INDIVIDUALS and corporate companies have been urged to use Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan’s (YWP) online platform to help the needy break fast during this year’s Ramadan.

Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa said under the “e-iftar” platform, the donors can offer food that will be delivered to the recipient’s house.

He added that donors can also contribute to YWP, which will then choose suitable recipients based on the data they have.

“I announced four concepts yesterday – drive-thru, pack and pick, e-hailing home delivery and the fourth that was not much highlighted was e-iftar.

“Under this concept, buka puasa programmes can be replaced with sponsorships. Tell us how much (budget), the address of the person and we will make delivery to their home.

“Or give YWP a certain amount, we will choose who we want to donate to break fast since there are urban poor in the city or we can give to the tahfiz schools, or old folks homes,” Annuar said in a press conference broadcast on Facebook.

The Umno minister said the e-iftar method will be done throughout the Ramadan month. He added that contributors can choose dishes from menus prepared by the foundation’s central kitchen.

“Contributors can contact YWP and select certain menus from us in the central kitchen. This will be done throughout the month of Ramadan,” he said, adding that Muslims around the city can still enjoy Ramadan with this method.

Meanwhile, Annuar said yesterday’s decision to announce that there will be no Ramadan bazaars in the federal territories this year didn’t come easy.

He said he had to consider all aspects before making a decision, adding that the numbers of stalls in the federal territories are huge and cannot be compared to other states.

“It is just not about saying yes and no. We cannot compare ourselves with other states. Other states may have 400 to 500 stall operators. We have 5,000 stall operators.

“I took a little more time, consulted with the Health Ministry first, discussed with the Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL), and then I made the cabinet paper and also notified the cabinet.

“This is because the number of stall operators and people in need of this particular service is not small.

“So to me, it might have been slow but it was a safe decision,” he said. – April 9, 2020.