The Sabah Foundation, today operationally referred to as the Yayasan Sabah Group was established through Enactment No. 8 of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly in 1966. The strong personality behind its establishment was the Father of Independence of Sabah, the late Tun Datu Haji Mustapha Bin Datu Harun. His vision was to mobilise the people of Sabah towards becoming active partners in the development of the new nation, Malaysia. To realize this vision the Foundation was given a largesse, in the form of prime forestry land.
Creation of Education Wealth
The objectives of the foundation are to provide education and educational facilities for all Malaysians in Sabah; creating opportunities for advancing human talents and creating more equitable distribution of economic wealth among the people in Sabah. In addition Sabah Foundation also provides aids to charitable institutions and victims of natural disasters.
Continuing Progress
Over the years, the Group has diversified its activities to meet the needs of the day and to maintain the forest under its custody in perpetuity. Beginning from economic activities of harvesting to downstream processing of timber, the Group, in the mid-eighties, ventured into new areas such as agro-plantation, hospitality and tourism, shipping and real estate development. This expansion went further to include biotechnology and horticulture besides fisheries and food industries.
In the last five years, to meet the ever challenging global business world, the Group has ventured into the oil and gas, and Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE).
After more than 50 years in existence, the Group has flourished, achieving its objectives of providing scholarships and loans to needy students as well as students who excelled academically to further their studies locally and abroad.
The Education Endeavour
The Group’s forte is in the education sector. It provided a launching grant for the initial MARA Institute of Technology in Sabah at Sembulan, Kota Kinabalu, which now houses its very own Kolej Teknikal Yayasan Sabah. The Group assisted the establishment of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Sabah Branch at Limauan, Kinarut with a launching grant. In 1995, the Group built a ‘fast track’ temporary college campus for Universiti Malaysia Sabah, adjacent to the Menara Tun Mustapha, to begin its operations.
UCSF the Apex Institution
The establishment of University College Sabah Foundation (UCSF) is another success for the Group. Branded as a “Green University,” UCSF, among others subscribes towards making the future generations understand the complexity and interconnected nature of the challenging global issues facing society today, and the need to commit towards sustainable living.
Caring & People Oriented
Providing educational opportunities to the people, especially the young and the rural-based, the Group significantly contributed towards improving the standard of living of Sabahans. The Group also actively carries out Social People Development programmes through its offices in the six zones. Through these programmes, in-situ local folks especially housewives, retirees, unemployed youth and single parents are trained through workshops and seminars to start small business ventures.
Highly Committed To Conservation
Being an advocator of conservation, the Group has set aside five unique ecosystem of conservation areas namely the Danum Valley, Maliau Basin, Imbak Canyon, Silam Coast and Taliwas River in the Yayasan Sabah Forest Management Area. In the Southeast Asian region, the Group has established itself as a pioneer in good forest management, leader in conservation efforts, and rehabilitation of severely degraded forests. It is also known worldwide for its exports of teak tissue culture plantlets.
From a humble beginning in forestry, the Group has expanded by leaps and bounds into the global business arena. Today it continues to compete and consolidate its ventures to deliver effectively the mission of the Group.