In late 2018, I had the pleasure of meeting Lekha Nandey of the National Committee for Health & Community Services, Malaysian Red Crescent, here in Johor Bahru. Since then I have accompanied Lekha to major events supported by the National Committee for Health & Community Services, Malaysian Red Crescent. I have recorded these events for my blog, and through this I hope to provide material that can be used to help publisize and promote the activities of the Malaysian Red Crescent.
Please note that the MRC is involved in far more activities than I can record as I accompany them only on a fraction of their work.
If you would like to help in any way, please call Lekha Nandey on 019 755 5600.
If you would like to make a donation to MRC to help them with their work, you can send funds to
MRC Community Services - JB(2)
RHB Bank
Account Number 20114700068907
The Malaysian Red Crescent National Committee forHealth & Community Services at work during 2021.
It is now early August 2021 and COVID-19 is ravashing the country. So the work of the National Committee for Health & Community Services, Malaysian Red Crescent, is more in demand than ever. With generous donations being delivered from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru by MRC staff, an opportunity opens up to give some paid work to the jobless of Johor Bahru. This last blog covers a period of several months to emphasize the range of activities and services provided by the MRC. You can read all about this at ‘The Malaysian Red Crescent continues to take care of Johorians’.
On 1st May 2021, I accompanied the MRC volunteers as they helped produce 3,000 pots of Burbur Lambuk in a project organised and sponsored by Pasaraya Songmat Sri Stulang. This massive undertaking was organized by Mr. Manivannan Perumal, the manager of this branch of Songmart. I have seen Burbur Lambuk distribution events many times, but this was the first time I saw it prepared from start to finish, and I got to stir it myself! You can read more about this event at ‘The making of Burbur Lambuk’.
Sunway Iskandar have been long time supporters of the MRC, so you will see them pop up in many of my articles about the activities of the Malaysian Red Crescent. Now that we are in the holy month of Ramadan, it is usual for charitable groups to prepare large pots of Burbur Lambuk to distribute to the needy. Today (17th April 2021) Sunway Iskandar provided 1,000 pots of this tasty rice porridge to lucky recipients in the Tanjung Kupang district, Gelang Patah. YB Dato Mohd Rashidi bin Hj Mood Noh (Deputy Chairman, National Committee for Community Services & Health) was on hand to season the pot! You can read more about ‘It’s Burbur Lambuk time!’ using this link.
On 11th April, the local MRC accompanied members from the IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) on a trip to Kampung Contoh Kahang, in the north of Johor. Residents here had been helped by the IFRC and MRC during the floods in January. It was now time for the IFRC team to perform a Post Distribution Monitoring Survey, to determine the efficiency and utility of their support program. You can read more about this in my blog The IFRC comes to Johor, or watch this brief video.
During the current coronavirus pandemic, many Malaysian companies are targeting their Community Social Responsibility programs towards feeding the needy. One such compnay is Young Living Essential Oils who funded a catering company, Chef on Wheels, to prepare 300 meals per day for four days this April 2021. And the MRC helped coordinate this activity and distribute the meals around Johor Bahru. You can read all about it using this link: Oiling the Wheels! For the last of their five days here, Chef on Wheels provided a fun activity for the students at the Cerebral Palsy centre here in Johor Bahru, where they enjoyed decorating cupcakes. You can see a video of all five day’s activities here (https://youtu.be/_s79Wmbnl6E).
Feeding the homeless and jobless of Johor Bahru has recently become a major talking point in the local news sites. On 30th January 2021, I had the opportunity to meet some of the NGOs involved in the NGO Alliance for Homeless Feeding and to meet some of their recipients. You can read about the MRC and other NGOs by clicking on this link: The NGO Alliance for Homeless Feeding.
The new year of 2021 brought with it The Floods, as if it wasn’t enough to be still coping with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic! The Malaysian community was quickly stirred into action and you can read about community service helping the victims of the floods here in Johor (5-6th Jan.) in my first blog of the year “Community Service in the time of the floods”. You can also view a little video of the ongoing clean-up operations in Skudai.
