A record RM5.87 million raised for S P Setia Foundation

S P Setia President & CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin presenting a mock cheque for RM5.87 million to S P Setia Foundation chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin, S P Setia Foundation Trustee Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat (4th from left) and members of S P Setia board of directors  Photo by :  SUHAIMI YUSUF

KUALA LUMPUR: The S P Setia Foundation has raised a record RM5.87 million this year to benefit the underprivileged as well as various charitable bodies in the areas of education, general and medical welfare.

The top three donors this year are S P Setia president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin who donated RM500,000, EON Bank Bhd senior vice president Peter Chow and Tan Ngee Hong Construction Sdn Bhd director Tan Ngee Hong,  who donated RM100,000 respectively.

"Your continuous support over the years is what motivates us to soldier on with out charity work for the benefit of the community," said S P Setia Foundation chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye at the S P Setia Foundation Charity Dinner 2010 on July 24, when thanking donors.

Lee, who is also a director at S P Setia, said the Foundation began by helping only 79 primary school children but now assists 2,400 primary and secondary school students nationwide.

It has spent RM2.4 million over the past 10 years on new furnitures, books, multimedia system and some special education training equipment for schools, and has disbursed RM1.34 million in scholarships to needy students for their tertiary education. Some RM17.5 million has also been used to fund its Setia Adoption Programme (SAP) which provides poor students with cash besides covering their meals in school and tuition fees.

Some of the beneficiaries this year include patients under the Haemodialysis Treatment Subsidy Programme in Klang Valley, Johor and Penang, St John Ambulance Malaysia, Blessed Peniel Prayer House, SMK Tengku Idris Shah and SMK St Mary Kuala Lumpur.n its 10th year, the foundation was set up by SP Setia Bhd in 2000.

The event was attended by deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin and his wife Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman.

Muhyiddin lauded the foundation for caring for the underprivileged as well as enabling them to receive a complete education.

"Sociological research has shown that urban poverty can be the root cause of problems such as crime, violence and family unit breakdown. Education is still one of the best ways to address these social issues as it provides opportunity to change the fortunes of a family and provide a brighter future to their children," he said in his speech.

S P Setia, a well-known property developer, is also engaged in construction, infrastructure, wood-based manufacturing and trading.

One of Malaysia's major property developers, it has stratified its offerings into three types - namely its Setia brand of mass townships, its Duta brand of upscale projects and its environmentally-friendly Eco properties.

The group's flagship Setia Alam township in Shah Alam, Selangor, is touted as a lush, green development that spans 2,525 acres.

For S P Setia's second quarter ended April 30, 2010 (2QFY10), its net profit rose 26.4% to RM51.21 million from RM40.52 million a year ago, underpinned by a revenue increase of 16% to RM409.07 million from RM352.15 million. Its basic earnings per share (EPS) rose to 5.04 sen to 3.98 sen.

The group is targeting RM2 billion in sales by its financial year end October 30, 2010.  It was reported that as at May 31, 2010, the group’s sales for the first seven months of FY10 totalled RM1.44 billion, with sale and purchase agreements signed. 

It declared an interim dividend of six sen per share less tax compared with five sen per share less tax a year ago.

It was also reported earlier that the group is slated to launch its RM6 billion-KL Eco City project by the end of this year. The project will be an integrated mixed development situated along Jalan Abdullah Hukum here and is expected to be developed in three phases over a 10-year period.

The group is also slated to build a cutting-edge transportation hub in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah called Aeropod @ Tanjung Aru.