National President
Ms Eagle Lee
Organising Chairperson
JCI Senator Mr Ivan Ng
Organising Chairperson of 2022 Sustainable Development Award Project
Ms Zoey Tang
President of 2022 JCI United Penang
All JCI Office Bearers, Media friends, Ladies & Gentlemen
Good evening, everyone.
It is my pleasure to be invited here to join the 2022 JCI Malaysia Sustainable Development Award (JCIM SDA) Project Launching Ceremony. I believe that all of you as JCI members regardless of which chapter, have been empowered through the range of activities conducted by JCI. It is a platform and medium for you to learn and put into practice various “people-centric” skills such as communication, negotiation, leadership, teamwork and events management.
It gives you many opportunities that put your skills to test when organizing various projects throughout the year. Hence, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Organizing Chairpersons Ms Eagle Lee and Mr Ivan Ng as well as your committee members for the success in putting this together.
To my understanding, JCI United Penang had successfully hosted various national projects over the years such as the 2014 JCI Malaysia Top Outstanding Youth Malaysian and the JCI Malaysia Business Summit in 2019. And for this year, the hosting right of JCI Malaysia Sustainable Development Award (JCIM SDA) Project Launching Ceremony was again granted to JCI United Penang. This is a clear indication of your team members’ calibre and the confidence you all enjoy in JCIM. Keep up the good work!
Speaking about Sustainable Development Awards, I wish to bring to your attention that you have chosen the perfect venue – Penang Harmony Centre – to host your event this evening. This is because Penang Harmony Centre was the winner of The Edge Malaysia-PAM Green Excellence Award 2021 and this was announced last year on 14th December. The Award is to recognise property developments that demonstrate sustainable design which is both innovative and outstanding. I’m proud that the Penang Harmony Centre scored excellent merits as required by Green Building Index (GBI), Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) and the Building & Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark.
So, to the organizing committee headed by Eagle and Ivan, I applaud your choice because there’s no better venue than Penang Harmony Centre to fit the theme of your event.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As we take a closer look at the Penang2030 vision, you would see that the State Government would like to achieve greater civic participation and community involvement in the aspect of policy-making, which is outlined under Theme 3: “Empower people to strengthen civic participation”. In this matter, the Penang state government has paid special attention towards empowering our youth for the future.
We have made it mandatory to include 2 youths (a male & a female) in each of our Village Community Management Councils, or MPKKs, in all 40 constituencies across the State. The State Government is also a strong supporter of the annual Youth Parliament organized by the Penang Youth Development Corporation (PYDC) for our youth to gain exposure in the workings of the democratic process. In fact, JCI is also an important catalyst in training our youth towards achieving that vision. As such, I look forward to greater contributions from every one of you because you are an agent of change in our society who will create positive impacts for our society and beloved nation.
Before I end my speech, I would also like to encourage more Malaysian companies and organizations to submit your projects which have been conducted in line with the UNSDG for this award. I am sure it will add value and goodwill to your brand name. An impactful project may inspire other successful projects, as we say in Chinese, “抛砖引玉” (pao1 zhuan1 yin3 yu4). Together, we can advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) to ensure that “no one is left behind”, in our pursuit for a greener environment, to reduce inequality and to end extreme poverty.
Thank you.