Tan Sri Cheah becomes recipient of the inaugural Sustainability Icon Award
PETALING JAYA: Sunway Group founder and chairman Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah AO has become the first and only recipient of RAM Consultancy’s inaugural Sustainability Icon Award, which was presented by the Minister of Finance II, YB Datuk Seri Haji Johari Abdul Ghani, at the RAM League Awards Night.
Tan Sri Cheah was conferred the award in recognition of his vision, exemplary leadership, commitment, and dedication to furthering sustainability over the last four decades across Malaysia and the region through the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF) and the Sunway Group, according to statement.
“The decision by RAM to institute this award is yet another indication that the concept of sustainable development is gaining increased recognition in Malaysia. At Sunway, we have committed ourselves to the concept of sustainable development long before the term became as popular as it is now. Over the years, as we grew to become one of Malaysia's largest conglomerates, we have woven the concept of sustainable development into the very fabric of the Sunway Group and its related entities.” says Tan Sri Cheah upon his acceptance of the award.
The award conferment is in line with endeavours driven by RAM and Sunway Group to promote the adoption of sustainability in Malaysia.
Through a strategic partnership between JCF and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development has been launched in Sunway University in December 2016, chaired by renowned economist Professor Jeffrey Sachs.
Following this, Sunway Group has also pledged its commitment to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
“We recognise that achieving the SDG Agenda is not the sole responsibility of government alone. It requires the commitment of all sectors of society - the private sector, academia, civil society and, of course, every single individual. We are all in this together.” says Tan Sri Cheah.
Tan Sri Cheah’s outstanding successes in the field of sustainability is most demonstrably highlighted by the transformation of two disused tin-mining craters into what is now Sunway City, Malaysia’s first fully-integrated green township as recognised by Green Building Index in 2012, and a Low Carbon City by the Malaysian Institute of Planners in 2016.
Sunway City is now home to a thriving community of over 200,000.
The sustainable integrated township model has also been successfully adapted across the country, in the lush Sunway City Ipoh, and the upcoming 1,800-acre Sunway Iskandar development.
Tan Sri Cheah is a passionate advocate for democratising quality education for deserving students, regardless of race, gender or creed.
In doing so, he has transferred all his equity in the Sunway Education Group’s learning institutions worth RM1 billion today into the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF). Through the unique structure of the JCF, all operating surpluses are ploughed back into the JCF to be disbursed as scholarships and expansion of faculty and facilities.
Tan Sri Cheah has safeguarded the sustainability of the Foundation’s principles of giving back to society through quality education in perpetuity. The JCF has awarded RM270 million in scholarships to date.
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