As a result of today’s outing with the Malaysian Red Crescent, I would like to highlight four individuals who are all playing their part to help fellow Malaysians during this troubling period of the CMCO (conditional movement control order). I suspect they would each say that they weren't doing anything special, but I think they’d be wrong. So, in no particular order…….
Let’s start with Mr. Vela who is the Deputy Chairman, Johor Bahru District, Malaysian Red Crescent and is also a committee member of the National Committee for Community Services & Health. You should be able to spot him in many of my photos of MRC activity over this period. Like all the MRC crew here, Mr. Vela is a volunteer and has been working all hours of the day, and every day, during the MCO to coordinate the distribution of food and medical equipment to those in need.
What was particularly lovely today was that Mr. Vela and his MRC colleagues, working at the camp for the homeless at Gunung Pulai (see Helping the Homeless), made their own personal donation today of a weighing machine designed specifically for babies.
Next I would like to mention Ms. Lekha Nandey, who is also a member of the Malaysian Red Crescent National Committee for Community Services & Health. It is thanks to Lekha that I have been accompanying the MRC for over a year now, experiencing and reporting on aspects of Malaysian life which are normally not accessible to foreigners like myself. Since the MCO came into force, Lehka’s work has been confined to Johor. She has also been working all hours of the day, and every day, during the MCO to help in whatever way is needed. She is shown in uniform on the right preparing for a donation ceremony at the Hospital Sultanah Aminah this morning.
Mr. Zamri Yusof, Chief Operations Officer, Southern, for UEM Sunrise. Zamri has been working for this property development company in Iskandar Puteri for five years, and the UEM Group has been a major sponsor of MRC ever since the major floods of 2006. Although their headquarters is in Kuala Lumpur, this company was keen to support their local community here in Johor. And they have chosen the MRC to receive funding because they know that the MRC are well organised, know what they are doing, and can be trusted.
So, today we were at the Hospital Sultanah Aminah in Johor Bahru. Both the MRC and Mr. Zamri were donating tens of thousands of ringgit-worth of much needed medical equipment and supplies to the hospital. Many MRC volunteers were needed today to help transport all this material.
Then it was time for the formal presentations with donations to the hospital being gratefully received by the State Director of Health, Dr. Aman bin Rabu.
And the fourth special mention today goes to the Asoka restaurant in Jalan Dapat, Kampung Bahru. The MRC guys stopped by here for refreshments after finishing work at the hospital. When it came time to pay, we discovered that the owner had already paid for us. This was a delightful surprise. In response to an earlier blog (The kindness of strangers), someone had commented that they had not been aware of the kindness of strangers in Johor Bahru. I found this quite saddening as this has not been my experience. So, I wanted to provide another example of how people are doing kind work in the background, without publicity. The food here at this Indian restaurant is delicious by the way!
I also wanted to remind people that, while social distancing guidelines do mean that the new normal is a little odd at first, we cannot stay at home forever, so we must adapt. Asoka is just a small corner restaurant, but they have adapted. The routes in and out are clearly marked, your temperature is taken and you write down your contact details before sitting down, then the tables are marked with red crosses so you know where not to sit. This separates everyone at a safe distance but does not totally hamper conversation. So, please do support your local community in any way you can.
Click here to see more about the activities of the Malaysian Red Crescent.
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