By Ida Nadirah Ibrahim
SHAH ALAM, March 29 — NGOs and volunteers should not be obstructed to deliver food directly to the vulnerable groups as this may harm some of the communities that are already severely compromised from having access to food.
Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lim Yi Wei had urged the Federal government to reconsider the centralised food distribution, which would be managed by the Social Welfare Department, as the instruction is “highly inefficient”.
“I fear this instruction is highly inefficient and will harm the many vulnerable communities whose access to food has been severely compromised.
“These include senior citizens with limited mobility, people with disabilities (OKUs), B40 families, the homeless, and refugee communities among others,” she said in a statement yesterday.
Lim said the government should instead empower the NGOs to continue distributing food, aid and other welfare in a safe and responsible manner that is in accordance with the health and safety guidelines of the Health Ministry.
“In these urgent times, the government should decentralise as much as possible, to ensure that things get done now.
“The decentralised movement ensures that food and other essentials are delivered to those who need it soonest without going through the various stages of the supply chain. This is especially true of cooked food of which inevitably will result in wastage, rotting, and contamination,”
Lim had also expressed her concern that the Federal administration may not have the complete list of vulnerable communities that require urgent assistance and would have them excluded from receiving the help needed.
“The fact is, that certain communities remain underserved shows that they have existed long outside the government’s radar,” she added.
Lim and several volunteers, including Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillor Farhan Haziq, had distributed food supply to those in need under the Bantuan Harapan DUN Kampung Tunku initiative.
On March 25, 50 packs of items were distributed while another 46 packs were given out yesterday.
Earlier yesterday, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had instructed NGOs to stop delivering food and other forms of assistance directly to the poor communities.
He said the volunteers should channel the food assistance to a collection point that would be distributed by Rela or army officers, as part of the government’s efforts to minimise exposure and restricting movement in the public.
