This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on July 23, 2018

Corporate responsibility can take many forms, and to regular participants Genting Malaysia Bhd, The Edge Kuala Lumpur Rat Race 2018 is a way to encourage staff members to get involved in doing good works.

“I support this concept,” says Genting Malaysia finance and corporate affairs senior vice-president James Koh Chuan Seng, who has represented the company in the CEO category for two years.

“It shows the senior management’s commitment and that getting involved in a charitable cause comes with ‘sweat and elbow grease’ and is not just a question of showing up and making a financial contribution,” he says.

Koh says he represents an organisation that believes in enriching the lives of the community it operates in, in addition to giving regular financial assistance to various non-profit organisations.

“Corporate responsibility is a balancing act between the financial and non-financial aspects of the business,” he says. “As a testament to this, Genting Malaysia has recently been added to the constituents of the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index, based on our sustainability report that reflected a lot on our non-financial efforts.

“We look after our own community and our employees by engaging them in our Genting Green Generation (G3) volunteer programme as part of our sustainability initiative.

“This programme encourages our employees to lead a healthy lifestyle as well as to preserve and protect the environment,” he says.

Koh — an avid runner — looks forward to the opportunity to meet friends and business partners who are also taking part in the race.

“Plus, having the opportunity to represent the company for a good cause provides extra motivation,” he says.

Genting Malaysia contract executive Syaqeel Azeem Aman shares his excitement over the “healthy competition” with other company representatives at the highly anticipated event.

“This is my second year representing Genting Malaysia,” says Syaqeel, who is leading the runners in the Team category.

“I look forward to improving our team ranking as well as challenging my own time,” he says. The team was second runner-up in the Open category last year, thanks to “an excellent team effort and good sportsmanship”.

To Syaqeel, the Rat Race is a commendable effort for charity by Corporate Malaysia. “Running is no longer perceived as just an individual hobby but its status has been elevated to assisting those in need.

“I wish to see more engagement in charity work from the private sector, especially in promoting and advocating a healthy lifestyle,” he says.