Sustainable Livelihood for the Elderly: A Makro CSR Project The Background: Malaysia is a developing country aspiring to be a developed nation by the year 2020. This aspiration has been hindered by the Asian financial slowdown started in 1997 but the present government is confident that that goal is now back on track. The expected GDP growth for this year is 3.5%. Malaysia is a multi-racial country comprising mostly Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans. Its population is 23.27 million (Year 2000). Some 10% were above the age of 55 years and of these 4% were 65 years and above. The growing concern is the breakdown of the family system. One can see the widening gap between generations in the same family. The culture is distinctly Asian and an aspect in point is the care for the elderly. Three-generation households now are noticeably less common as non-asian values that encourage a child to leave home after reaching the age of 16 years (thus promoting one-generation households) exert creepingly their influence. While the Government through its Ministry of National Unity and Social Development provides the framework for social welfare services in Malaysia, the large share of the work is carried out by private charitable and services organizations (NGOs). In 2001 of the 90,000 NGOs registered with the Registrar of Societies, only 40,000 were eligible to share the RM41 million (approx. US 10.8 million) government grants. Presently there is no specific program for the care of the elderly to speak of, leaving much of such concern of its elderly persons to their respective relatives or some relevant NGOs. Thus there are many aged homes completely dependant on donations from the generous. Of late, many private (and therefore fee-paying) homes for the aged have sprung up. Social security in the form of the Employees Provident Fund (a one-time withdrawal scheme, not a pension scheme) limits itself to employees and not to those self-employed. Whilst there is no National Environment Policy, the importance of the protection of the environment is recognized both for its own sake and for economic reasons. Where adults, not dependant on environment for a living, are involved in environmental projects, many do so for non-environmental reasons. They belong to amorphous groups organized by Buddhist Temples or Churches: their enthusiasm driven by economics or the scoring of points for the eventual afterlife (karma, reincarnation).
- 2 Corporate Social Responsibility: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), like Sustainable Development is now a popular catch phrase. Again, like Sustainable Development, CSR has many definitions. One definition generally accepted is based on the expectations of a society (Carroll, 1979) and distinguishes Economic Responsibility, Legal Responsibility, Ethical Responsibility and Philanthropic Responsibility. The first two seem self-explanatory; the third expects to go beyond the law to reflect concerns for what stakeholders regard as fair; and the fourth embraces corporate citizenship. Although Malaysia is not a developed country as such, a survey showed the public generally favors corporations setting higher ethical standards and helping to build a better society over making profit, paying taxes, creating jobs and obeying all laws (Mori, 1999). It was this CSR that made Makro Malaysia decide to respond positively to the Government s call for support of its 3-R (Re-duce, Re-use, Re-cycle) initiative, knowing full well that a program internally would also informally contribute to the spirit of co-operation among its employees and thus directly benefit the company. Presently Makro Malaysia has eight stores spread throughout Peninsular Malaysia. Its head-office is in Shah Alam, the capital of the State of Selangor, one of the thirteen states in the country. A typical store would have about 10,000 sq m of sale space. Makro Malaysia also has two smaller specialist stores dealing with office supplies, one of which is in a separate location and therefore serves a community of its own. The Project Rationale Prominent facilities were provided on the grounds of Makro Malaysia s main store in Shah Alam, Selangor to encourage customers and visitors to discard/contribute all its household non-organic wastes in separate colored bins not unlike what are seen in northern European countries. Whilst the waste separation effort depended much on an aware public (sophisticated in, say, Sweden) the Malaysian public is quite indiscriminate in its waste-disposal behavior. Often designated bins are treated like an all-purpose
