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 The Educators’ Mission One of the three former teachers who founded Pelangi Education Enterprise in 1979, Datuk Sum Kown Cheek, Pelangi’s Executive Chairman and Group Managing Director, shared that their aim was to help students prepare for the new examination system through the compilation of texts, analysis of examination questions, and translation into Bahasa Malaysia, the national language of Malaysia. Pelangi did not make their first foray into publishing until the founders saw the huge demand for revision books in Bahasa Malaysia. They started focussing on the translation of past- year examination papers and suggested model answers for the core subjects taught in schools, such as Mathematics and Science. Pelangi Education Enterprise was subsequently renamed Pelangi Publishing in 1982. Just like its motto of “Quality Books for Quality Education", Pelangi has always remained committed to helping shape a brighter future for the students through education. Externally, Pelangi has been working closely with industry partners to exchange ideas and insights to ensure the continued publication of quality learning materials. Internally, Pelangi has been challenging its staff to produce even better publications by encouraging them to make full use of their creativity. Indeed, Pelangi’s aim has always been to provide accessible learning materials to its main audience: the students. The company believes that students are the future masters of the nation and should be given the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills towards nation- building. Helping the Nation’s Future Generations Learn Not one to rest on its laurels, Pelangi continued broadening its scope of operations. Having entered the printing industry in the 1980s, Pelangi now boasts three imprints under its banner: KL Commercial Book Company, Formpress, and Comtech Marketing. Together, they publish a wide range of educational materials for students in various stages of their learning journey, including Early Childhood, Kindergarten, Primary School, Secondary School, and Higher Education. Besides playing its part in improving the quality of education in Malaysia, Pelangi has also set its sights on doing the same for the region of Southeast Asia. Today, Pelangi’s publications are published in languages that include Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, and Vietnamese. Since 2008, Pelangi has harnessed the latest technology and digital platforms to improve the efficiency of Malaysia’s education system through the publication of eBooks, Augmented Reality products and Interactive eBooks, as well as digital learning resources like eLibraries. These include the Digital Interactive Textbook for Mathematics Form 1, which is now part of the Malaysian Ministry of Education's first batch of e-Textbooks. Pelangi has also entered the e-Commerce industry to provide value and convenience to its customers. It even opened a tuition centre in 2015, where experienced teaching staff would provide further help to primary and secondary school students looking to do well in their studies. In 2019, Pelangi launched its first bookshop gallery at its Bangi office. While serving as a showroom for its wide range of products, the new gallery also functions as a meeting place for the community, where one can enjoy a cup of coffee while reading or simply spend time with one’s friends in comfort. In this way, Pelangi can indirectly promote a reading culture and inculcate a healthy approach towards learning in the nation’s future generations. Rain or Shine, We Strive to Succeed The COVID-19 pandemic that swept across the globe has resulted in the closure of education institutions and created the largest disruption to the education industry in history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion students in more than 190 countries. As an educational services provider, Pelangi responded to these changes by supporting continued teaching and learning through the organisation of webinars by the Pelangi Education Training Academy for both the teachers and students. Pelangi also ensured that their learning materials continued to be accessible for the students from all over Malaysia via its online bookstores on its own website and on other major e-commerce   32 - popularnews 138 


































































































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