00:00The Star Golden Hearts Award has wrapped up its final judging with 20 individuals and
00:07organizations recognized for their efforts to make a difference in communities across Malaysia.
00:12The finalists represent a wide range of causes including social welfare, community empowerment,
00:18education, disaster and crisis relief, as well as environmental and wildlife protection.
00:24SGHA Chief Judge Tan Sri Gui Hosun said the strong showing of grassroots initiatives this year reflected
00:30the willingness of Malaysians to step forward and help others, despite the challenges facing society.
00:36I must commend that Malaysians are very kind-hearted.
00:42Exactly like what you say, despite the challenging time,
00:46we are not sure of people who step up, come forward and to help.
00:51You can see the amount of time, the efforts throughout Malaysia.
00:58And this year, I think easily four or five of them are from East Malaysia.
01:02We also cover the wildlife, we cover some of the stray dogs, which I think,
01:08it is just depending on government funding, it may not be able to do all this.
01:13And these are all volunteers that will come forward and do all this.
01:18A total of 180 nominations were received for SGHA 2026, with the 20 finalists reflecting
01:25the diversity of communities and causes across the country.
01:2913 finalists are from Peninsular Malaysia, while 7 are from Sabah and Sarawak.
01:34For today's judging session, we will be assessing 20 finalists through a hybrid session.
01:429 presenting physically and 11 joining us online.
01:47This is also the first time we are giving finalists the opportunity to present their work directly to the judges.
01:54I believe this will allow us to better understand the content of their journey,
02:01the work they are doing on the ground, and their determination to make a real difference in their communities.
02:09Also on the judging panel, our Star Media Group Chief Content Officer Datin Paduka Esther Ng, MySDG Foundation,
02:16Chief Executive Officer Anita Ahmad, Former Social Welfare Department Deputy Director B,
02:21Vijaya Kumari Pillai, National Entrepreneurship Institute, Social Entrepreneurship Manager,
02:26Mohamad Hafizul Khair Mohamad Yusuf, ESG Wright Sendirian Berhad Principal Consultant,
02:31Prathab Vengada Salam, and Pepper Labs, Sendirian Berhad Managing Director, Thanaselan Rajendran.
02:37Introduced in 2015, SGHA has recognized more than 120 individuals and organizations
02:43for their efforts to improve the well-being of communities.
02:46Ten winners, comprising five individuals and five organizations,
02:50will be announced at the SGHA 2026 award ceremony on December 8th.
02:56Each winner will receive RM10,000, a trophy and a certificate in recognition of their contributions
03:02and to support their continued work.
03:04Beyond recognizing their achievements, SGHA also aims to give grassroots changemakers greater visibility
03:11and provide a platform for their work to inspire others.
