Solid support: Roslan (left) handing over a mock cheque to SEA Games organising committee chief executive officer Datuk Zolkples Embong as Khairy and Olympic Council of Malaysia president Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar (right) look on during the sponsorship ceremony.
KUALA LUMPUR: Synonymous with Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s (TNB) iconic “Better.Brighter.” tagline, Malaysia’s utility company aspires to leave its mark as one of the sponsors of the KL Games 2017 to ensure the second biggest sports meet is “better” in terms of medal haul and supplying power for a “brighter” Games as the official Energy Partner.
TNB is the gold category sponsor for the Games and has pledged cash and kind, including stationing 265 technical staff in the city and in Negri Sembilan, Kedah and Terengganu on a 24-hour basis throughout the event. Another 60 will be stationed at the system control centre to ensure the event runs smoothly.
In a recent ceremony to hand over the mock cheque to Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, TNB’s chief corporate officer Datuk Roslan Ab Rahman said TNB was proud to support the event.
“Apart from the monetary contribution, I am of the opinion that TNB’s biggest commitment is to ensure that the electricity supply, with our state-of-the-art power generators, will guarantee uninterrupted power supply to the main venues,” he said in his speech.
Khairy said the ceremony was the second initiative involving TNB and his ministry, the first being the One Medal One Tree project, part of the Green Initiatives KL2017.
“The programme is of much importance, including to reduce carbon emission during the KL 2017 Games, and it is designed to benefit future generations.
“We will carry out all the measures that are beneficial to the environment in tandem with the KL 2017 Games mission to organise a truly green games,” he said.
A total of 5,249 trees representing the total number of gold, silver and bronze medals await their winners.
At the same function, Roslan also launched a coffee table book titled The Sticks detailing the corporation’s involvement in the national hockey scene over the past 70 years.
Roslan said TNB was cooperating with the Malaysian Hockey Confederation and had sponsored state and national leagues since 2006.
They also adopted four schools and made all four slots in the semi-finals of the TNB Junior Hockey League recently.
“I would also like to congratulate the national hockey squad for qualifying for the World Cup 2018 to be held in India,” Roslan said.
TNB’s hockey veterans and legends were also given credit for their contribution to the hockey scene.
One of them is M. Nadarajah, a technician who has been playing hockey since secondary school and now coaches the national team.
He is also senior coach of TNB’s hockey team as well as the former national juniors hockey team.
Nadarajah, 47, said he was grateful to his employers for looking after his welfare all these years.
“I have been with TNB for more than 28 years and it has been a rewarding time. I will continue to serve them until I retire,” he added.
Nor Saiful Zaini is also thankful to TNB. He is a three-time Olympian who competed in the 1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Games.
“I am from the old school of hockey and believe that being rewarded for doing something is not a norm among me and my peers.
“We played to our hearts’ content for our country and company, and we never wanted any reward but the desire to represent the country and if possible, win the championship for the country,” he said.
Nor Saiful added that TNB was a compassionate employer that looked after his sports development, as well as his career as a TNB employee.
TNB’s involvement does not end there. On Aug 7, the company was in the thick of the KL 2017 Games Torch Run launched by former Federal Territories minister Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, who flagged off over 400 TNB employees and personnel from 200 related government agencies at Dataran Vibrant, TNB’s head office in Bangsar.
The runners, led by national hockey goalkeeper S. Kumar, handed the torch to Telekom Malaysia (TM) at Lembah Pantai in a 7.5km run to enable TM’s runners to continue the journey with the torch for the next leg.
TNB’s chief information officer Fazil Ibrahim, also the national Kilat Club president, said other TNB national hockey players, namely Faiz Helmi Jali, Nik Aiman Nik and Rozemi Shahril Saabah, also participated in the run.
“TNB has contributed to the development of sports in Malaysia without any regard for age, religion or ethnic group in the quest to bring local talents to the world stage.
“We have begun a programme called Total Wellness among our 36,000 staff that involves health checks and education and sports programmes planned for the year,” he said.
Fazil also said TNB had answered the Youth and Sports Ministry’s call by organising the programme to encourage a healthy lifestyle, as the workers were among the main assets of the company.
