The “Ai Hua Jiao” Charity Night (爱华教义演) for UTAR Hospital Fundraising was held on 2 December 2022 at Dewan Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik of UTAR Kampar Campus.

The Econsave and Sin Chew Daily Charity Show was jointly organised by Hai-O Foundation, Sin Chew Daily and UTAR. The night successfully raised RM3,810,000.00 for UTAR Hospital.

Invited to deliver the welcome and opening remarks were UTAR Council Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Ting Chew Peh representing UTAR Education Foundation Board of Trustees Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Sak Cheng Lum; Hai-O Group Executive Director and Group Chief Financial Officer Hew Von Kin, and Sin Chew Media Corporation Berhad Executive Director and Sin Chew Daily Chief Executive Officer Koo Cheng. Also present were UTAR President Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Sin Chew Media Corporation Bhd Communications and Promotion General Manager Tan Kim Chuan, distinguished members of UTAR Education Foundation, board of trustees, UTAR council, and UTAR Hospital board; representatives of Sin Chew Daily and Hai-O Group; distinguished donors, UTAR staff, students and members of the public.

Tan Sri Ting thanked Sin Chew Daily and Hai-O for their tremendous support towards Malaysian Chinese education and said, “Education enlightens people’s wisdom; it is the foundation of the nation. The popularisation of education is vital to the country and its people. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the community for their generous support to UTAR in the areas of education, as well as UTAR Hospital all these years. Apart from offering affordable medical service to the public, UTAR Hospital will also become a teaching hospital to provide clinical training for our medical students.”

He added, “The initial amount to start the project was RM330 million, however, we are now only left to raise RM70 million. Even though fundraising is hard work, we are planning this for the sake of the country and the next generation. Hence, this project means a lot.”

Sharing a brief introduction about Hai-O Group and “Ai Hua Jiao” Charity Night, Mr Hew Von Kin said, “Hai-O was the first listed company in Malaysia to operate traditional Chinese health care products. Under the leadership of the late Founder Tan Khai Hee, the company has always shouldered the mission ‘take from the community, give back to society’.  It has been 13 years since Hai-O and Sin Chew Daily came together to organise the “Ai Hua Jiao” Charity Night to raise funds for schools. We are happy to share that we have successfully raised funds for 69 schools with the total amount exceeding RM100million.”

He added, “Hai-O has a close relationship with UTAR. We have worked together in supporting Traditional Chinese Medicine research and development, showing good industry-academia cooperation between both parties. The medical services offered by the UTAR Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) Centre, which includes Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic and Traditional Malay Medicine, reflect the integration of cross-cultural resources that can become a breeding ground for cultivating traditional medicine in our country. At the same time, in line with the development of Science and Technology, T&CM is moving towards modernisation, systematisation and specialisation to contribute more to human health.”

While explaining the importance of investing in education, Mr Koo said, “Sin Chew is glad to cooperate with Hai-O, a company that shares the same philosophy as us for more than 10 years for the ‘Ai Hua Jiao’ charity event, which has benefited many schools and students.”

“We stopped organising the “Ai Hua Jiao” charity event for two years due to the pandemic. UTAR Hospital was chosen as one of the benefiting education institutions after we decided to resume this meaningful event. The UTAR Hospital takes cultivating talents as its greatest responsibility, and at the same time, takes giving back to society as its ultimate goal. People from all walks of life and associations voluntarily donated to the Hospital regardless of age and race, reflecting the concept of UTAR Hospital to provide affordable and high-quality medical services for the people. I am looking forward to the early achievement of the fundraising goal and the completion of the UTAR Hospital,” he added.

At the climax of the opening ceremony, all distinguished donors were invited to the stage for the Lighting, Drum and Gong Ceremony, a ceremony held to show appreciation for their kind support and donation to UTAR Hospital.

The event also witnessed beautiful performances by UTAR Chinese Orchestra Unit and students. UTAR Chinese Orchestra Unit played a song titled “Hua Hao Yue Yuan” (花好月圆); Ng Nga Hui sang a well-known song titled “Loving You”(喜欢你) and Khoo Zhi Sin sang “Where has the Time Gone?”(时间都去哪儿了).

The most anticipated moment of the show was the performance from the Ai Hua Jiao Charity Night artistes, namely Kwok Voon Voon, Yaoyi, Funny, Liam Liang Kuan, Madison Lau, Seah Kok Boon and Chilla Cha. They provided the audiences with a spectacular stage show. The audiences were fascinated by their beautiful singing, as well as, the brilliant stage design. The charity night ended with a lucky draw session.

It is an honour to mention that this is the third time the Sin Chew Daily has supported the fundraising initiatives of UTAR Hospital. Previously, Sin Chew Daily had collaborated with Econsave to organise two charity shows on 4 December 2021 and 6 August 2022 to raise funds for the Hospital.

UTAR Hospital is a not-for-profit hospital which aims to not only provide medical and health services to the community but also provide practical training for the University’s medical students in the M. Kandiah Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The establishment of UTAR Hospital will also benefit Kampar and the surrounding communities with increased socio-economic activities and better access to quality medical services.

For more information on UTAR Hospital and donations to the Hospital, please go to the following website: https://utarhospital.org.my/..