

Community Leader of the Year
2024/2025
Dato’ Dr Ismail bin Hj. Parlan
Forest Research Institute Malaysia

When the storms came, he didn’t run, he became the shelter. Raja Shamri bin Raja Husin, fondly known as Abang Raja, is a force of nature, a lighthouse for the lost, and a warrior for the forgotten. He is a roaring storm of compassion wrapped in humility. Born with only one leg, he turned what the world called a weakness into his greatest strength. Through pain, he found purpose.
Charity begins where silence ends. Yayasan Raja Shamri, a sanctuary of hope and empowerment. This is far beyond charity; it is a fierce manifesto etched in the hearts of the forgotten. Under his visionary command, over 300 homes have been built, hundreds of scholarships awarded, and countless lives uplifted. The foundation has also funded surgeries, trained youth in CPR and community leadership, and even gifted wheelchairs and prosthetics to the differently-abled. Lives once dimmed now blaze brightly, proving that “a single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions.”
From the mud-streaked aftermath of the Great Yellow Flood of 2014 ravaged Kelantan, to the tear-filled silence of orphanages in Tumpat, Raja Shamri has become Malaysia’s beating heart of hope. Yayasan Raja Shamri is his sword and shield. His 3rd Force shattered the bureaucratic chains that once bound humanitarian efforts. It became a people’s army, volunteers from across 26 nations united by one battle cry: “Jom Jadi Orang Baik-Baik” — Let’s Be Good People. Through fire, flood, famine, and fear, they showed up with towels, rice bags, boats, and open arms.
Raja Shamri’s power is not confined to humanitarianism. As a Paralympic archery coach, he empowers the disabled. As a business leader, he fuels dreams. As a speaker, he has stirred over a million hearts. As a father figure to the poor, he walks alongside them. He proves, beyond doubt, that one man’s pain can become a nation’s power.
Yayasan Raja Shamri is not just an organisation; it is a heartbeat of hope. And Raja Shamri is the miracle wrapped in flesh and faith. He chose to rise like a phoenix from the ashes, turning personal trials into a defiant blaze that warms and leads thousands. His journey is a blazing reminder that “the darkest nights produce the brightest stars.”