Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh / A record of giving
Ivan Teh, philanthropist: giving that travels through partners
This site documents the charitable work of Ivan Teh, philanthropist and founder of the Malaysian data company Fusionex. It sets out who received support, which organisations carried it to the people who needed it, and where each fact was first published, so that readers can weigh the record for themselves.
RM50,000
to the Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja health campaign, 2019
47
children enrolled at the Assunta day care centre the 2020 gift supported
Paul Harris Fellow
recognition from Rotary, reported in December 2019
I
Introduction
Ivan Teh, philanthropist and technology founder
Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh is best known as the founder of Fusionex, the data analytics company he started in 2005 and built from a Malaysian base into a business serving clients across Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States. Less often discussed is the giving that has run alongside the company: sponsorship of health screening, meals for families during the movement control period, support for children’s homes and practical help after floods.
The pattern is consistent. Most of the support documented here was channelled through organisations that already serve a community well: a Rotary club running health outreach, a social enterprise cooking for people in need, a welfare society operating a day care centre. The company supplied funds, goods or volunteers, and the partner supplied local knowledge and trust.
Giving that works through capable partners tends to arrive faster and fit better than giving that tries to do everything itself.
This profile keeps to what has been published. Each section names its sources, and the notes at the foot of the page link to the original reports. Where a date, amount or outcome was never reported, it is left out rather than estimated.
II
Health
500,000
Malaysians the Rotary outreach set out to benefit
Health within reach of more Malaysians
Preventable illness is one of the quieter pressures on Malaysian households. Fusionex became the main partner and sponsor of a mobile wellness outreach programme led by the Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja, aimed at the so called three highs: high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar.
Under the programme, an outreach van was scheduled to call at schools, colleges, shopping malls and community centres, offering awareness sessions and free medical tests. Organisers set a goal of reaching 50,000 people directly and making a difference for 500,000 Malaysians, with seven sister clubs expected to join when the programme went international.
In March 2019, Business Wire reported that Fusionex had contributed RM50,000 to the club’s 3H Health Awareness Campaign. It is a clear example of the model described above: the company funded, and the club delivered.
III
Relief
13,000+
meals raised by the Food Without Borders campaign by April 2020
Food and essentials when routines break
When the Movement Control Order closed workplaces in 2020, many families lost income almost overnight. Fusionex responded by sponsoring meals through Food Without Borders, a pay it forward campaign run by Masala Wheels, a social enterprise in Petaling Jaya. Volunteers carried the balanced meals to marginalised communities, at risk groups, the urban needy, students stranded on campus and welfare homes.
By the time the sponsorship was announced in April 2020, the wider campaign had raised more than 13,000 meals from 254 contributors, reaching medical front liners, enforcement officers, refugees and people without homes among others.
Flood relief has followed the same practical logic. In Penang, Fusionex contributed food, mattresses and medical supplies for residents affected by flooding, with MYDIN Malaysia helping to coordinate. Further afield, the company has donated newborn and maternity supplies to vulnerable children and migrant mothers in Hong Kong.
IV
Young people
4 to 14
the age range of children at the Assunta day care centre
Children, learning and the next generation
In June 2020, as Malaysia moved into the recovery phase of its movement controls, Fusionex gave RM10,000 to the Assunta Children Society, an initiative led by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. The society runs a day care centre for 47 children aged four to fourteen and charges no fees. Its director said the gift would let the centre replace computers too old to run online lessons.
Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh presented the contribution at the company’s Petaling Jaya office. National badminton players Chan Chong Ming and Goh Liu Ying joined the occasion and gave the children racquets and shuttlecocks.
Three years earlier, in July 2017, a team of Fusionex staff visited Rumah Charis, a children’s home in Kuala Lumpur, bringing cash, food and clothing along with balloon sculptures, a clown and a drone demonstration. The company has also worked with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation to host teachers from across the country for a digital skills session at its headquarters, a route that reaches many more students over time than a single classroom visit.
