Maybank Islamic Distributes Ramadhan Food Boxes to 6,000 Families in 11 Countries

The Maybank Group, through its Islamic banking arm, Maybank Islamic remains committed to giving back to the community it has presence in with an allocation of a RM1.7 million fund through its flagship Regional Ramadhan Relief Programme, aimed at providing essential food items to more than 6,000 underprivileged families in 11 countries.

The distribution of the food boxes commenced here today in a symbolic ceremony where the food boxes were presented by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Maybank Islamic, Nor Shahrizan Sulaiman, and the President Director of Maybank Indonesia, Taswin Zakaria to 100 beneficiaries, out of 590 in Indonesia.

It was witnessed by the Chairman of Maybank Islamic, Dato' Zulkiflee Abbas Abdul Hamid. Also present were the Chief Executive Officer of Islamic Relief Malaysia (IR Malaysia), Mohd Shukor Tahir, the Board of Directors of Maybank Islamic, and the Board of Trustees of IR Malaysia and IR Indonesia.

Since 2013, this programme has benefited over 100,000 underprivileged families, including the elderly, single mothers, persons with disabilities, with a total aid distributed reaching almost RM16 million.

In his speech, Nor Shahrizan said this programme aligns with Maybank Islamic's commitment to organising social impact initiatives and contributing to the well-being of local communities, in line with the Maybank Group's mission to humanise financial services in all countries where it operates.

"Maybank Islamic is not only committed to providing Shariah-compliant financial solutions for all segments of society through products and services but also through social initiatives to assist communities in the area where the Maybank Group operates," he said.

He said anchored on Maybank Group’s mission to humanise financial services, it strives to build community resilience across ASEAN and undertake responsive actions to promote economic development and social wellbeing and improve the lives of 2 million households across ASEAN by 2025.

"The month of Ramadan teaches us not only the meaning of empathy and mutual support but also to understand the conditions of the surrounding community and to provide inclusive assistance to those in need, including marginalised communities."

He said Jakarta was chosen as location of the symbolic event venue due to the presence of Maybank's business here.

“Since 2017 when we expanded the programme to include Indonesia, nearly 13,000 families in Indonesia have received our contribution valued more than RM2.4 million. We sincerely hope that this small aid from us to some extent can alleviate their financial burden in the month of Ramadhan and bring joy to the beneficiaries,” said Nor Shahrizan.

For the implementation of this programme, Maybank Islamic collaborates with four humanitarian partners, namely Islamic Aid Malaysia (IAM), Islamic Relief Malaysia, MERCY Malaysia, and Yayasan Ikhlas. This programme benefits those in need in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, the Rohingya Muslim community in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) – where Maybank Islamic has a presence since 2019.

The essential food supplies included rice, cooking oil, flour, sugar, and other basic food items in preparation for the upcoming month of Ramadan.

This year, Maybank Islamic has allocated almost RM36 million for corporate social responsibility initiatives, with some portion of it to be channelled towards the community in Indonesia through various social impact programmes.