PETALING JAYA: Many people are prepared to get basic daily necessities to those who need it most, but red tape is making it difficult for them to meet this objective.
Kembara Kitchen founder William Cheah said volunteers have to apply for police permits on a daily basis, while a permit issued by one district is not valid in another district.
Cheah told theSun his relief organisation worked hand-in-hand with the Welfare Department but it did not have the manpower to meet all demands for food.
“Our volunteers are more than willing to help out but our biggest challenge is getting the permits to move around,” he said.
For instance, a different permit is needed for each district.
“A permit issued by the Klang district is valid only in Klang,” he said.
Cheah said he had hoped that the government would have resolved the matter before the movement control order (MCO) was put in place but the current situation showed that this was not the case.
“We face the same problem with the police. We have to get a new permit every day,” he said, adding that those who went to collect the supplies would be questioned by police.
The food collected is usually sent to a warehouse where it is repacked into individual packages for distribution.
Cheah said Kembara Kitchen now serves about 500 families a day. Each family is given a 20kg “care” package containing rice, dried and frozen food.
He has also received requests from some politicians to serve in their constituencies.
Unfortunately, these politicians can be very demanding.
“They would request that we serve all households in a low-cost housing project. I had to tell them to find out who needs food the most,” he said.
At the end of the day, he said, only 15 to 20 families actually need the food.
“The others don’t actually need help.”
He urged those who want help for their respective communities to determine how many families need aid.
Cheah said he has also received some unusual and unreasonable requests.
“Once, a lecturer asked for drumettes, chicken and fish fillet as well as prawns. We choose to ignore such requests,” he said.
Kembara Kitchen has a wide distribution network, covering the whole of the Klang Valley. Twenty volunteers work together to pack and distribute the food.