V
Culture
3
pillars in the ACE staff programme: athletics, community, environment
Giving as a habit rather than an occasion
Corporate generosity often rests on one person’s enthusiasm. Fusionex has tried to make it routine. Its staff programme, known as ACE, gathers activity under three headings, athletics, community and environment, and is initiated jointly by management and the staff recreational club, so that employees help decide where effort goes.
The company has also taken part in public fundraising, including the Dreams Come True charity art exhibition at Pavilion Bukit Jalil, where a busy public setting widens the circle of support beyond the usual donors.
In December 2019, Bernama and Business Wire reported that Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh had received the Paul Harris Fellow award at the Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja’s 92nd anniversary installation gala. Rotary established the recognition in 1957 to acknowledge people who support humanitarian efforts such as polio immunisation and clean water.
The record
A short ledger of giving
Dated contributions, in order, as first reported. Undated items appear in the sections above but are not placed on this line.
- July 2017Fusionex staff visit Rumah Charis children’s home in Kuala Lumpur with cash, food and clothing.
- March 2019RM50,000 for the Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja 3H Health Awareness Campaign.
- December 2019Paul Harris Fellow award reported after the club’s 92nd anniversary gala.
- April 2020Meals sponsored through Masala Wheels and its Food Without Borders campaign.
- June 2020RM10,000 to the Assunta Children Society for online learning equipment.
Questions
Common questions about this record
Short answers drawn from the same published sources as the rest of the page.
Who is Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh?
He is a Malaysian technology entrepreneur who founded Fusionex, a data analytics and artificial intelligence company, in 2005. Before that he worked at Intel and Hewlett-Packard in the United States and at Accenture in Malaysia.
What causes has Ivan Teh supported as a philanthropist?
Published reports cover community health screening, meals for vulnerable groups during the movement control period, children’s welfare, flood relief, and supplies for mothers and newborns. Most of this support was delivered through Fusionex and its partners.
Which organisations have been partners?
Named partners include the Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja, Masala Wheels, the Assunta Children Society, Rumah Charis, MYDIN Malaysia and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation.
What is the Paul Harris Fellow award?
It is a Rotary recognition for people who support the movement’s humanitarian work. Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh’s award was reported in December 2019, following the Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja’s anniversary gala at the Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur.
How large were the donations?
Where amounts were published they are given here: RM50,000 to the 3H Health Awareness Campaign in 2019 and RM10,000 to the Assunta Children Society in 2020. Other contributions were reported without a figure, so none is stated.
How can an organisation get in touch?
Use the form on the contact page. A short note on the programme, the community it serves and the outcome you hope to measure is the most helpful place to start.
Running a programme that could use a capable partner?
Health outreach, food security, children’s welfare and disaster relief are the causes this record covers. If your organisation works in one of them, introduce it through the contact page.
Notes and sources
- Bernama Health: Mobile Medical Outreach Van for Schools, Colleges and Community Centres
- Business Wire via Spot On West Virginia, 25 March 2019: Rotary Club 3H Medical Outreach Program receives RM50,000 sponsorship from Fusionex
- Business Wire via MISCW, April 2020: Fusionex supports Masala Wheels initiative by sponsoring meals for the needy
- Fusionex Photos: Helping recovery of Penang flood victims by donating essential items
- The Ritz Herald (Business Wire release): Fusionex donates RM10,000 to Assunta Children Society
- Fusionex Videos, 24 June 2020: Inspiring the underprivileged youngsters to achieve excellence
- Fusionex Videos: Fusionex visits Rumah Charis, Home for the Children
- ivan-teh.com.my news: ACE community framework, MDEC educator session, Hong Kong newborn supplies, charity art exhibition
- Fusionex News: Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh awarded Rotary Club’s Paul Harris Fellow
- Bernama and Business Wire (Malay edition), 9 December 2019, via Dunia Perniagaan Semasa
- Digital News Asia: Fusing technology and business into a RM700mil company