CORPORATE tycoons today handed charity groups RM750,000 they collected in a squash competition. 

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes praised the charity groups for continuing to help the needy amid an epidemic.

“In this time of stress, many people are still willing to give and they should be acknowledged. 

“We also hope to raise awareness of homelessness and Orang Asli needs. We want more Malaysians to be aware (of these issues),” he said at the cheque presentation ceremony for the Battle of the Bulge charity squash competition in Kuala Lumpur today. 

Fernandes played businessman Mohamad Salim Fateh Din in a squash match in October, which raised RM750,000 donated by corporate entities and friends. 

The funds are for Pertiwi Soup Kitchen, Kechara Soup Kitchen, Good Shepard Services, Yayasan Chow Kit and Malaysian Relief Agency.

The sum is enough to pay for 125,000 meals. 

Fernandes said the poor suffered severe deprivation during the coronavirus crisis.

“We saw the living conditions of the Orang Asli and it raised concerns. We also need to work together to see how we can help the homeless.”

ECM Libra foundation chairman Kalimullah Hassan was among the corporate figures who donated to the Battle of the Bulge. 

ECM Libra gave RM200,000 to the fundraiser.

He said the foundation had launched various initiatives to help the needy during the virus outbreak.

“We started in March and have provided funds for hand sanitisers, face masks, and we have also been supplying groceries to 1,600 families and 620 individuals for the last nine months,

“We have spent more than RM3 million to cater to the homeless, Orang Asli and people living in low-cost housing.”

He said he hoped to call attention to the plight of the poor so that their needs were not neglected.

“Everyone seems to be interested in who is taking power and who has the numbers,” he said, referring to the power struggle between Prime Minister Muhiyidin Yassin and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. 

“There is also donor fatigue and compassion fatigue. A lot of people have been donating over the nine months. There should be more efforts from the government.”

Kalimullah said it was regrettable that many in power were detached from the real sufferings of the people.

“They don’t try hard enough to help the people who need it, especially the Orang Asli.” – December 18, 2020.