Joe Azmi (third right) hands over the food assistance to a representative of the 46 families.
MIRI (July 7): A total of 46 families at a construction site near Tukau in Bakam raised the ‘bendera putih’ or white flag last week after they found themselves in dire need of food aid.
Spokesperson Susan Embau, 34, who lives in one of the makeshift quarters near the construction site said they had never asked for assistance, even during the first Movement Control Order (MCO) last year.
“We basically live from hand to mouth as we are all getting paid daily. Each of us here earns about RM30 per day, depending on our job scope at the construction site.
“When the government announced the latest MCO, we could not go to work hence there was no income to buy necessities,” she said.
Susan said only heard about the ‘bendera putih’ movement last week and decided to see if they could get some help.
Susan Embau
As the construction site is located far from the main road and residential areas, they knew chances of their white flags being spotted was low.
“We were optimistic though, because we are desperately in need of food. We had not been working for over a month now and we no longer have savings to go on,” she said.
Their flags did not go unnoticed and today the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) Miri led by head Joe Azmi Jamil distributed food baskets to the families.
He said members of the public had informed the ministry of their plight.
“This is KPDNHEP’s annual event where we give away food assistance to those who are in need. Today these families here are our first recipients in Miri.
“We would also be extending the assistance to other needy families should there be a need to do so,” he said.
The food baskets contained rice, eggs, sugar, and instant noodles.