12/5/2009
The CSR Digest » Najib Tun Razak fir… - The CSR Digest - http://www.csrdigest.com -
Najib Tun Razak first take on CSR Posted By admin On 20/04/2009 @ 13:50 In Editorials | No Comments
Newly minted Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mr. Najib Tun Razak [1] , has asked employers to make full use of tax incentives at their office. Prime Minister Najib w as reported [2] to have said: I w ould like to urge the private sector to fulfil their corporate social responsibility by providing childcare facilities at the workplace for their employees. According to reports [2] , employers who set up childcare centres were given 10% tax reduction per annum on the cost of setting them up for a period of 10 years. Meanw hile, government agencies offering childcare centres at the workplace w ould be given a RM80,000 grant to create the facility.
[3]
Mr. Najib's Website, "1 Malaysia" Prime Minister Najib w as said to have made these statements at the launch of the International Early Childcare and Education Conference. As a start, his statement is at least one step forward in enhancing more aw areness in employers on their corporate social responsibility (CSR) tow ards their w orkers. However, in the w ide sphere of CSR, this is just a baby step. Since Mr. Najib begun his premiership, environmental issues have cropped up in East Malaysia. The approval of a 40MW coal-fired plant in Sipitang in Sabah was reported [4] to have draw n the ire of green activists. The approval by the Department of the Environment (DOE) for the plant, which is said to be helmed by Sabah Forest Industries Sdn Bhd (SFI), is reported to have been done w ithout any discussion with stakeholders. President of Sabah Environmental Protection Association (Sepa), Wong Tack, disputes the DOE claim that there was NGO participation by way of the Environmental Action Committee (EAC). Furthermore, the EAC is apparently not a NGO, but an informal forum for the state Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment and environmental NGOs to resolve related issues.
[5]
A photo from Mr. Najib's Flickr Photostream In addition, the Sun newspaper has reported [6] recently that effluent and sludge from a w ater treatment plant in Bukit Badong has been found in drains flowing directly into Sungai Selangor, the very river from which it draw s water to be treated! Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd (PNSB), the builder, operator and manager of the treatment plant, has been instructed by the DOE to stop the flow of sludge into the drains. The sludge that PNSB allegedly emits is is categorised as scheduled waste SW 204, w aste w hich contains heavy metals and chemicals. SW 205 waste must be disposed of in accordance with World Health Organisation and health standards. As far as CSR goes, PNSB certainly could do better. What is Mr. Najib’s stance on this?
csrdigest.com/2009/04/…/print/
1/3
12/5/2009
The CSR Digest » Najib Tun Razak fir…
[7]
Mr. Najib's YouTube Video page Undoubtedly, the new Malaysian Prime Minister might have far more pressing political affairs to look into. However, CSR and businesses might need an encouraging and directional word now and then from the nation’s premier. For example, as a matter of media and CSR, Mr. Najib could do with perhaps some advice to a local newspaper on its headlines which potentially could lead to racial tension [8] . Much more can be done in Malaysia, in terms of CSR. It’s not a matter of going beyond compliance, it’s a matter of plain old compliance. W ith the new system of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for cabinet ministers [9] implemented by Mr. Najib, it is hoped that the country’s businesses will be aslo steered tow ards performing w ell w hile doing good. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites w here readers can share and discover new web pages. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38]
Article printed from The CSR Digest: http://www.csrdigest.com URL to article: http://www.csrdigest.com/2009/04/najib-tun-razak-first-take-oncsr/ URLs in this post: [1] Najib Tun Razak: http://www.1malaysia.com.my/index.php? option=com_content&view=article&id=250&Itemid=84&lang=en [2] reported: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp? file=/2009/4/15/nation/3697610&sec=nation [3] Image: http://www.csrdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/1malaysia.jpg [4] reported: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/101860 [5] Image: http://www.csrdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/najib01.jpg [6] the Sun newspaper has reported: http://sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=32309 [7] Image: http://www.csrdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/najibyoutube.jpg [8] w hich potentially could lead to racial tension: http://tonypua.blogspot.com/2009/04/bangkitlah-melayu.html [9] new system of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for cabinet ministers: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=403091 [10] Image: http://www.mister-wong.de/addurl/? bm_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.csrdigest.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fnajib-tun-razakfirst-take-oncsr%2F&bm_description=Najib%20Tun%20Razak%20first%20take%20on%20CSR&plugin=soc [11] Image: http://www.webnews.de/einstellen? url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.csrdigest.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fnajib-tun-razak-first-
csrdigest.com/2009/04/…/print/
2/3