“The Strength of Small” Celebrates Changemaking Communities, Enabling Them for Greater Impact
Kuala Lumpur, 22 May 2025 — Yayasan Hasanah, Khazanah National Berhad’s foundation, today unveiled The Hasanah Report 2024 themed “The Strength of Small: Small Efforts, Big Impact”, recognising the meaningful efforts of everyday Malaysians whose humble acts are quietly transforming lives for a better future across all corners of Malaysia.
Since its inception in 2015, Yayasan Hasanah (“Hasanah”) which is Malaysia’s largest impact-based foundation, has touched 3.7 million lives through initiatives across education, community development, environment, arts, and public spaces via strategic grants and partnerships.
“In 2024, Hasanah’s impact grew significantly — reaching 814,563 people — as more civil society organisations and social enterprises stepped up to support nation-building. Their growing role, especially in helping the rakyat recover from post-pandemic challenges, enabled us to do more, together. Compared to the previous year, the number of new initiatives we supported doubled, and our new partners tripled — a clear reflection of how more communities are actively contributing ideas, effort, and local knowledge. These milestones were possible because we listened, responded, and worked alongside those closest to the issues,” said Siti Kamariah Ahmad Subki, Trustee and Managing Director of Yayasan Hasanah.
“Our work isn’t just about disbursing grants — it’s about building a sustainable, equitable future with partners who are willing to step in and step up. In this, Hasanah plays its role as catalyst, convenor, and collaborator — bringing people, ideas, and resources together so lasting change can take root. We have also prioritised efforts as a capacity builder in the social sector, enabling more partners to serve broader and deeper layers of society,” she said.
“We are very pleased to share this report – a collection of initiatives supported by Yayasan Hasanah in the past year. It represents a living, breathing collection of Malaysian grassroot stories —where small acts, across all layers of society, when amplified, shape a better nation,” added Siti Kamariah.
From education to the environment, the arts to social innovation — Yayasan Hasanah continues to spark ripples of impact, advancing Malaysia across all layers of society, contributing to 15 of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Sparking A Wave of Good
The unveiling of the Report was held in conjunction with Hasanah Impact Day 2025 which brought together Malaysia’s changemakers across areas of education, community development, the environment, the arts and public spaces. Participants learned how to achieve their goals through knowledge sharing of best practices, and were briefed about grants such as the Hasanah Special Grant (HSG), Hasanah Social Enterprise Fund (HSEF), and Arts for All Seasons (ArtsFAS) and more.
“These grants were made possible through the continued support of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) — a valued collaborator whose investment is bearing real, tangible outcomes today,” said Siti Kamariah.
Strengthening Communities from the Ground Up
In 2024, the largest share of Hasanah’s projects centered on Education and Social Enterprise, followed by Community Development — underscoring Hasanah’s commitment to education as a great equaliser, the potential of sustainable business models, and the importance of self-determination in improving lives and livelihoods.
Among many of the programmes implemented on the ground, the foundation supported the works of teachers in Kelantan who are breaking taboos in sex education. It also worked with organisations nationwide to boost learning recovery amongst children, creating safe spaces for mental health wellbeing, as well as upskilling micro entrepreneurs, especially in marginalised communities.
Meanwhile, Hasanah also supported social enterprises such as Vanilla Impact in Sibu which employs locals, including vulnerable communities needing a second chance at life to build a commercially viable and sustainable vanilla industry; as well as Teman, a caregiving startup addressing elderly loneliness with trained companions.
On the Environment front, 41 hectares of forest land were rehabilitated by replanting native tree species, 27 tonnes of plastic waste diverted from landfills and Perak Sustainable Development Model was shared on the global stage at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP29 in Azerbaijan. The foundation also supported the efforts of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in protecting the Bornean sun bear, to training fishers to deploy pingers on their nets to safeguard dolphins.
In Arts and Public Spaces, continuous efforts led to a renaissance of telepuk — one of Malaysia’s oldest textile crafts, where artisans apply gold leaf onto fabric with care and precision. Once on the brink of being forgotten, this delicate art form is now finding new life through the launch of an English-language book, youth-focused exhibitions, and the honor of royal patronage — all helping to reintroduce telepuk to a wider, modern audience. Efforts to revive the Kuda Pacu dance by the Bajau community have also received support from the foundation.
Meanwhile, 5,086 people gained access to water, 3,306 people gained solar electricity access and 557 community members trained to maintain water and solar electricity systems through Rural Infrastructure projects. In the past year, Yayasan Hasanah also expanded its support through special initiatives with partners such as the GLC/GLIC Demi Rakyat & Negara (GDRN), as well as deploying humanitarian aid via trusted partners during natural disasters that have affected the rakyat.
As part of its role in shaping regional impact conversations, thought leadership, knowledge sharing, and continuous learning, Yayasan Hasanah hosted five ILMU Hasanah sessions in the past year with experts to spark insight, start conversations and deepen understanding on a range of topics. These include leadership strategies for sustainable interventions, mental health and resilience, impact measurement workshops and others, which arm changemakers with the tools to succeed. Yayasan Hasanah also contributed key insights at the Asia Philanthropy Congress (APHIC), amplifying Malaysia’s voice in discussions around diversity, equity, and inclusion in Asia.
“We invite Malaysians to be the change they want to see, small as it may be – because transforming society for better is the sum of many parts. I look forward to more applications through the Hasanah grant cycle – with hopes that more Malaysians can be celebrated and honored next year,” she said.
The full Hasanah Report 2024, themed “The Strength of Small: Small Efforts, Big Impact”, is available at thr2024.yayasanhasanah.org.
Watch the inspiring impact stories at Yayasan Hasanah’s YouTube channel HERE.
About Yayasan Hasanah
Yayasan Hasanah (“Hasanah”) is the impact-based foundation of Khazanah Nasional Berhad (“Khazanah”), the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia. Hasanah was set up as an independent entity on 1 July 2015, building on nine years of Corporate Responsibility (CR) efforts previously driven by Khazanah. As a grant-giving organisation, Hasanah goes beyond ringgit and sen to facilitate an ecosystem of transformation, working in collaboration with multiple stakeholders, infusing a spirit of advocacy and developing capacity in five key focus areas: Education; Community Development; Environment; Arts and Public Spaces; and Knowledge. Collectively and collaboratively, Hasanah hopes to shift the needle of social and community reform for Malaysians, towards Advancing Malaysia. For further information, please visit www.yayasanhasanah.org.