Bandar Sunway, 7 September 2018 

The recent 14th charity gala dinner by the Malaysian AEON Foundation (MAF) witnessed a true display of generosity as 1,600 AEON Group business partners gathered to raise RM1.9 million for the needy.

Among the list of honorary guests who were present included the Guest of Honour and Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Chong Chieng Jen; MAF Vice President and Managing Director of AEON CO. (M) BHD., Mr Shinobu Washizawa; and Focus Point Vision Care Group Sdn Bhd’s Datuk Liaw Choon Liang, who served as the Organising Chairman of this year’s gala dinner.

Held at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre, the theme of the evening was “Under Our Wings”, which aptly references the mission of the foundation—to support underprivileged children, equipping them with education and life necessities, thus enabling them to soar high with success.

“To date, MAF has rallied support from AEON business partners and channeled over RM10 million to help people in need, with children’s welfare being our top priority. This act of giving is a movement we intend to run for years to come in line with our determination to create a better society,” vowed Mr Shinobu Washizawa.

Besides AEON business partners—17 of whom contributed RM20,000 each, the dinner also hosted representatives from 9 children homes:

1. Pertubuhan Kebajikan Rumah Mentari, Kulim
2. Rumah Amal,Kulim
3. Rumah Kebajikan Bakti Fa Yi, Kulim
4. Than Hsiang Mitra Welfare Association Pulau Pinang
5. Pertubuhan Bakti Kebajikan Anak-Anak Yatim & Miskin Al- Mukminun, Kedah
6. Than Hsiang Wan Ching Yuen, Pulau Pinang
7. Pertubuhan Pemulihan Dalam Komuniti, Sg. Petani
8. Pertubuhan Kebajikan Anak-Anak Yatim dan OKU Mesra, Petaling Jaya
9. Persatuan Kanak Kanak Khas, Sungai Petani

Every home was presented with a cheque worth RM10,000 to help provide comfort for its occupants.

Tying back to the theme of the night, a one-of-a-kind “Hatch an Egg” donation drive was set up, where, for RM50, guests could purchase an ‘egg’ from a specially-built nest to free the bird trapped inside.

Serious philanthropy business aside, the dinner also proved to be a pleasurable one, with local TV personality Daphne Iking taking on emcee duties. Entertainment came in the form of a unique electric violinist, musical performances by Dusty Tune Live Band and award-winning jazz queen, Datuk Sheila Majid, interactive Kinect games, and over 100 lucky draws—with the grand prize being Poh Kong jewellery worth RM10,000!

More than just its Charity Gala Dinner, MAF also works on other initiatives to aid poor communities, with one of the more recent ones being their Light Up Lives orang asli project. Last year, 40 families in Cameron Highlands benefited from its instalment of 60 solar panels while the second phase of the project—to be held at Kuala Lipis, Pahang, in September is looking to build 50 more solar lights for the benefit of an additional 35 families.