By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 12: Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has announced a RM5 million endowment fund for the Tanjong Lobang College Alumni Association to strengthen its efforts in carrying out sustainable community development programmes.
Speaking at the association’s charity dinner here on Saturday (July 11), he said the endowment fund should be managed prudently and with discipline to generate sustainable returns, enabling the association to implement a wide range of high-impact programmes for the benefit of the community.
“I propose that the alumni establish an endowment fund. If managed well, the fund can generate returns, including through effective investment strategies.
“Therefore, I am contributing RM5 million to this endowment fund for all of you. Manage it well, and hopefully, it will remain sustainable,” he said during his speech at the dinner, as reported by TVS.
Abang Johari, who is also Sarawak’s Minister for Finance and New Economy, said returns generated from the endowment could be used to organise forums and educational programmes to expose the community to the changing economic landscape.
He said such initiatives would not only promote knowledge-sharing and new ideas but also help the public adapt to the rapidly evolving economic ecosystem.
During his speech, he also shared Sarawak’s experience in turning around the performance of Amanah Saham Sarawak Berhad (ASSAR) by restructuring its investment strategy after finding that the fund had been underperforming upon his assumption of office.
“What we did was review and restructure ASSAR. I am not criticising the previous management, but there were investments in listed companies and initial public offerings (IPOs) that did not generate satisfactory returns.
“So, I decided that 70 per cent of ASSAR’s funds should be invested in fixed-income instruments such as bonds and other financial instruments, while only 30 per cent would be invested in equities. ASSAR has now been successfully turned around,” he said.
He added that the same approach could serve as a guide in managing the alumni’s endowment fund to ensure its long-term sustainability and continued benefit to the community. — DayakDaily
