Maxvue Vision Sdn Bhd Selvam Kanniah (right) handing over a mock cheque of RM30,000 as sponsorship for Kuntum magazines to Star Media Group chief marketing officer Lam Swee Kim at Menara Star in Petaling Jaya.

PETALING JAYA: Imagination, creativity and innovation are fostered through reading from a young age.

Maxvue Vision Sdn Bhd founder and chief executive officer Selvam Kanniah said parents who inculcated children with the habit of reading allowed them to possess a sense of belief in the impossible.

“Children must be given quality magazines like Kuntum that immediately attract and sustain their interest to read.

“Stories in magazines or books will spark off imagination.

“Imagination is an important part of life, not only for children but also for adults, ” added Selvam, who is an agricultural engineer by profession who later did a Masters in electrical engineering.

He said imagination was crucial to ignite innovation and allowed a person to find creative solutions.

“I love reading. I read everything I get my hands on, and this passion to read is a habit that started from young.

“I loved reading the Reader’s Digest and National Geographic magazines when I was in primary school. “It is something I still do. It has helped me in language mastery, innovative thinking and to be creative in the current business environment, ” said the father of three.

Selvam, who sponsored RM30,000 worth of Kuntum magazines for children of frontliners and selected primary schools, urged parents to take their children to the libraries.

“As a parent, we can make a difference in improving the future of our children through the power of reading.

“If you are unable to buy magazines, just go to the libraries or walk into bookstores on weekends where children will be able to take a book from the shelf and read it, ” said Selvam whose company manufactures contact lenses.

Maxvue Vision has a wide range of products including coloured lenses, costume lenses or clear corrective lenses with prescription power.

His company was the winner of The Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) 2019, where it clinched the coveted Malaysian Business of the Year Award (up to RM25mil turnover), in addition to winning the Male Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Outstanding Achievement), Best Global Market Platinum Award and Best in CSR Gold Award.

The sponsorship was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility efforts for the needy.

Kuntum is a children’s education magazine which serves as a useful tool to strengthen a pupil’s command of Bahasa Malaysia.

Kuntum has carefully-planned content for children to learn languages such as Chinese and English in addition to Bahasa Malaysia.

It also has sections with exercises to improve Mathematics.

The magazine has an online and offline presence, with video tutorials on social media as well as in organising workshops for UPSR preparation and Bahasa Malaysia teachers