Surayati (then 19) and her mother, Norisah used to walk three hours and carry 16 buckets of water daily from their village well for their family’s use. The groundwater reeks an unbearable odour. Yet, the family has no choice but to drink the well water – their only source of water. Their village, Kampung Terubing 2 in Pahang had neither piped water nor electricity supply, putting a damper on their hopes of embarking on farming activities. This is the sad reality faced by many Orang Asli communities in Malaysia.

According to Malaysia’s Department of Statistics, 53% of Orang Asli communities do not have access to piped water. Besides lack of access to clean water and sanitation, the Orang Asli, like other underserved communities in Malaysia, are at higher risk of waterborne and water-washed diseases.

By: How Kim Lian, Group Chief Financial Officer

In a 2019 Insurtech report by KPMG, the insurance industry is on the brink of a major revolution as adoption of insurtech enters a new phase. Data and technology have been the driving force for innovations in the industry, coupled with changes in consumers’ lifestyles and behaviour. Insurtechs and technology start-ups continue to redefine customer experience through innovations such as risk-free underwriting, on-the-spot purchasing, activation, and claims processing. As digitisation continues to impact not only businesses, but also the consumers’ lifestyle and behavior primarily on how they consume information, there is a vivid shift on insurance players from an arcane policy-led industry into one that places the customer at the heart of everything it does^[1]. Undoubtedly, the digital revolution will challenge insurers as even the most traditional among them will have to embrace new technologies if they wish to remain competitive.

Kuala Lumpur: Tokio Marine Life Insurance Malaysia Bhd. (TMLM) continues to uphold one of the company's guiding principles to 'Look Beyond Profit when they donated some of the company’s repurposed laptops and CPUs, together with some urgently needed household items to several charitable organisations in Malaysia recently.

The company donated a total of 10 used laptops and 10 used CPUs which paired with 10 new monitors, together with RM5,000 worth of household items to Good Shepherd Service, GT Community Centre, Suriana Welfare Society Malaysia, Ti-Ratana Welfare Society Malaysia, and Yayasan Sunbeams Homes.

The Bank is extending assistance to individuals of targeted segments including those who have lost their jobs, the B40 segment, or those who work in highly-impacted sectors such as hotel, tour operator, restaurant, or aviation.

“Our priority is to help our customers weather the crisis and emerge stronger post-pandemic. As the moratorium period will soon end on 30 September 2020, we advise our customers to plan ahead and discuss their financial situation with us as soon as possible to determine the relief package best suited to them,” said Mr. Joel Kornreich, group chief executive officer of Alliance Bank.