Gombak, 30 Jul 2011 – As part of its on-going CSR programme, UMW, one of the nation’s largest conglomerates, took part in organising a programme to river clean-up the Sungai Gombak. The Group’s internal volunteer group, the UMW Community Champions, together with Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (LUAS) and Alam Flora spent the whole of Saturday morning on 30th July cleaning up parts of the river and adjacent areas.

As many of us may be aware, the Klang Gate Dam is the main source of water supply for the residents of the Klang Valley. Water flows from the Sungai Gombak through the Puncak Niaga Treatment plant, and from there, processed clean water is supplied to households. Sungai Gombak’s attraction as a picnic recreational spot had become increasingly popular due to its location and close proximity to urban and residential areas. This distinction however, has also led to an increase in the amount of litter that is thrown into the river and surrounding areas by visitors.

UMW President & Group CEO, Datuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir said, “Although this was a small effort, we hope that we were able to teach, especially the young, the importance of taking care of our environment. After all, we ourselves do not inherit the earth from our parents, but merely borrow it from our children”.

The UMW Group has a long history of supporting non-profit and non-political organisations through its community programmes. The Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy is comprehensive and goes beyond just funding charitable projects; we benchmark against international best practices in the marketplace, the workplace, the environment, and the community. As at 31st December 2010, the UMW Community Champions successfully clocked 2,226 service hours, exceeding the target of 2,010 service hours for 2010. The Group plans top this by increasing its service hours to 2,500 hours by the close of 2011.