Sime Darby Launches Boat Service For Children Living On Its Sandakan Estates

Press Release

SANDAKAN, 2 January 2008 – The children of Sime Darby estate employees here will now be able to commute safely across the Sandakan Bay to school in Kinabatangan with the launch of a school boat service today.

More than 50 children living in Sime Darby’s Tun Tan Estate, Sentosa Estate, and Sandakan Bay Palm Oil Mill will now enjoy a safer, more reliable and comfortable 10-kilometre commute to Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuala Suan Lamba in the Kinabatangan area.

“We continuously seek to improve services and facilities for our estate employees and their families. The school boat service will help solve the problems our employees have about sending their children to school.

“This investment will hopefully help to keep the children in school. Seeing them excel in their studies will be our reward,” said Sime Darby Berhad President & Group Chief Executive Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid.

The school boat service – which uses a 46-footer fiberglass boat powered by a 150hp engine – will be operated by employees of Sandakan Bay Palm Oil Mill. It was officially launched by Sime Darby Plantations & Agribusiness Division Executive Vice President Dato’ Azhar Abdul Hamid.

This service is one of Sime Darby’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to help facilitate education among the children of its employees. The company has also adopted three Tamil schools located within its estates.

Sime Darby is an active participant of the Ministry of Finance’s PINTAR school adoption programme aimed at boosting education standards in rural areas. Under the programme, the company has adopted 18 schools in the Northern Corridor Economic Region.

Besides education, Sime Darby’s CSR activities involve community services, environmental conservation and the promotion and development of sports.

Sime Darby is a diversified multinational involved in key growth sectors ranging from power to plantations, property to utilities, and industrial equipment to motors. With a workforce of over 100,000 employees in over 20 countries, Sime Darby is committed towards building sustainable futures for all its stakeholders. Sime Darby is the largest company on Bursa Malaysia with a market capitalization of over RM70 billion (as of December 31, 2007).