Johor Bahru, August 5, 2017

 AEON’s Hometown Forest Programme headed south to Bandar Dato’ Onn in conjunction with the soon to be opened AEON mall that will further excite the retail scene. On this day, a tree-planting initiative through AEON’s Hometown Forest Programme was held with the support of about 200 students and 400 volunteers.

This initiative is a tradition of AEON CO. (M) BHD.’s corporate social responsibility programme that is always conducted together with the local community prior to the opening of any mall. It is in tandem with AEON’s commitment towards reviving nature and emphasizing the importance of preserving and protecting nature to create a more natural and pleasant environment for the future generations.

Commenting at the event, Mr. Shinobu Washizawa, the Managing Director of AEON CO. (M) BHD. said, “This green initiative gives us an opportunity to further help create a green surrounding, while setting the platform for the local communities to learn and appreciate nature and be one with it. Besides that, the tree planting programme allows AEON to foster closer relationship with the local residents within the vicinity of the Mall. It further r

eflects our commitment to forge a long term relationship with the local community”. The Hometown Forest Programme was officiated by Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Dr. Abdul Latif bin Mohmod, Director General of Forest Research Institute of Malaysia in the presence of Mr. Shinobu Washizawa, Managing Director of AEON CO. (M) BHD. They were accompanied by the 600 volunteers and nature lovers consisting of the local authorities, the Police; iM4U, Malaysian College of Hospitality and Management (KFCH); representatives from local communities and school children from five local schools within the vicinity.

AEON Board of Directors and Management; representatives from AEON Group; AEON Mall Bandar Dato’ Onn management and staff; AEON Business partners and tenants; kids from AEON Malaysia Cheers Club; also joined in for the good cause.

“We are glad to see our young friends joining us as we come together with a common vision to green the surrounding, to preserve, conserve and protect Mother Nature. Tree planting is the most effective and relevant way to do it and we believe that every small effort makes a huge difference in leaving an on-going environmental legacy in Malaysia,” concluded Mr. Shinobu Washizawa.

A total of 10,075 plants of 50 different species were planted on the grounds surrounding AEON Mall Bandar Dato’ Onn, Johor Bahru. Forest tree, fruit tree, shrubs and medicinal plants were some of the species planted. The saplings for forest trees were tualang, meranti, keruing; while for fruit trees were rambai, gandaria / plum mango and for medicinal species were ‘Tongkat Ali’, lemon grass, ‘mahkota dewa’ and ‘mas cotek’. Shrub species such as hibiscus, orange jasmine, spider lily and heliconia were also planted to add more colour to the AEON mall’s surrounding.

In addition, at the event, five schools were presented each with RM3,000 worth of books, courtesy of Malaysian AEON Foundation. They were Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Daya 3, Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Daya 2, Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Mutiara, Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Pandan, and Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (T) Ladang Tebrau.

To date, AEON CO. (M) BHD. has planted more than 500,000 trees within Malaysia over a period of 26 years.