KUALA LUMPUR: More than 500 guests gathered at the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur Ballroom for the highly-anticipated Malaysian AIDS Foundation-Berjaya Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Award Gala Dinner on Saturday night. They comprised of philantropists, corporate and political figures, and celebrities.
Among those who graced the event with their presence were Malaysian AIDS Foundation patron Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, Malaysian AIDS Foundation chairman Prof Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Berjaya Corporation Berhad Founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye.
The awards dinner, in its second consecutive year, recognised those who made outstanding contributions in putting a stop to the AIDS epidemic in Malaysia and raised funds to reach these goals.
During the dinner, Adeeba launched the foundation’s Ending AIDS fundraising campaign, which interestingly used a face-to-face approach to establish personal interaction with donors to increase awareness and attain funds. She also announced the RM2.41 million raised from the dinner itself.
Two awards were also presented, the much-vied for Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Award and the Patron Award, presented to individuals and organisations for combating the epidemic in Malaysia.
While the former went to Sabah AIDS Awareness Group Association (Saga) founder and president Dr Zaiton Yahaya, the latter was presented to former presidents of the Malaysian AIDS Council Datuk Dr Raj Karim and Tan Sri Zaman Khan Rahim Khan, and to MAC Cosmestics Malaysia.
The evening was not short of entertainment, with the Foundation’s Red Ribbon Celebrity Supporters Sean Ghazi and Bob Yusof crooning into the night and the legendary Indonesian songstress Kris Dayanti sealing the event on a high note.
