Shah Alam, 28 February 2008 - UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd (UMW Toyota Motor) assembler, marketer and distributor of Toyota automobile passenger cars and commercial vehicles, today concluded its Toyota Classics CSR programme with a cheque presentation ceremony at their headquarters in Shah Alam.

Toyota Classics is a major component of UMW Toyota Motor's annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme. Conceptualised as the philanthropic pillar of UMW Toyota Motor's three pillars of CSR, the Toyota Classics concert raises funds for charitable organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) through bringing in performances by world renowned orchestras to Malaysia.

According to Aminar Rashid, UMW Toyota Motor's Executive Director, Strategic Planning Group, UMW Toyota Motor, "Each year, the proceeds from the ticket sales and corporate donations are donated to three or four pre-selected charitable organisations from all around Malaysia. "He went on to add that over the past 17 years, UMW Toyota has raised RM4.89 million and benefited 36 charities.

For 2007, the Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan, Terengganu, Rumah Kanak-Kanak Taman Bakti, Kepala Batas, Penang, Persatuan Penjagaan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Klang, Selangor and Persatuan Kebajikan Orang Cacat Manjung, Perak were the four selected beneficiaries of Toyota Classics.

From the collected proceeds of the 2007 Toyota Classics programme, RM110,626 will be awarded to the Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan Foundation, to help sustain their Wood Carving training programme. This Wood Carving programme was initiated with the main intention of resurrecting Terengganu's famed wood carving culture and promoting greater socio-economic growth.

For the Rumah Kanak-Kanak Taman Bakti, Kepala Batas, the RM167,000 received from the 2007 Toyota Classics will be used to overcome their transportation woes. This "Safe Home" for children will now be able to purchase their own mode of transport, thus providing an alternative to renting busses and vans to ferry their children to and from school and clinics.

The Persatuan Penjagaan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Klang and Persatuan Kebajikan Orang Cacat, Manjung, will utilise the sum of RM88, 836 and RM88, 426 respectively, towards the purchase of physiotherapy equipment for the rehabilitation of their children and some of their stroke patients.

The cheques were presented to representatives of the above charities by Dato' Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, and was witnessed by UMW Toyota Motor's Deputy Chairman, Takashi Hibi