中文
BMKLSCAH received 14 nominations, including Dr. Narjit Singh, Sambung Sekolah, Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy, Lightup Borneo, Sydney Yap Xi Ni, Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam, Pua Lay Peng, Persatuan Pusat Perkhidmatan Geha Bodhi, Wong Su Zane, Undi18, Persatuan Sahabat Warisan Kuala Lumpur Dan Selangor (PESAWA), Ajar-ajar Malaysia, Jeffrey Phang Fatt Kong and Hui Charity Association.
First Winner: Light Up Borneo
Nominated by: Wong Li Pin
Reason for award:
Light Up Borneo’s work is about rural electrification but their impact also touched on access to information and education. They brought hydrogenerators to replace gensets in 30 communities which are off-grid in the interiors of Sabah, Sarawak, and Peninsular. They work with the community and increasingly, with the youth in these communities. This project doesn’t just bring light into homes, it also meant that children are able to study at home at night – – something that urban people in Kuala Lumpur take for granted – and households can work on income-generating projects such as basket-weaving. This touches on economic, social, and cultural rights of these rural communities. This initiative brings volunteers from various backgrounds and other parts of Malaysia and takes them to very rural areas of Borneo. Light Up Borneo helps communities to be independent of fossil fuels, something that should be encouraged if we are concerned about climate change and its impact on our lives.
Second Winner: Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam
Nominated by: Ng Geok Chee
Reason for award:
Known for the ‘Make School a Safer Place’ campaign, Ain transcended an incident that happened in her classroom and played a big part in making Sexual Harrassment and Assault a national issue. She is a very inspiring young person. The impact of her work in such a short time has been far-reaching. Ain is courageous and has broken taboos on talking about Sexual Harassment that happens to young people in our public school system, lending her voice to make it a national talking point and debate. She uses technology to promote her cause, speaks the social media lingo and is able to bring the issue to a younger crowd. She – with the support of her family – has had a lot to deal with just in the past two years. For such a young person, she is persistent, did not buckle and stayed the course.
Third Winner: Persatuan Pusat Perkhidmatan Geha Bodhi
Nominated by: Kuantan Vipassana Meditation Association
Reason for award:
Persatuan Pusat Perkhidmatan Geha Bodhi is an organisation that is motivated by faith but whose work has transcended boundaries of religion. Theirs is a quiet force – if we can call it a force. They provide visiting and counselling to groups that are difficult to access – prison inmates, drug users, and death row inmates. Having done this for a long period, they are given access by the authorities. The communities they serve are those that some in society would like to forget. They fill a very important gap in the prison reform system. While they started out in the welfare service sector, they have since made that giant leap to work on the abolition of death penalty, a very difficult issue given the popular support for this in Malaysian society. Persatuan Pusat Perkhidmatan Geha Bodhi lends their voice and quiet force by being present at anti-death penalty protests and remembrance services held in front of embassies.