KUALA LUMPUR, 28 September 2020 – UMW Holdings Bhd (“the UMW Group”) aims to encourage fellow Malaysians to soldier through these tough and challenging times arising from the Covid-19 outbreak through its “Smile On, Malaysia” campaign, which ran through social media as well as print advertisements in the mainstream media. The campaign was held in conjunction with National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations and was consistent with the former’s theme of “Malaysia Prihatin” or Malaysia Cares, and ran from 28 August to 16 September. The general public were also invited to be a part of this campaign via social media, by using filters of UMW’s Smile On, Malaysia campaign masks in their Instagram and Facebook profiles.

With the usage of face masks being made mandatory in public places, the Group recognised that the underprivileged may face financial constraints to comply with the ruling. Therefore, as part of its Smile On, Malaysia campaign, 28,000 reusable face masks are being distributed nationwide to the underprivileged. Toyota Boshoku UMW Sdn Bhd distributes these masks which meet the Health Ministry’s criteria to give maximum protection and were developed based on the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines to ensure effectiveness. The reusable face masks were assembled and packed for distribution by UMW employees as part of their support towards the campaign. The UMW Group also distributed 7,000 reusable face masks to its employees for their wellbeing during this pandemic.

In addition to the face mask distribution initiative, the Group took the opportunity to collect and distribute essential food items to help the underprivileged affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Group ran a food collection drive earlier this month at its Head Office and all of its branches throughout the nation and received an overwhelming number of donations and contributions. The campaign also served as a channel for UMW employees to contribute to the initiative. To add on to the contribution from the food collection drive, UMW Holdings allocated RM1,000 to be donated per charity home. A total of 63 charity homes throughout Malaysia, comprising of old folk’s homes, orphanages and disabled centres, benefitted from this effort.

UMW Holdings Berhad Acting President and Group CEO, Azmin Che Yusoff said, “Despite the difficulties faced during these tough and challenging times, as a responsible corporate citizen, we recognise the need to assist at-risk communities and lend a helping hand to those adversely affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.”