ISTANBUL: Berjaya Corp Bhd founder and executive chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun has a message to Malaysian charity and aid groups — provide more assistance to Syrian refugees fleeing the war-torn country.
His call came after his visit yesterday, together with his family and Malaysian volunteers from the Tzu Chi Foundation, to several homes of Syrian refugee families in Istanbul and the El Menahil International School for the children.
“These (assistance) are little things we do that can actually help their (refugees) spirit. Many NGOs in Malaysia can actually come here and do the same, regardless of their faith and religion.
“There are many wealthy people in Malaysia. They can surely help. I hope what we are doing here can motivate and inspire others to do the same,” he told a press conference, here, last night (Saturday local time).
Tan, who is an accredited volunteer of Tzu Chi himself, was among 25 Malaysian volunteers to make their way to Istanbul, Turkey to help in relief works and distribute various forms of aid to the refugees in a special three-day mission here.
The business magnate, who flew in on Friday morning with the volunteers, was also joined yesterday by family members.
They spent yesterday morning visiting several refugee families around the city, giving out goodies such as cash aids and food, and hearing their plights and experiences facing the war in Syria.
One such family, that of Ibrahim Al-Hamoud, 45, shared with Tan how his family of 11 was managing living in a flat that is barely 500 sq ft, and how his son-in-law and granddaughter are forced to live with tuberculoses (TB) as they could barely afford medical treatment.
Ibrahim also shared how he lost his hearing in one of his ears and lost all his toes during the war.
Tan said the visit to Istanbul provided him and his family a good insight on the life of the Syrian refugees, describing it as an eye-opener.
“It was a really good experience for us to come and see the families for ourselves, how they are living in cramped spaces and understand their plights.
“My children are also now able to understand better the suffering and distress felt by these families as a result of the internal conflict in their country,” he said.
Tan and his family, together with the volunteers, later visited the El Menahil International School — which was set up by the Sultangazi government, Syrian teachers and Tzu Chi in 2015 — to meet with the refugee children there.
The school now hosts some 3,000 students from as young as six years old, with classes for all levels of primary, elementary and secondary.
Tzu Chi also donated cash aids to students from the poor families, as part of their monthly assistance programme.
On Friday, Tan had donated 2,000 school bags to the students, with the other Malaysian volunteers also presenting various forms of donations, including cupcakes and chocolates.
Top Glove Corporation Berhad founder Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai, who is also part of Tzu Chi Malaysia’s aid mission, meanwhile donated rubber gloves to a free clinic, also set up by Tzu Chi.
Turkey currently has some four million Syrian refugees seeking shelter in the country following the war that broke out about seven years ago, with 700,000 of them in Istanbul alone.
