GEORGE TOWN: Two members of the Penang state legislative assembly have begun providing food and other daily necessities to their constituents while a third member has been making the rounds in his constituency to spray disinfectants in places where crowds usually gather.
Dr Norlela Ariffin, the Penanti assemblywoman and an executive councillor, is working with Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar to deliver food to the needy.
Norlela said she and Nurul had begun building up the food bank from last year. “We now have about 1,200 tonnes of food packed and ready for distribution to those in the lower-income and middle-income groups (B40 and M40), the disabled and senior citizens,” she told theSun.
She said the food would be delivered to those who needed it as long as the movement control order (MCO) was in force.
The MCO, scheduled to be lifted on April 1, has now been extended to April 14. It was put in place to break the chain of transmission of the Covid-19 virus.
The food items were leftovers from a hotel in Seberang Jaya that had been frozen and packaged with the help of a food technologist and safety specialists. It is also certified halal.
Seri Delima state assemblywoman Syerleena Abdul Rashid said she had been providing grocery items to the needy in her constituency. “We have given out these items to 70 households since the MCO was enforced,” she said.
Kebun Bungah assemblyman Jason Ong Khan Lee is leading a team of volunteers to disinfect crowded areas to contain the spread of the virus in these localities.
