While corporate social responsibility (CSR) is often used in reference to the company’s interaction with external stakeholders, the first step is to look inwards and ensure that employees of the company are valued and treated with respect. A company’s first responsibility is safeguard the health, safety and welfare of employees. However, many companies regard it as a human resource (HR) issue of little business importance.

KUCHING: Employers are advised to set up childcare centres at their workplaces as part of their corporate social responsibility or staff welfare programme.Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said there was need to establish childcare centres at workplaces to provide support to working parents, especially in urban areas.

It seems CSR or `Corporate Social Responsibility' has become a buzzword in Bangladesh. We often make confusion over charity and CSR, and are indulging in several activities in the name of CSR. I once heard the chief executive officer (CEO) of a bank terming their sponsorship of 'Indian Idol' singers in a social club as part of their CSR. Yet another CEO termed their compliance with regulatory norms as CSR. A chamber leader, at a TV talk show, repeatedly urged reducing the SME loan interest rate, as part of the bank's CSR. Of course, at height of everything the mid ranking defense personnel wrote to the banks to allocate a portion of their CSR funds for the development of their golf course.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah MCA chief Datuk Edward Khoo yesterday reminded Malaysia Airline (MAS) that it has a social responsibility to the people in Sabah and Sarawak. “If you want us to treat you (MAS) as our national airline, then you have to treat us better,” the Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister stressed.

We live in a context of abundance. Over five billion mobile phones are in circulation with penetration rates rising by 35% each year; over a period of just two weeks in August 2008, 4.7 billion people (70% of the world’s population) tuned in to watch the Beijing Olympics on television. But somehow, the message of resource scarcity does not reach the consumer.

BEIJING - China objects to other countries' interference in its   internal affairs and the violation of China's judicial sovereignty by making an issue of human rights, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

In response to US Ambassador Gary Locke's latest criticism of China's human rights record, spokesman Liu Weimin said the progress of China's human rights is obvious to all.

According to AFP, Locke claimed on Monday that China's human rights record was deteriorating.