MSF Grand Launch and Charity Dinner raised funds to support skin disease patients in Malaysia

Back row, middle: Dr Agnes Heng and Prof Dato’ Ewe with MSF BOT members, guests and committee members at the Grand Launch and Charity Dinner of Malaysian Skin Foundation

The Grand Launch and Charity Dinner of Malaysian Skin Foundation, which was held as part of the project “DermaHope” organised by 32 Bachelor of Communication (Honours) Public Relations students in collaboration with the Malaysian Skin Foundation (MSF), was successfully held at Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral on 29 April 2023. Attended by more than 250 participants, the event successfully raised more than RM85,000 to support skin disease patients who are in need.

MSF Chairperson Dr Agnes Heng Yoke Hui, UTAR President Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat, DermaHope Project Advisor Diong Fong Wei, MSF Board of Trustees members, prominent figures from the dermatology industry, and guests from various professional sectors were present to support the event.

Committee members performing a musical drama with their traditional clothes on

The event kicked off with an opening performance by the committee, who performed a musical drama. They were seen performing and dancing to the Hari Raya-themed song “Seloka Hari Raya” and “Suasana Hari Raya”.

Moving on, a gambit launch was held on the stage. Dr Agnes Heng, Prof Dato’ Ewe, and the members of the MSF Board of Trustees were invited to officiate the Malaysian Skin Foundation (MSF) through the gambit launch. The foundation was officially launched to serve the community by providing a better skin health system in Malaysia.

From left: Mr Mohd Faiz bin Abdullah, Mr Peter Ho, Ms Patricia Chua, Dr Choon Siew Eng, Prof Dato’ Ewe, Dr Agnes Heng, Ms Che Indon Ilyas, and Dato’ Dr Sushil Kumar Ratti alongside the mascot “Skin Hero” during the gambit launch

MSF Founding Chairperson Dr Agnes Heng, in her speech, said, “Skin diseases are the fourth most common cause of all human disease, affecting almost one-third of the world’s population. Yet their burden is often underestimated, despite their visibility. One of our main objectives is to improve treatment access through a Patient Assistance Programme (PAP) which is a scheme aimed at subsidising the cost of skin treatment, and it is for this programme that we are raising funds today. Our second objective is to promote education and create awareness that skin diseases are not merely skin deep; their psychosocial impact is profound. Finally, we want to support research in dermatology with a view of enhancing the quality and standard of care.”

UTAR President Prof Dato’ Ewe said, “It is UTAR’s goal to educate our students on charity, compassion, and voluntary service and to assist those in need of help. Our students have been working closely with community leaders and villagers, including those in Orang Asli villages, Chinese New Villages, Indian communities and rural schools on many campaigns including free health checks, IT education, gotong-royong, workshops, STEM lab classes and more. This is part of our experiential education for students.”

He added, “UTAR has established its own UTAR Hospital in Kampar Campus. Just like UTAR, the hospital is a not-for-profit hospital, and it is built with donations from philanthropists, organisations, corporations, foundations and people from all walks of life. UTAR is indeed thankful for the generosity of all the donors. The construction of the hospital is now completed, and it is expected to be launched within the second half of this year. The hospital will provide affordable quality medical and healthcare services in Western Medicine, and Traditional and Complementary Medicine including Chinese Medicine, Traditional Malay Medicine, and Ayurvedic Medicine.”

Project Advisor Diong enthused, “It has always been my dream to get my students out of the classroom to serve the community as part of their learning process. I don’t believe in just providing them with knowledge-based learning, they also need experiential learning. Thanks to this event, the determination and hard work of our PR students have been recognised, not only by me or the University, but also individuals who didn’t know them before this. I am very proud of all of them.”

Guests enjoying their night at the Grand Launch and Charity Dinner of MSF

The guests were treated to a delightful dinner and a variety of entertaining performances at the event. The performances included traditional dances, a choir, and a live band performance. The guests enjoyed the performances brought by the committee members, as well as the dinner course throughout the night. The charity event ended with a dance break session, where everyone, including the guests and the committee members, was invited to the floor to dance.

The committee members were not only the performers of the night, but they were also the planners for this meaningful event. They started their preparations in February 2023, and many other events were organised throughout the duration to support this charity event. The events, which aimed to increase awareness of skin disease issues in Malaysia and raise funds for the foundation to support skin disease patients who are in need, included fundraising activities, roadshows, colouring competitions and educational talks.

Committee members performing their last performance with Dr Agnes Heng (most left) and Prof Dato’ Ewe (front row, most right)

One of the Project Directors, Ong Chun Qi enthused, “It’s a chance of a lifetime to work along with the Malaysian Skin Foundation to serve people, especially patients with skin disease. I never thought I would be given a chance to do this because being a PR student, I thought I would just learn about communications. Unexpectedly, this course taught me something extraordinary and something I would treasure in my academic life, that is ‘I learn to serve and I serve to learn’.”

Another Project Director, Chin Wei Qi claimed, “This project offered me a real-life experience in Public Relations. This experiential learning has strengthened my hard skills and soft skills in my field of study. After completing this project, I feel more confident and readier for the workforce.”

Head of Department of Public Relations and Media Monitoring Department Leong Yin Xuan said, “As PR students, we are most honoured to have the opportunity to work with the top dermatologists in Malaysia. With this opportunity, we get to build connections, gain soft skills, and learn what we cannot learn from textbooks. I am happy that UTAR has provided us with this course “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)” as a part of our programme structure.”

Member of the Programme Department Tang Hong Shen mentioned, “We practised day and night for the performances. We wanted to make the University proud by showing everyone that even with zero dancing or singing skills, we can still learn and bring them beautiful performances with our hard work. We also designed and made the gimmick from scratch.”

The Grand Launch and Charity Dinner marked the finale of UTAR PR CSR Project 2023. This, however, does not mean the end as UTAR has always been committed to making CSR efforts since 2019 till today, and it will continue to do so in the future.

Dr Agnes Heng giving her welcome speech

Guests registering themselves at the registration counter

One of the committee members explaining the information on the board to a guest

Dr Agnes Heng (sixth from left) and Prof Dato’ Ewe (sixth from right) with MSF BOT members and guests

Ms Diong (sixth from left) with Project Director, MSF Secretariat and committee members