Mr. Sakakibara addressing at the tree-planting
ceremony

The President of Toray Industries, Inc., Mr. S. Sakakibara and his wife were in Penang, Malaysia to receive the prestigious DSPN (Order of Chivalry) Award from the Governor of Penang, Tun Dato’ Seri Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Abbas, at a private ceremony held at His Excellency’s residence. Present to witness the memorable event on 24th December 2008 were the Chief Minister of Penang, Mr. Lim Guan Eng, and the Managing Director of TML, Mr. M. Se.

The DSPN award is bestowed on an individual in a highly respected position who has contributed significantly to the development of Penang. Being the only foreign dignitary to receive the award for 2008, which carries the title DATO’ for Mr. Sakakibara, and DATIN for Mrs. E. Sakakibara, it was a rare honor for Toray and its Malaysian subsidiaries.

To mark the auspicious occasion, a tree-planting ceremony was held at Penfabric Sdn. Berhad (PAB) Mill 4 where a red sealing wax palm tree, which symbolizes good luck, success and prosperity, was planted. In his thank you speech, Dato’ Sakakibara expressed his gratitude and appreciation to all the local staff for their dedication and support which contributed to the conferment of this Award. As the Dato’ship is a symbol of all the hard work in building up Toray Group companies in Malaysia, Dato’ Sakakibara graciously shared this honor with everyone there.