LABUAN — Students from the Labuan International Faculty of Finance (FKAL) at Universiti Malaysia Sabah Labuan International Campus (UMSKAL) have successfully raised RM3,312 through the KITAFUND crowdfunding platform to support the welfare of stray cats, exceeding their initial fundraising target of RM3,125.
The fundraising initiative was carried out under the Service-Learning Malaysia – University for Society (SULAM) project titled Happy Tails: Feed, Spay, Neuter and Adopt, which was recently held at the Federal Territory of Labuan Veterinary Services Department (JPV Labuan).
Programme coordinator Dr Suzillah Sidek said the project was organised by FKAL students as part of the GT30203 International Corporate Finance course.
She said the funds collected would be used to cover the costs of spaying and neutering, vaccinations, basic medical treatment, food, transportation and temporary care for stray cats before they are placed in shelters or adopted by foster families.
“The project was implemented in collaboration with the Federal Territory of Labuan Veterinary Services Department and the non-governmental organisation (NGO) We Love Labuan Cats & Dogs, which provided valuable assistance in the rescue, treatment, care and adoption of stray cats.
“Through this initiative, students were able to apply their knowledge of corporate finance through a crowdfunding campaign while cultivating leadership, teamwork, communication skills and social responsibility,” she said in a statement.
The project was led by programme director Haran A/L Siva, with team members Sarmelee Mahendran, Devin Dev James, Leelasri Kaliappan, Bhuvendran Sarawanan, Mohamad Iskandar Rizlianshah Rizman, Gilbert Carlson Guni, Linasseni Santhakumar and Mohammad Aiman Shadiqin Abdul Amin.
Dr Suzillah said the programme demonstrated how collaboration between universities, government agencies, NGOs and the community could generate meaningful outcomes for animal welfare while supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
