yewYin, ana the USband and wne team ofAngela and Hijjas Kasturi. Those featuredfrom India include Shiv Nadar and Bollywoodactor Vivek Oberoi.Vijay Eswaran, who comes from a family

of philanthropists, has been deeply involvedin a number of charitable projects world-wide through his two foundations - RYTHMand its Malaysian chapter, the VijayaratnamFoundation. While the RYTHM Foundation,registered in Hong Kong is involved in vari-ous initiatives globally in the areas of educa- and business leadership forums. Most recent-tion, disaster relief, children and community ly he was a panelist at the WEF's East Asiadevelopment, the Vijayaratnam Foundation, Summit in Jakarta and the Commonwealthwhich Eswaran established in honour of his Business Forum of the CHOGM in Trinidadphilanthropist father, is involved in youth &Tobago.and women empowerment, arts, culture, In late 2006, he was conferred with the hon-child mentoring and environment protection orary title 'Dato' by His Royal Highness Theprojects in Malaysia. Sultan of Pahang in Malaysia and is henceRYTHM Foundation has been involved in kno~ as Dato' Vijay Eswaran in Malaysia.

rehabilitation projects for some of the most He IS the recipient of the Internationaldevastating natural disasters in recent t~ Excellence in Business award from GOPIOsuch as the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2001, (Global Organisation for People of Indianthe Central Java earthquake in Indonesia in Origin) and was conferred with an honorary2006, the Typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines ?octo:ate in management by SMCUniversityin 2010 and most recently the floods in coastal SWitzerland.Sri Lanka. Vijayaratnam Foundation is well'-"~~---~------'---------.....4known for its project Footprints, a mentor-ing programme for children in orphanages,Maharani, a series of educational &empower-

___ -- ment camps focused on adolescent girls from-~ E. under privileged backgrounds and Taarana, a-VIJay swaranm... centre for children with learning disabilities.

Vljay Eswaran features as one of the fo In Sri Lanka, Vijay Eswaran has beenfrom Malaysia alongside Vincent Tan, Koon actively involved in the Foundation of~~;--.:i~==::;;;;;;;;;;;:=~Goodness (FOG), an organisation that aims to• narrow the gap between urban and rural life

in Sri Lanka by tackling poverty through pro-ductive activities, and in 2007 donated the onlypaediatric laparoscopy machine in Sri Lanka

"Some are ig tycoons, even billiona s, to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital. As part ofwho have a large vision of how best to help its tsunami rehabilitation efforts, Eswaran'ssociety and have donated millions or dollars RYTHM Foundation set up a team of volun-to back up that vision. Others are little-known teers to distribute relief material in affectedcitizens who are extremely generous with regions in Sri Lanka and over $5million wastheir limited funds," said Forbes Asia Senior donated to various rebuilding projects in theEditor John Koppisch. country.He said the magazine's goal is not to rank "I am deeply humbled by this honour. I

the biggest givers by dollar amounts or per- come from a family where philanthropy hascentage of assets, as those figures would be been a way of life. My paren have instilledimpossible to collect. "Instead, the aim is to in me the value of being in service to otherscall attention to a mix of notable people and from a young age. And oJ.le of my icons iscauses throughout the region and to encour- Mahatma Gandhi whose teachings form theagemoregiving,"headded. basis of RYTHM - Raise Yourself To HelpDr.Vijay Eswaran, the Executive Chairman Mankind, which led to the inception of the

of the multinational conglomerate, QI Group RYTHMFoundation.of Companies, is a successful entrepreneur, The Foundation was conceived not to prt-a bestselling author, well-known speaker and marily be a donor or a charity, but instead tocommitted philanthropist. He is the author be a catalyst to innovate, inspire and imple-of the highly successful book In the Sphere ment new synergies that would allow peopleof Silence, translated into 6 languages and to stand on their own feet as opposed to look-three other books on life management - In the ing for aid Which is why we focus on the timeThinking Zone, 18Stepping Stones and On the and effort we are able to give people in need,Wmgs of Thought. as opposed to the size of the cheque. ThisAhighly respected motivatioDal speaker, Dr. honour is ultimately a reco~tion of 13years

Eswaran lectures around the world on a vari- of being in RYTHM," says V1:jayEswaran onety of subjects ranging from spirituality to I being chosen as one of the 48Heroes.business at leading universities, management

Vijay Eswaran inForbes PhilanthropyHeroes listVIJAY Eswaran, Malaysian entre-preneur and Executive Chairmanof the QI Group and controllingshareholder of Sri Lankan bluechip Asia Capital, features amongthe top 48 philanthropists inForbes Asia's annual list of Heroesof Philanthropy in the region.The list features some of Asia-

Pacific's most high-profile and,. interesting givers to society. Fourphilanthropists were picked fromeach of the 12 markets in thion.