JOHOR BAHRU: Giving does not preceed receiving; it is the reason for it. It is in giving that we receive.

At the end it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you have given back.

CIMB Private Banking Office in Johor Bahru believes in the truism that there is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others.

CIMB believes that not a kernel of kindness ever goes to waste, not a gesture of gentleness ever goes awry. The unselfish one is the happiest person in the world. You’ll find joy when you answer someone’s cry.

CIMB bank recently joined hands with Social Hero Foundation (SHF) to provide home-cooked dinner meals once a week to the penurious in Johor Bahru for a further three months until December this year.

Since the ‘SHF Feed the Needy’ project was launched in March 2024, more than 1,350 dinner meals and drinks have been distributed at the Rumah Pangsa Larkin in the city.

Taking a saunter along the vicinity of the flats recently, SHF Trustee Datuk Seri Teo Shiok Fu, CIMB Private Banking Johor Bahru Team Leader Wong Siew Fong, CIMB Private Banking Head of Business Strategy and Solutions Michael Yee and other CIMB staff visited a number of single mothers and some disabled children.

Besides distributing the dinner meals and goodies bags, the CIMB team also handed bags of clothes to Komuniti Rukun Tetangga Rumah Pangsa Larkin’s Hisamuddin Hussin to be distributed to the deprived residents.

Datuk Seri Teo is grateful to CIMB Private Banking JB branch for coming forward to sponsor and support SHF’s initiative to help the needy at the Rumah Pangsa Larkin.

He said besides providing food, the care and concern shown, especially during the home visitation, were vital and were appreciated by the residents.

“Doing good is more than just a commendable act; it’s a reflection of our innermost values and the manifestation of our shared humanity,” he said.

He pointed out that when we choose to uplift others, champion justice, or simply spread kindness, we’re weaving a tapestry of positivity that can ripple through communities and change the world.

“Even the smallest act of caring for another person is like a drop of water. It will make ripples throughout the entire pond,” he remarked.

For Teo extending a helping hand is always the right thing to do, no matter how small the deed may seem. It will surely make a difference in someone’s life.

As an altruist himself, Teo has always emphasized on the importance of charity and almsgiving as acts of compassion.

“The poor are not a problem, but a resource…in helping the poor, we enrich ourselves,” he added.

Meanwhile Siew Fong said they are proud to be the sponsor for SHF’s “Feed the Needy” project for the next three months.

“My team is indeed delighted to be able to deliver the goodies bags to the children and were gratified by the great beams from the children and dinner meal recipients,” she stated.

For Siew Fong, she knows unity is strength and where there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.

For CIMB bank staff when they are entrusted with a task, they give their utmost. For them, completing the task at hand can be achieved by cooperating toward a shared goal of assisting others.

“At the end it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back,” she added.

SHF is a non-profit foundation established in 2019 under the Trustee (Incorporation) Act 1952 which is under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia.