Four Malaysians in Forbes' Heroes of Philanthropy list

Anne Eu, Lee Oi Hian, Sandra Lee and Leong Hoy Kum

PETALING JAYA: Four Malaysians have been included in Asia Pacific region’s noteworthy givers in Forbes Asia’s annual Heroes of Philanthropy list.

They are among 40 honorees from 13 countries, including a mix of billionaires, entrepreneurs and captains of industries, who have made newsworthy donations in the past year.

The list also recognised those with a long record of supporting worthy causes.

The Malaysians honoured are Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd chairman Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian and his wife, Daybreak executive chairman Puan Sri Sandra Lee, Mah Sing Group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum and Eu Yan Sang Malaysia chairman Datuk Anne Eu.

Husband-and-wife team Oi Hian and Sandra pursue separate causes.

“Named after his father, Lee’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng Foundation awards scholarships to 50 to 60 students a year, while his wife’s training centre rehabilitates physically and mentally challenged people,” said Forbes in a  statement.

Eu led the Roti 1Malaysia campaign which channels surplus food and goodies from five-star hotel kitchens to orphanages, old-age homes and refugee centers. It also enabled the distribution of water filters and rice cookers in rural Sabah earlier this year.

Leong has disbursed more than US$2.5mil (RM10mil) to education initiatives such as funding students and refurbishing classrooms, as well as for the Nepal earthquake relief and other projects.

The list includes two Singaporeans - Sino Group chairman Robert Ng who set up the Ng Teng Fong Foundation in 2010, which donated US$92mil (RM370mil) to rebuild a hospital in Jurong and Tan Chin Tuan Foundation chairman Tan Kheng Lian, the daughter of the late OCBC chairman and philanthropist, Tan Chin Tuan.

China has five entries in the list, including Tencent Holdings chairman and chief executive officer Pony Ma, who pledged 100 million shares of his internet service provider – worth US$2.3bil (RM9.26bil) – to the Tencent Foundation, which supports healthcare, environment protection and new technology.

The full list can be found here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoppisch/2016/07/06/asias-2016-heroes-of-philanthropy/#5647f33e4e7e