Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

I am still up and awake at wee hours in the morning. I took the drowsy flu pill earlier this evening but the effect must have worn out since I'm not that sleepy anymore, and like what most people do nowadays when they couldn't sleep, I surf the internet.

I came across an interesting video interview just now by Philips Malaysia Chairman and CEO, Dr. Rajah Kumar, who also happens to be my next door neighbour. He was talking about Philip's social responsibility project on a kindergarten project which started in Batu Arang, Selangor, providing education for the very young and less fortunate, basically a kindergarten for kids whose parents are low income earners. Without going into details, here's the link for those who are interested: The video interview.

What is interesting about this interview is that Philips, a well-known electrical & electronic appliance company, has little or nothing to do in the field of education. So why is Philips dabbling into this seemingly unconnected area of business?

Everyone knows that in order to develop a civilised and progressive society, you need a comprehensive education. Dr Rajah believes that education is not a priviledge, but rather a basic need and there is a need to begin education at a very young age. He hopes that if young children can be coaxed into enjoying themselves while learning, when they get older, they would become well-rounded generations and not high school dropouts.

Philips' core belief is sustainability and this is reflected in what they do and the products they produce. Now, I'm sure you've seen those energy-saving light bulbs that Philips is so famous for. Apparently they are big in promoting environmental awareness and personal hygene too.

Why am I so impressed with this company? Well, wouldn't it be nice if all the multinationals or even big national companies share the same sentiment and concern about the social and economic well-being of the citizens? Some of these companies are so damn big that their annual turnovers rival the GDPs of some countries. They make tonnes of money from developed and third world countries alike and in particular, I remember ExxonMobile recently posted their last year's annual profit of about USD40.6 billion! Can you imagine how much money that is? I felt almost sick when I read the news, because I think it's perverted for ANY organisation to make such an obscene amount of money.

Now imagine if the money can be utilised to improve the living conditions of the less fortunate, provide free education and enchance the healthcare system of a nation. Poverty may be eradicated, crime rate may be reduced and society may become more healthy and educated. If only every organisation plays its part in contributing to the nation. Life would be so much better than it is now.

Ok, in all fairness some of these organisations do contribute towards CSR, but honestly, how much percentage of their profit goes towards this cause? If one can make USD40.6 billion per year, would 10% be too much to contribute towards the betterment of the society?

I think that corporations could and should play a bigger role alongside the government. For example, right now the Malaysian government is strapped for cash that is much needed to improve a lot of things. We need better public transportation, cheaper fuel, a total revamp of our failing education system, low food prices, higher purchasing power, better healthcare and the list goes on. We can't expect the taxpayers to fork out for everything, or else our taxes would be equal to half of our earnings, and that would be totally unacceptable. I think this is where big corporations come in. The burden has got to be shared between the government and the corporations alike. They have taken so much from us, and it would only be fair to return some.

As an example, I could think of better things to do with the money other than sponsoring racing events or travelling around the globe in 4wds. This is a total wasteful of resources, which doesn't bring any benefits other than getting some 'airtime' for brand recognition. Event sponsorships cost a fortune, the returns are debatable at best. On the other hand, I fully support corporations' sponsorship for students' education but only FOR THOSE WHO REALLY DESERVE IT.

The company I work for doesn't even seriously think about contributing towards CSR. There are no community projects, no charity drive and even their donations are pretty scarce. Having said that, year after year the company posted profits of millions of ringgit. This being a Permodalan Nasional Berhad's subsidiary company and one of the biggest property company in Malaysia, I feel ashamed and embarassed for being an employee there. What have we become? Capitalists some might say...