From the moment the floods hit the East
Coast in December, PETRONAS began mobilising its assets as well as manpower to
assist the authorities in providing aid to the victims. Contributing LPG
cylinders, stoves, food supplies and personal hygiene items in addition to
conducting helicopter cargo operations, the national oil company is fully
committed to easing the burden of those badly affected by the flood.
Continuing on this effort, PETRONAS stepped
up its group – wide Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and flood
donation drives to support the victims in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. The
company mobilised 450 of its employees to the remote town of Dabong in Kuala
Krai, Kelantan over the weekend to help clean the flood aftermath at SK Dabong
and distribute basic necessities to about 300 affected families in the nearby
area.
The aid included RM28,000 worth of basic
necessities, such as stoves and kitchen utensils, cleaning tools, mineral
water, blankets, personal hygiene kits, back-to-school items and disposable
diapers, all collected from the flood donation drive initiated by its own
staff.
Dabong is a district and a small town
located in the southern region of Kuala Krai, Kelantan. The Dabong town is
situated about 155 km from Kota Bharu, Kelantan and it is one of the worst
affected areas in the East Coast states. The PETRONAS team decided to focus its
efforts in this area after learning that aid supplies were limited there at the
moment.
Throughout Saturday, PETRONAS’ volunteers
helped to clean up SK Dabong’s premises in preparation for 2015 school term –
which is scheduled to start for SK Dabong sometime next week. The first two
floors of the three – storey building were completely submerged during the
floods. Catering to 300 students, the school is still unusable and filled with
a substantial amount of flood debris.
To help keep the students’ spirits up, the
volunteer group also hung a banner filled with personalised messages and words
of encouragement, written by the PETRONAS staff who participated in the
cleanup.
Towards this end, PETRONAS as a group has
already mobilised two of its helicopters to assist the National Security
Council (NSC) in its efforts in the East Coast. PETRONAS has also contributed
diesel and fuel – diesel for generator sets at relief centres and hospitals
while fuel for transportation used for aid distribution activities, in addition
to RM400,000 worth of supplies.
On top of that, several disaster relief
teams comprising volunteers among its employees based in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor
and Terengganu have delivered much-needed aid to the affected families.
These initiatives are part of PETRONAS’
continued effort and long-term commitment to help the communities get back on
their feet.
Issued by
Media
Relations, External Communication
Group
Strategic Communications
PETRONAS
17 January 2015