Serba Dinamik Holdings Berhad (Serba Dinamik) has always been at the forefront of all things engineering, but for the company, its responsibility to social impact and providing a learning space for the community and employees is of paramount importance. In an interview with CSR Malaysia, Dato Dr. Ir. Ts. Mohd. Abdul Karim Bin Abdullah, Group Managing Manager and CEO of Serba Dinamik, talks about the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, dedication to continuous sustainability efforts during these turbulent times and giving back to society in more ways than one.
Serba Dinamik Holdings Berhad implements a holistic business plan incorporating sustainability as a key factor by adopting the latest frontier technology and putting ESG (environmental, social and governance) as a major guide. In the midst of daunting challenges that have been thrown at the company in recent days, Serba Dinamik is still steadfast and diligent in its efforts towards its noble CSR and sustainability initiatives. Its CSR team, Care Team, is one of the initiatives started by CEO Dato Dr. Ir. Ts. Mohd. Abdul Karim Bin Abdullah to help reach out to marginalized communities.
“We target our CSR activities to assist the needy and those facing difficulties during this pandemic by lending a helping hand, our own staff included. Our tagline ‘SMILE TOGETHER’ significantly delivers a meaning and assurance that we will never leave you behind, for what we have now, we are trying our best to reach out to as many needy people as possible,” says Dato Dr. Ir. Ts. Mohd. Abdul Karim Bin Abdullah.
(The team distributing packages of Bubur Lambuk to the fire fighters of Balai Bomba S15)
Incorporated as a private limited company back in 1993, Serba Dinamik subsequently transitioned to become a public limited company in 2016 with its core business focusing on operations and maintenance (O&M), and engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC), information and communication technology (ICT) and, education and training (E&T).
The main drive for many of Serba Dinamik’s sustainability and CSR initiatives focuses on the important touch points relevant to society to help in overcoming the pandemic while building a strong nation at the same time. During a time where there is so much uncertainty, it looks to fill in the crucial gaps through active engagement with the community.
The company’s sustainability model covers 3 crucial pillars that dictate the areas many of their recent sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives focus on. These 3 pillars of activities encompass community, education and learning, and social wellbeing.
(Serba Dinamik’s Care Team distributing PPE Sets to the medical personnel of Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR))
(Helping to feed the community of Gelandangan at Jalan Tar)
One of its recent activities involved the donation of personal protective equipment (PPE) sets to hospitals in Malaysia to lessen the burden of frontliners as well as those affected. “We also went to all PPR (Program Perumahan Rakyat) housing locations in the Klang Valley area and deliver daily essentials like basic food items, used clothes and more,” says Dato Dr. Ir. Ts. Mohd. Abdul Karim Bin Abdullah.
Since 2003, the Serba Dinamik Global Skill Centre (SDGC), established as an education provider to enable trainees to develop specialized technical skillsets, theoretical understanding, and interpersonal skills to become competent technical professionals, has been providing short courses for the oil and gas industry and developing competent technical professionals. It is also another focal point of Serba Dinamik.
“Our training style which utilizes the ‘learn and earn’ concept, has proven to be successful in enabling our trainees to secure employment upon successful completion of their training. Our certifications are internationally recognized, enabling trainees to venture into overseas employment opportunity through our global projects. These are our initiatives in providing job opportunity to those talented people especially Bumiputera,” says Dato Dr. Ir. Ts. Mohd. Abdul Karim Bin Abdullah.
(Serba Dinamik working with essential workers for a blood donation activity.)
(The Care Team donating PPE Sets to the personnel at Hospital Selayang.)
“These courses provide comprehensive learning on various types of equipment according to API standards. SDGC has been the key player in closing the talent gap for oil and gas technical professionals by producing 600 successful graduates with City & Guilds certifications. Since the first cohort with City and Guilds back in 2008, a few other companies have shown their support for this initiative to provide more job opportunities in the likes of Beauty2go, Halal2go and Easybuybye.”
So, what has Serba Dinamik learned from all of the charitable activities the company has engaged in during the pandemic, and how can corporations do more to lend a helping hand to the needy during this critical period?
“Many companies care about CSR, but putting it into practice requires more than just CEO speeches and company policies; managers and employees must be on board so that initiatives can be implemented and the momentum for CSR can be sustained,” weighs in Dato Dr. Ir. Ts. Mohd. Abdul Karim Bin Abdullah.
(Working with other initiatives during the Raya Qurban season.)
(Furnishing the community with implementation of MySurfi free internet.)
He stresses that a clear understanding as to how volunteers may contribute and what they can and cannot do is needed in order to avoid role ambiguity. “Before this pandemic started, volunteering was not a common activity we did in our daily lives. However, since this pandemic started, volunteering activities have become more widespread and everyone seems to enjoy lending a hand to help others in need.”
Throughout the pandemic, the Serba Dinamik Care Team has conducted and participated in the White Flag movement / Drive Thru Food Bank, distributing food packs to the homeless and frontliners and initiated the donation of PPE and medical supplies to hospitals all over Malaysia.
“There is a myriad of ways corporations can help those in need and lighten their burden during this difficult time,” says Dato Dr. Ir. Ts. Mohd. Abdul Karim Bin Abdullah.
When sharing on the company’s own outlook in terms of sustainability and CSR activities planned for the near future, Dato Dr. Ir. Ts. Mohd. Abdul Karim Bin Abdullah foresees their efforts leaning more towards helping the community and towards their main pillar of CSR which consists of safety and health, education, green development and sustainability development.
(Members of the Care Team distributing food packets to the local community.)
Serba Dinamik’s achievements to-date can be seen in the areas of technology, brand positioning, local vendor development and its compliance to international industry standards.
“We maintain the view that success is a journey, thus continuous efforts need to proceed to maintain the existing strong foundation already laid out. Our success is attributed to the satisfaction of our customers globally, providing top-tier service and products. Therefore, in order to meet their expectations, we will be aggressive in adopting and acquiring the latest state of art technologies to ensure the company remains relevant, especially sustainability wise, and is able to deliver on productivity and efficiency in whatever it does,” says the CEO of Serba Dinamik.
