Kuala Lumpur  – Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad (“Astro”) has been chosen as the “Most Admired Enterprise’ for the Corporate Social Responsibility (Large Company) category at the 2013 ASEAN Business Awards (“ABA”). ABA was mooted and launched by ASEAN governments in 2007 to honour enterprises in the region that have made positive contribution in areas such as growth, employment, innovation and corporate social responsibility (“CSR”).

The 2013 ABA was presented by His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei on 20 August 2013, at the 45th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting Gala Dinner held at the International Convention Centre, Brunei.

Yang Berhormat Dato’ Sri Mustapa bin Mohamed, the Minister of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia, who was leading the Malaysian delegation to the 45th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting, congratulated Astro on the accolade.

“We are very proud of Astro’s achievement. Astro has done well not only in Malaysia, but also throughout the region. To win a CSR award, I think, is befitting of Astro’s big contribution to Malaysians. Keep it up and we hope that Astro will win more awards in the future. Well done,” said Dato’ Sri Mustapa.

Dato’ Rohana Rozhan, Astro Chief Executive Officer, said, “All of us at Astro Kasih would like to attribute this award to all those who made us feel so welcomed and at home. It is a privilege for us to participate in the daily lives of all the communities we aspire to serve. This includes the people of Kg. Magandai, and Kg. Malinsau in Sabah and Kg Sg Paku in Sarawak. At Astro we continue to draw our inspiration from all of you.”

Astro Kasih has four CSR pillars, namely Lifelong Learning, Sports and Wellness, Community Development and Environment. With over 4,500 employees serving 3.5 million households in urban, rural and remote parts of Malaysia, Astro is in a unique position to serve various communities.

Astro staff are encouraged to put their talents and skills to good use in Astro Kasih projects. To date, Astro staff have contributed some 68,000 hours to make over 700 projects a success. It is gratifying to see Astro Kasih initiatives being realised by Astro staff, who are filled with joy and sense of fulfilment when they see how our CSR programmes are impacting the communities.

Some of Astro Kasih’s CSR projects are:

• Lifelong Learning – Kampus Astro Learning System

o Provides schools nationwide with Astro set top box, dish, remote and access to 17 learning channels.

o Developed over 700 hours of learning television programmes to supplement schools’ teaching syllabus to help some 5.3 million students on their academic endeavours.

o Astro staff visited over 600 schools to meet over 100,000 students to demonstrate Kampus Astro Learning System, as well as engagement them with fun learning games and experiments on a custom designed mobile demonstration truck.

• Sports & Wellness – 1MCC – Astro Kem BOLA

o Astro has a unique five-year partnership with the 1Malaysia Cardiff City Football Academy, making it possible for youth to train with the Premier League-level football club, Cardiff City Football Club.

o In the first year, some 2,530 youths underwent professional football training with the Cardiff City coaches in Cardiff, UK.

• Community Development – Astro Hostel

o Astro employees have built 3 hostels in Kg. Magandai and Ranau in Sabah and Sungai Paku in Sarawak, equipped with basic amenities, utilities and installed Kampus Astro learning system to enable students living in remote areas to attend school. Previously they have to walk between 4 and 6 hours daily to attend school.

• Environment

o To raise awareness on marine conservation, we partnered with 134 local and international divers to conduct a 168 hours non-stop underwater clean up, an initiative that now holds the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ for the Longest Underwater Clean Up.