- General Electric, AirAsia and EPIC Homes to build a home for an Orang Asli family in conjunction with Global Community Day
- EPIC Collaborative is one of the key NGO partners working in line with the Low Income Household National Key Result Area under the Government Transformation Programme 2.0
- GE and AirAsia joins the lead of private sector pioneers that have collaborated with EPIC Homes by taking up the challenge of building a house for an Orang Asli family
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 8 July 2013 -- General Electric (GE) and AirAsia collaborated with EPIC Homes to build a home for an Orang Asli family at Batang Kali, Selangor, in conjunction with GE's Global Community Day on 6 July.
EPIC Homes is an initiative by social enterprise EPIC Collaborative Sdn Bhd that is working in line with the Low Income Household (LIH) National Key Results Area (NKRA) of the Government Transformation Plan (GTP) 2.0, under the purview of PEMANDU. Focused on building sustainable housing for underprivileged groups, the initiative seeks to ensure that every Orang Asli has a safe home.
The GE Volunteers Network and AirAsia contributed capital investment and 30 employee volunteers. Stuart Dean, CEO, GE ASEAN and Aireen Omar, CEO, AirAsia Berhad were also on site with employee volunteers to build the home. It was one of the first homes built through corporate sponsorship and participation in collaboration with EPIC Homes.
"GE has had a long standing partnership with AirAsia, one that goes beyond just business to include giving back to our communities. Through this project, our volunteers have had the opportunity to come together for a good cause, and positively impact the lives of a family. Our participation in this project is in line with our strong commitment to drive sustainability across all aspects of the community and countries where we operate in," said Stuart Dean.
Aireen Omar said, "We are happy to partner GE in this project and extend AirAsia's contribution and support to building homes for underprivileged communities in Malaysia. As a corporate organization, we are constantly reminded on the importance of being socially responsible, especially towards our own local community in the country. Our aim is not just to enable everyone to fly as affordably as possible, but also lend a hand in contributing to the goals of the nation."
EPIC Homes also seeks to foster long lasting relationships which support personal and professional growth and development for volunteers as well as the Orang Asli community. Its aims include inspiring, mobilizing and empowering individuals to contribute to creating solutions to meet rural development needs through collaboration and volunteerism.
The Project employs a Rapid Building System to make the building system and design more effective for dynamic environments while increasing building efficiency. It also incorporates a Pay-it-forward Program, where recipients of the homes are also required to build houses for their neighbors.
John-Son Oei, Co-Founder and CEO of EPIC Collaborative said, "We would like to thank GE and AirAsia for their support and contribution in being one of the pioneers of the corporate sponsorship and team building program. With the success of this project, we hope to collaborate further with the corporate sector as we continue play our part in enhancing living conditions for Orang Asli families."
According to Mr. Chua Hong Teck, Director of the Low-Income Households NKRA, "One of the core commitments of the GTP is to be as inclusive as possible so that no Malaysian is left behind. A key aspect of the LIH NKRA is to systematically improve living standards of underprivileged Malaysians by providing supporting infrastructure such as homes, to help them break out of the cycle of poverty. The joint efforts of NGOs such as EPIC Homes, and private sector companies such as GE and AirAsia, are highly commendable and we hope to see more of such collaborations like this in the future."
Photo 1: Stuart Dean, CEO, GE ASEAN and Aireen Omar, CEO, AirAsia Berhad working together with the volunteers to build a home for an Orang Asli family in conjunction with GE's Global Community Day
Photo 2: Stuart Dean, CEO, GE ASEAN and Aireen Omar, CEO, AirAsia Berhad at work with the volunteers to build a home for an Orang Asli family in conjunction with GE's Global Community Day
Photo 3: Aireen Omar, CEO, AirAsia Berhad (2nd from Left) and Stuart Dean, CEO, GE ASEAN (Far Right) presenting a commemorative plaque to the Orang Asli family as John-son Oei, CEO of EPIC Homes (Far Left) looks on
Photo 4: A group photo of the volunteers during the build, a collaboration between General Electric (GE), AirAsia and EPIC Homes in conjunction with GE's Global Community Day
About General Electric
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.
About the AirAsia Group
AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, services the most extensive network with 85 destinations. Within 11 years of operations, AirAsia has carried over 180 million guests and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to over 137. The airline today is proud to be a truly ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines servicing a network stretching across all ASEAN countries as well as China, India and Australia. AirAsia was named the World's Best Low Cost Airline in the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax for five consecutive years from 2009 - 2013.
About Epic Homes
EPIC Homes, an initiative by social enterprise EPIC Collaborative Sdn Bhd (EPIC), focuses on providing homes for underprivileged Malaysian communities, currently focusing on the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia. EPIC Homes aims to inspire, mobilise and empower individuals to become the solution to rural development challenges through collaboration and volunteerism. For more information, visit the company's website at http://epichome.org/blog/.
For more information, please contact:
Zatalini Zulkiply
Communications Manager
GE Malaysia
+603 2267 1892
[email protected]
Zatalini - Zulkiply
[email protected]