GLICs Translate MADANI Values Into Action And Impact In 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- Reflecting on the achievements of 2025, Malaysia’s Government-Linked Investment Companies (GLICs) marked the year not with balance sheets alone, but with stories of lives touched, futures strengthened, and communities uplifted, as national aspirations under Malaysia MADANI and GEAR-uP were translated into action on the ground.

Throughout the year, six GLICs - Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah), Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) and Lembaga Tabung Haji (Tabung Haji) - worked collectively to channel investments, expertise and partnerships into initiatives that reached Malaysians where support mattered most.

From rural villages and Armed Forces camps to classrooms, universities and workplaces, these efforts formed a nationwide ecosystem of care, ensuring that progress under MADANI Economy was not confined to policy frameworks but felt in daily lives through access to education, livelihood support and talent development.

Commenting on the collective impact of these initiatives, Minister of Finance II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said: “One of the true measures of MADANI Economy’s success lies in its impact on people’s lives, from students in classrooms and families within communities to young Malaysians entering the workforce.

“GEAR-uP provides a platform for GLICs to translate national aspirations into sustained and inclusive action that expands opportunity and improves livelihoods.”

He emphasised that these efforts reflect the government’s commitment to people-centred development anchored in sound governance.

“When public institutions move forward together with a clear purpose and accountability, national growth is not merely recorded in figures, but realised as meaningful progress experienced by the rakyat,” he added.

A defining pillar of this approach in 2025 was the Santuni MADANI, a whole-of-nation initiative designed to uplift communities through targeted, needs-based interventions rooted in local realities and dignity-centred support.

Within the defence ecosystem, LTAT implemented a tailored version known as the Kem Santuni MADANI initiative, focusing on Armed Forces camps nationwide.

With total support exceeding RM500,000 across five camps, the programme reached more than 5,700 military families through infrastructure improvements, welfare assistance, healthcare services and financial literacy engagements, delivered in collaboration with its group of companies.

The initiative, launched in March and completed by December last year, covered camps in Sabah and Penang, strengthening community spaces, religious facilities and living conditions while extending targeted assistance to asnaf and B40 families.

PNB, meanwhile, adopted two villages, Kampung Merlimau Pantai, Melaka, and Kampung Telok Kandis, Kedah, committing RM1.32 million under the Satu Pemimpin Satu Kampung (One Leader, One Village) and GEAR-uP frameworks.

Approximately 700 residents benefited from entrepreneurship support for micro-entrepreneurs, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) scholarships for youth, community infrastructure upgrades, and welfare assistance for asnaf households.

EPF anchored its Santuni MADANI efforts in Kampung Melayu Subang, Kwasa Damansara, focusing on employability and entrepreneurship skills, alongside community wellbeing initiatives to strengthen livelihoods, resilience, and self-reliance.

Its community development and social upliftment framework also encompasses financial literacy for youth and digital literacy for seniors. These interventions reflect EPF’s mandate to advance long-term financial security and social well-being.

In Kelantan, KWAP adopted Kampung Kandis, Bachok, benefiting more than 1,000 residents, including retirees, single mothers and asnaf households.

A total of RM210,000 was channelled towards community support initiatives, including the contribution of a hearse through employees’ zakat wakalah contributions, distribution of welfare kits, and MyPesara Prihatin packs.

These efforts help strengthen local social support systems, with phased engagement continuing beyond the programme’s launch in May 2025.

Khazanah adopted the People’s Housing Project (PPR) Batu Muda in Kuala Lumpur, implementing a range of targeted, community-driven programmes throughout the year in collaboration with resident representatives, civil society and community partners.

The initiatives focused on addressing immediate needs while supporting longer-term community well-being, including assistance for school-going children, festive food aid, participation in community activities and national celebrations, as well as livelihood support initiatives.

These efforts benefited more than 3,000 individuals, in line with the programme’s inclusive and empowerment-based objectives.

Education formed the second major pillar of GLIC engagement in 2025, through Sekolah Angkat MADANI (MADANI Adopted School) initiative, reflecting a shared conviction that education remains the strongest driver of intergenerational mobility and long-term national progress.

LTAT, supported by its group of companies, adopted all 38 schools located within Armed Forces camps nationwide, contributing more than RM1.2 million to improve learning environments for over 24,000 students and educators through infrastructure upgrades, digital tools and future-ready skills programmes.

While PNB adopted 19 schools nationwide with an investment of RM356,700, focusing on facility improvements, volunteer-led enhancement activities and stronger linkages between schooling and future employability, particularly through TVET exposure.

EPF supported 10 schools nationwide, empowering at-risk students and teachers through digital classrooms, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning tools and structured teacher capacity-building, resulting in strengthened engagement, improved attendance and enhanced learning outcomes.

Khazanah supported 10 schools across Johor, Perak and Kuala Lumpur, delivering tailored interventions to improve learning facilities, examination readiness and student welfare.

The programme has positively impacted more than 9,500 students and teachers, in line with the government’s MADANI agenda on inclusive and quality education.

In Bachok, Kelantan, KWAP adopted 10 schools, benefiting more than 4,300 students and teachers through the provision of smart classroom equipment, back-to-school packs, and infrastructure improvements that enhanced teaching and learning environments.

The initiative also includes a comprehensive teacher development and enhancement programme designed to support educators and strengthen teaching quality across the participating schools.

The overall programme represents a total investment of RM1.13 million from KWAP since 2025 up until the first quarter of 2026.

Moving forward, Tabung Haji (TH) will expand its MADANI adopted school initiative to 14 Islamic educational institutions nationwide beginning in early 2026, encompassing madrasah, tahfiz centres, pondok and religious schools, with an allocation of RM1.4 million.

The initiative focuses on upgrading learning infrastructure, enhancing teachers’ capabilities and supporting academic and character-building programmes, reinforcing its role as a strategic partner in ummah development in line with the MADANI aspiration to strengthen access to quality education.

Beyond communities and schools, GLICs also invested heavily in talent development and employability in 2025, aligning with the GEAR-uP framework to strengthen Malaysia’s future workforce and social mobility.

Khazanah Nasional Berhad’s K-Youth programme expanded nationwide in 2025, supporting 8,205 youths through training, on-the-job placements and mentoring to address unemployment and skills mismatches, while LTAT’s Usahawan Wira Empowerment programme supported MAF veterans in transitioning to civilian livelihoods through structured entrepreneurship training, mentoring and digital tools, with participants recording strong monthly income growth during the year.

PNB expanded access to technical and vocational education through its BUDI-TVET programme for asnaf and B40 students, while TH’s Iqra’ IPTA programme supported nearly 65,000 underprivileged university students in 2025 through financial assistance, laptops and welfare support, ensuring continuity of higher education.

As Malaysia reflects on 2025, the collective footprint of GLICs tells a story of presence, partnership and purpose, where institutions moved beyond financial stewardship to walk alongside communities, students, youth and families, translating MADANI values into tangible outcomes and reaffirming that nation-building is strongest when progress truly reaches the rakyat.

-- BERNAMA