- 3 rubbish bin, and plastics and used papers, and even bottles are thrown into the same bin. It is this indiscriminate behavior that gives rise to the opportunity to create jobs, not for the skilled and the physically strong but for the uneducated elderly in search of an independent source of side money income. The Project Preparation First, Makro Malaysia must find a recycler to collect the waste contributed or disposed of, for free and if it needs be, for a fee. Second, there must be the volume that makes it worthwhile for the recycler. Makro Malaysia found and tapped into the Petaling Jaya Community Network (a voluntary group started in the township of Petaling Jaya, Selangor) and from that organization advice and help were received and the idea crystallized. The Makro Environment Centre in Shah Alam (MECSA) was launched on 5 January 2001 by no less an important person than the Minister of Housing & Local Government, thus giving the message that he, and by extension, the Government, supports the Project. The Launch had in conjunction with it an exhibition of the various activities of the Petaling Jaya Community Network and the recycling activities of the recyclers. The aim was to increase public awareness of the need to protect the environment and one of the ways is to practise the 3-R precept. MECSA is based on a smart partnership of government agencies, the private sector, NGOs and the Community. By doing what it is doing in MECSA, Makro Malaysia has taken the lead as a key corporate citizen in the Community. In setting up MECSA, it has provided leadership in assuming two crucial social responsibilities: 1. towards a sustainable environment through collection of useable and recyclable items from the Community; 2. care for the weakest and the poorest groups in Society by providing not only regular contributions in cash and kind but also by giving back dignity to the elderly, now in useful employment in a context of social interaction with fellow elderly and the rest of the Community. In effect MECSA is the first commercial centre of its kind in Malaysia where the public voluntarily contributes and shares the concern to protect the environment and to care for the disadvantaged groups, particularly the elderly. MECSA
- 4 - focuses initially on the collection of paper, glass bottles and aluminum /steel cans, and clothes, toys and books. The Project Start-Up Makro Malaysia first approached the Local Authority Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam for its support and with the help of the Petaling Jaya Community Network, got hold of several recyclers like the KS Secondary Fibre Supplier Sdn Bhd and the Kuala Lumpur Glass Manufacturers Company Sdn Bhd. A committee was then set up comprising of all these stakeholders, including the Selangor State Environmental Committee. Makro Malaysia is responsible for the maintenance of the Project. Within its own organization Makro Malaysia appointed volunteers and helpers to ensure that donated items are stored safely away in spaces in its own premises. The recyclers sponsor the collection bins. Presently, the volume of collection from MECSA is insufficient to justify sorting on its own premises though that would be the target. For now, the collection is removed on request to one of the eleven mini-centres network of the Petaling Jaya Community Network. The mini-centres are really points as they have no fixed physical space as such but merely public areas borrowed for the short period of sorting only. These points are manned by part-time workers (priority being given to the elderly) who are paid at the rate of approximately US1 (RM3-5) per hour. The Petaling Jaya Community Network runs a flea market in the Amcorp Mall (a shopping mall) in Petaling Jaya. In the flea market that takes place on the first Sunday of the month, the entire collection of the month before, comprising magazines, toys, old clothes and other articles of interest, are displayed and sold to the public.
- 5 Summary of donation/discard of items from the public in the collection bins as at 31 December 2001 is as follows: Details of donations/discards for the month of December 2001 are as follows: Meetings of the MECSA Committee are regularly called to discuss operation matters, in particular on how to garner the interest of the public in the Community. Accounts of income and expenditure are strictly kept. The Committee decides on the disbursement of monies to selected needy groups. So far, an Old Aged Home (Gurpuri), a Home for Autistic Children (Pusat Harapan Kampong Perting), a Home for the Physically Impaired (Taspura Perkim) and a school (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sekysen 24, Shah Alam) have received
- 6 - donations from MECSA. Again, as part of the public awareness program, the Datuk Bandar of Shah Alam (Mayor of Shah Alam Municipality) was invited and did give away donations on behalf of MECSA. Some Concluding Remarks People around the globe are having fewer children and living longer, turning not only Europe but also large parts of the developing world into aging societies without the social services to cope. The failure of the Government and its institutions to deal adequately with the aging population gives business organizations the opportunity to further its CSR in this area. By using the precept that what is waste to one may be resource to another, the still productive elderly may be gainfully occupied to do the simple sorting out of used materials and articles, making a contribution to sustainability of the environment as they help themselves to be socially interactive. For Makro Malaysia, MECSA is a new and innovative way to deal with waste. The Project promotes informal interaction among its employees internally and with the Community externally. It is an opportunity to contribute to sustainability. It is Makro Malaysia s intention to start an environment centre in each of the other seven stores, using the Shah Alam store as the module. Dato Kok Wee Kiat: March 200