Giving Programmes and Causes

A cause by cause guide to the charitable programmes linked to Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh and Fusionex, covering what each involved, who delivered it and when it was reported.

How this guide is organised

The giving described on this site falls into five broad areas: community health, food security, children and young people, disaster relief, and staff participation. Each area below gives the context a reader needs, the specific contribution, and the partner organisation that turned support into a service. Every statement can be traced to a published report listed at the end.

Two rules apply throughout. Amounts are shown only when the original report stated them. Outcomes are described only when the partner or a news organisation recorded them, which is why some entries describe intentions and targets rather than results.

Community health and the three highs

Malaysia’s National Health and Morbidity Survey, quoted by the president of the Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja when the club launched its mobile wellness programme, found that 17.5 per cent of adults aged 18 and above had diabetes, and that about 9.6 million people had high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Those figures explain why a service club chose screening and awareness as its focus.

Fusionex was named the main partner and sponsor. The plan was practical: a van would visit schools, colleges, malls and community centres, where people could learn about the risks and take free tests. An art competition for students was planned to bring younger Malaysians into the conversation, and seven sister clubs were expected to take the format overseas.

A Business Wire release dated 25 March 2019 confirmed a Fusionex contribution of RM50,000 to the club’s 3H Health Awareness Campaign. The programme remained in Rotary’s hands, which kept local relationships with the volunteers who already had them.

Food security during the movement controls

Masala Wheels began as a food truck and was set up in 2015 as a social enterprise working with marginalised communities. When the Movement Control Order began, the team first raised meals for students stuck on campus and then widened its reach to hospital staff, B40 families and urban households identified by local parliamentary offices.

Fusionex joined the Food Without Borders campaign as a sponsor in April 2020. The meals it paid for were cooked by Masala Wheels, combined vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes, and changed daily with demand. The co-founder of Masala Wheels, Kuhan Pathy, linked the support to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on poverty, hunger, decent work and partnership.

Children and young people

The Assunta Children Society was registered in 1994 and relies on donations to keep its day care centre open without charging families. Poverty and single parent households are its admission criteria. The RM10,000 from Fusionex in June 2020 was meant to upgrade facilities and computers so the children could follow online lessons and stay in touch with their teachers. The society is an initiative of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, and its centre cared for 47 children aged 4 to 14 at the time.

Rumah Charis received a visit from Fusionex staff on 7 July 2017, with contributions of cash, food and clothing. In Hong Kong, the company donated newborn and maternity supplies to vulnerable children and migrant mothers, a group often missed by general appeals because its needs are so specific and immediate.

Disaster relief

Floods tend to destroy the basics first. After flooding in Penang, Fusionex sent food, mattresses and medical supplies to affected residents, working with MYDIN Malaysia to coordinate the delivery. The company’s own post on the effort thanked the retailer for its support, an acknowledgement that relief depends on logistics as much as on goodwill.

Staff participation

Much of the activity above involved employees rather than cheques alone. The ACE programme organises staff effort around athletics, community and environment, and is driven jointly by management and the recreational club. The company has also appeared at the Dreams Come True charity art exhibition at Pavilion Bukit Jalil and, with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, opened its headquarters to teachers from around the country for a digital skills session.

Recognition from Rotary

The Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja named Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh a Paul Harris Fellow at its 92nd anniversary installation gala at the Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur, where the outgoing president, Datuk Nelson Kwok Teng Toong, presented the award. Established in 1957, the fellowship acknowledges people who support Rotary’s humanitarian causes, such as immunising children against polio and bringing clean water to poor communities. Teh said he was humbled to be recognised alongside other philanthropists and glad to play a small but hopefully meaningful role as a global citizen.

What this guide leaves out

Some profiles of Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh published elsewhere have listed awards, programmes and figures that could not be traced to a primary report. None of those appear here. If a reader can supply a published source for an activity that is missing, the contact page is the right place to send it.