The Malaysian Red Crescent National Committee for Health & Community Services at work during the coronavirus pandemic, 2020.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, the MRC finds itself working with more and more NGO's eager to help. In this article from November 2020, read about The Lost Food Project and their goal to “Feed the Hungry, Not the Landfill”
Take a look at the activities of the MRC during the recent festive period of Deepavali, in this little video called ‘The MRC shines its light on Deepavali’, covering the period 10th Oct - 10th Nov. 2020.
Check out my latest video showing A Day in the Life of the Malaysian Red Crescent, as they prepare goody bags to deliver to the needy in Johor on 31st October 2020.
While the world attempts to come to terms with the coronavirus pandemic, we in Malaysia are lucky to have relatively low infection rates and a ‘new normal’ approach to life which means that we can still go out, provided we take all the necessary precautions. On 4th October 2020, I joined by MRC friends at a shopping mall in Johor Bahru to give support to Nestle who are one of the MRC’s long term sponsors. Nestle are the producers of Malaysian’s favourite drink, Milo, which is 70 years old this year. Please check out my video Malaysia loves Milo!
As schools are re-opening and some semblance of normality is returning to life in Malaysia, the work of the MRC continues with even more demands on its resources. Today (27th September 2020) saw the coordination of several longterm sponsors (KFC and Nestle) and new players (The Lost Food Project in conjunction with Sunway Big Box and Sunway Citrine) to help some Orang Asli families in Gelang Patah. In addition, their children at the SK Ladang Pendas school received special treats of KFC meals and Milo drinks as part of special birthday celebrations, and re-usable masks from Yayasan Raja Zarith Sofiah Negeri Johor to help keep the children and their families safe from coronavirus infection.
It is now almost 4 months since the introduction of the MCO, and while many of us are seeing life returning to a new normal, there are still plenty of people in Malaysia still in need of help. Since I live in Johor Bahru, then all my reports are of events in the state of Johor, but you will find the MRC busy throughout the country. So, my latest report is called “And the work of the MRC goes on and on…" and describes food distribution on a rainy 13th July 2020.
During the MCO period, many families are finding it hard to make ends meet. So on 5th June 2020 I joined the MRC as they distributed their provision packs and lunch packs from Papa Tasty of Austin Heights. We distributed 150 lunch packs and another 500 were being prepared for later distribution at diner time. To date, Papa Tasty have donated more than 15,000 meals and this "Gift of Food" is much appreciated.
By the 4th June 2020, the MRC and various NGOs had donated items worth RM400,000 to various hospitals in Johor. I joined them today as they visited the Hospital Sultanah Aminah here in Johor Bahru, and have written this event up as a story about "Support your local community”.
On May 24th and 25th 2020, the MRC was extremely busy distributing food boxes and medical supplies. As this was the first days of the Eid celebration, gifts of food were welcome by everybody, be they officers at the immigration control point (CIQ), children and staff in local hospitals, underprivileged children, or foreign workers on construction sites. It was a day to try and bring joy to everyone which I have written up as “To serve the vulnerable”.
On May 22nd 2020, I accompanied the MRC in their distribution of food aid to selected families in Kampung Kangkar Pulai and Taman Selesa Jaya. Today was another example of the MRC working in conjunction with local NGOs, and this blog is called The kindness of strangers.
On May 1st 2020, I joined members of the Malaysian Red Crescent receiving and distributing much needed items for the local community, and have called this story ‘The quiet Malaysians’ to emphasize the generous gifts of time and money which Malaysians donate to help their less fortunate countrymen and women at this time.
On April 25th 2020, Lawrence and I went with the MRC to visit their operation at Kem Wawasan Gunung Pulai to house and feed about 200 homeless from the streets of downtown Johor Bahru. Our job there was to make a short video of their activities to help explain their contribution to the welfare of Malaysians while the Movement Control Order was still in place. Please watch the video ‘Helping the Homeless' below.
On April 23rd 2020, I accompanied the Malaysian Red Crescent as they distributed much need personal protective equipment to local hospitals, and have written up this activity as ’The MRC at work during during the coronavirus pandemic’. This extraordinary event has put a severe strain on the healthcare system and exposed the fragile nature of Malaysians who get paid daily and have now lost their livelihoods. The National Committee for Community Health & Services of the Malaysian Red Crescent have their hands full, but will continue to help everyone in Malaysia with your support.
