KUALA LUMPUR: Yayasan Hasanah (Hasanah), Khazanah Nasional Bhd's impact-driven foundation, distributed RM223 million last year, bringing the total disbursements since 2015 to RM1.6 billion.
According to Hasanah's 2023 report, titled the Hasanah Report (THR) 2023, its initiatives in education, community development, arts, history, and culture (AHC), the environment, and knowledge have benefited 2.9 million individuals in Malaysia.
"As we looked back at the milestones achieved by our partners from all corners of Malaysia, a unifying theme emerged: the inspiring stories of trailblazers, stereotype-breakers, and courageous dreamers.
"These are the people who are forging new possibilities and shaping our collective future narrative," Datuk Shahira Ahmed Bazari, trustee and managing director of Yayasan Hasanah, said in a statement.
Reflecting on the accomplishments in 2023, he said that Hasanah spotlights the power of innovative solutions that challenge the norm, breaking the constraints of limiting narratives in the realisation of individual potential.
In one of the many livelihood programmes nationwide supported by Hasanah and the Ministry of Finance, the Blind Planters Programme in Terengganu offers training for visually impaired individuals to become planters, cultivating Terengganu sweet melons to generate income, successfully harvesting a collective total of 387 kg of fruit to date.
Shahira said this initiative not only challenges the stigma surrounding blindness but also broadens the horizons of career options for the visually impaired, as well as inspiring new perspectives on empowering other vulnerable communities, especially the B40 in the country.
In collaboration with various partners in the ecosystem, this innovative spirit carries through the foundation's work in its other focus areas of impact.
"Our journey has been marked by the pursuit of impactful social innovations that view solutions as part of a larger puzzle, rather than isolated pieces," she added.
In 2023, this approach is exemplified by initiatives such as the Hasanah Gold Threads Awards (HGTA), a prize philanthropy mechanism that not only honor local textile artisans but also integrates them into mainstream industries, providing a pathway for the commercial potential of their craft—a key part of arts, heritage, and culture preservation. In its debut, HGTA 2023 received 168 submissions across various textile art forms throughout the country.