Updated on 1 March 2016

Hi, everyone.

I’m happy to inform you that on 28 February 2016, I completed the Tokyo Marathon in 5 hours 15 minutes. I would like to personally thank you all for your contributions which have helped raise up to RM200,000 for Make-a-Wish Malaysia (both via Simply Giving as well as through direct payments). In other words, your generosity will make the wishes of many Malaysian children with critical illnesses come true, and I cannot thank you enough for being a part of this.

When I first initiated the challenge of fundraising in conjunction with completing the Tokyo Marathon, I honestly did not expect the outpouring of support and kindness displayed by donors. In fact, my initial target was RM10,000 and as you can imagine, when I saw the final amount, I was absolutely humbled and heartened by the spirit of giving.

For your information, Make-a-Wish Malaysia is currently assigning the funds raised towards specific projects and wishes. For example, some funds will be used to grant the wish of a young boy who has been hospitalised with Aplastic Anaemia, a rare and life-threatening condition where the body does not produce enough new blood cells. All he has ever wanted to do is go fishing. Another upcoming project is for a young boy who dreams of being a solider. He has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia but will get to enjoy an exciting day out with real soldiers at the Sungai Besi army camp. Together with Make-a-Wish Malaysia, you and I will help these two boys live their dreams. Thanks to your generosity, many more like them will also see their wishes come true.

So once again, please accept my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for your support. I hope we will always remember to give back to the world we live in, however we can.

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead” - (Nelson Mandela)

Zafrul

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Updated on 3 January 2016

To my big-hearted friends and donors,

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your generous contributions to my fundraising initiative for Make-A-Wish® Malaysia. I am deeply touched and humbled by your generosity, not to mention amazed at how quickly the target of RM10,000 was met! Thanks to the wonders of technology, fundraising is made much easier and more transparent.

My initial target was to raise RM10,000, to be matched Ringgit for Ringgit by me. This initial target has been surpassed eight times over within just a week, and the pledges now total RM80,000 (RM30,000 through simplygiving.com + RM50,000 through other channels). To make this endeavor more challenging and to increase the awareness of the work Make-A-Wish® Malaysia does for children with life-threatening medical conditions, my family have encouraged me to raise the target to RM100,000!

For your information, I have been training hard for the Tokyo Marathon, clocking 10km per run three times on weekdays, and 20km per run on weekends. I will keep you posted on #runZafrun until I successfully complete the marathon.

Thank you once again for your generosity. In a world so jaded by too much tragic news, your kindness glows like a beacon in the dark, restoring faith in the true spirit of humanity.

Zafrul

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Posted on 30 December 2015

We often take our health and physical abilities for granted. But what if you, or someone you dearly love, had to cope with a life-threatening condition, and especially if that someone was a child? This drove me to wonder what I could do to help. Perhaps for just one day, I could restore a child’s sense of joy and fighting spirit?  

If this resonates with you, then join me in making a child’s wish come true via Make-A-Wish® Malaysia, a charity that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.  

Here’s what’s happening: I have signed up and am training for the Tokyo Marathon slated for 28 February 2016.  I’ve always had a passion for running, and have, in fact, started a running group with my colleagues called #teamCIMBRun. However, the main challenge now is to squeeze in the regular, required training for a 42-km run into my already very tight schedule as CIMB Group CEO! As you can imagine, this is proving to be quite a difficult task which I’m determined to defy.  

My goal is to raise RM10,000 and to sweeten the deal, I will match the total amount raised, Ringgit for Ringgit. The funds raised will help make a child’s wish come true and I will provide updates of this personal mission as time progresses through #RunZafRun on Instagram. I would like to prove that the human spirit of generosity and big-heartedness is well and truly alive, particularly in my home country, Malaysia. Thank you in advance for helping me help a child today.  

Further details of Make-A-Wish® Malaysia can be found below.    

Make-A-Wish Malaysia
We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

At any given time in Malaysia, there are over 20,000 children seeking treatment for critical illnesses. Needless to say, these children’s wishes, hopes and dreams take a back seat, as all their focus and energy, as well as their families’, are channeled into battling the illness.

Make-A-Wish® Malaysia allows the child and their family to put aside their challenges for a day by immersing themselves in the activities organised on Wish Day. Each wish sees families filled with hope, strength and joy, and empowered to once again take up the fight against the medical challenges they face.  

It is these magical experiences that Make-A-Wish® Malaysia, and all the other Make-A-Wish® foundations around the world, seek to fulfill and will continue to do so with the support of dedicated volunteers and supporters.  

Help us make a wish come true today...