**********************************************************************************************************************
A PLEA FOR DONATIONS AT THE TIME OF THE FLOODS
Clearly, all these activities of the MRC that I have reported on in 2019 need funding. The recent extensive flooding in Malaysia puts strains on their resources, so the Malaysian Red Crescent is currently appealing for donations of cash or kind to help with the current emergency. They are not looking for old used clothes, as they are not a dumping ground for items you want to discard. What they are hoping for are any items on the following list which have real immediate value to people who have had to leave their homes in a hurry:
1. Biscuits
2. Diapers
3. Sanitary pads
4. Milo
5. Coffee
6. Tea
7. Instant noodles in cups preferably
8. CASH DONATIONS
These items are URGENTLY needed and you can call 019-7555600 for details.
**********************************************************************************************************************
On January 16th 2020, I accompanied volunteers of the Malaysian Red Crescent Community Services Committee and the Rotary Club of Johor Centennial in the collection and distribution of groceries, oranges, cookies, and Ang Pow to some of the local Chinese community. Here I describe the system of Food Banks which helps support those in need.
In January 2020, Lekha Nandey of the Malaysian Red Crescent Community Services Committee was contacted by a member of the expat community in Johor Bahru to see how they could help with the flood victims. Thankfully that emergency has subsided so I have written an article (Charitable work of the expat community) to summarise how expats may best help their local community through charitable activities.
In December 2019, Johor experienced severe flooding. So, on 17th December I joined the Malaysian Red Crescent Community Services Committee as they took supplies to emergency evacuation centres south of Kulai. This report is called After even more floods!!! because so much more of Johor had been affected compared to my last report in October.
On 29th October 2019, I joined the Malaysian Red Crescent Community Services Committee to explore Johor After the Floods. We visited affected areas in Kankar Tebrau and a school in Kampung Melayu Raya (near Pekan Nanas) which acted as an evacuation centre.
On 26th October 2019, while distributing food in celebration of Deepavali, we came across a guy called Siva. The Story of Siva sums up one of the more unique aspects of work undertaken by the Community Services Committee of the Malaysian Red Cresecent here in johor Bahru.
On 26th October 2019, the day before Deepavali, the Malaysian Red Crescent started distributing food packages to the Hindu population in and around Johor Bahru. Here is the story of Deepavali and the Malaysian Red Crescent.
On 7th July 2019, the Malaysian Red Crescent Community Services Committee helped organise a Hygiene Awareness and Medical Camp for Rohingya children in Johor Bahru. This project was hosted by the Pertubuhan Kebajikan Cahaya Surya Bakti at Kempas and involved 20 young medical students from Monash University, Malaysia, who helped the younger Rohingya children learn more about personal hygiene and simple first aid matters.
On 5th June 2019, the first day of Hari Raya celebrations, I joined Lekha Nandey and other volunteers who distributed gifts of food to the immigrant work force at the Masjid India in central Johor Bahru.
On 29th May 2019, I joined Lekha Nandey to experience a day in the life of a Malaysian Red Crescent volunteer. We travelled around the district of Pontian in the southwest corner of Johor, revisiting an old lady who had been helped earlier in the year, along with other miscellaneous activities.
On 25th May 2019, during the holy month of Ramadan, the Malaysian Red Crescent helped Sunway Group with the installation of a Rice ATM and the distribution of 1,000 pots of burbur lambuk at the Masjid India in Johor Bahru. The Chairman of the National Committee for Community Services, Malaysian Red Crescent, is Y.A.M. Tunku Idris Iskandar Alhaj ibni Sultan Ibrahim, Tunku Temenggong Johor. He officiated at this event and handed out gifts of money from Dato’ Mohd Redza Shah Abdul Wahid (CEO of Bank Muamalat) who is also the Head of the Masjid India.
My first event was to attend World Glaucoma Day30th April 2019 on at the Fire Department Headquarters (Ibu Penjabat Bomba Johor) at Jalan Kangkar Tebrau, Johor Bahru.
For more information on these and other activities of the Malaysian Red Crescent Community Services, please follow their FB page and check out the website of the Malaysian Red Crescent Society at ifrc.com
Click here to return to Travels in Malaysia.
Click here to return to Helen Gray’s Homepage
For further information, please contact me (Helen Gray).