Sime Darby Rent-A-Car Ramps Up Support For Breast Cancer Awareness

Sime Darby Rent-A-Car Sdn Bhd (SDRAC) amplify its support in raising breast cancer awareness, culminating in a RM41,280 donation to Cancer Research Malaysia (CRMY).

To commemorate its long-standing partnership with CRMY, and as part of its 40^th anniversary celebrations in the car rental business, the company launched a fundraising campaign in support of CRMY, where RM40 from its daily transient rental transactions throughout October were channelled towards cancer research.

SDRAC also hosted a breast cancer awareness webinar by Maheswari Jaganathan, Deputy Head of Community Outreach at CRMY, who shared with Sime Darby employees and SDRAC customers on cancer patient survival. The virtual breast cancer awareness talk themed ‘Navigating Breast Cancer for Improved Survival’ provided insights on breast cancer, risk factors and self-examination, as well as emphasis on knowledge in improving overall cancer survival. Additionally, employees and customers took the opportunity to play their part in donating to the cause. Pink ribbon pins were distributed to the participants as a form of support as well as to acknowledge the survivors, remember those who passed and commend the progress in defeating breast cancer.

The fund collected via the month-long fundraising campaign was presented to CRMY at a handover ceremony, where Mr. Andrew Basham, Managing Director of Sime Darby Motors presented a cheque to CRMY’s Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Datin Paduka Dr Teo Soo-Hwang, and CRMY Chief Operating Officer, Andy Khoo.

Andrew Basham shared, “Beyond our commitment to continuously raising the bar for the automotive industry, we also aim to contribute to meaningful causes through efforts such as this. Building on this SDRAC initiative, we hope to establish more collaborations with other beneficiaries through Yayasan Sime Darby, to continue making a positive difference in society.”

Harun Mohd Joned, Managing Director of SDRAC, added, “We are pleased to mark our 40th anniversary with our various partners. As we highlight our long-standing support for CRMY since 2015, and carry out our part in increasing cancer awareness, we dedicate this contribution in honour of our valued customers. We are heartened to note the encouraging response from our customers as well as our employees, which reflected their willingness to enhance their knowledge on the importance of breast cancer awareness. SDRAC’s 40^th anniversary is indeed a special milestone for us and we look forward to continue strengthening our partnerships across our value chain.”

Professor Datin Paduka Dr Teo commented, “We are extremely grateful to SDRAC for their generous contribution and ongoing support. Low-income Malaysian breast cancer patients are nearly twice as likely to die of breast cancer than Singaporeans or Koreans – this is largely because of women presenting with late-stage disease which is harder to cure. The initiatives undertaken by SDRAC are very important in helping us save lives, by helping to raise awareness that breast cancer is largely a curable disease if detected and treated early. The funds raised will help us in our ongoing efforts to reduce the fear of cancer in Malaysia by discovering better ways to treat, diagnose, and prevent cancer, particularly in addressing the gaps for Asians.”