Some 50 fishing boatowners in Kuantan, the state capital of Pahang, Malaysia, have initiated a free fish distribution project for those financially affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO).
Group spokesperson Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman, 56, said they began the initiative last Thursday and had distributed about 7,000 kilogrammes of freshly-caught seafood to affected residents in the surrounding areas.
Every identified household will receive approximately one to one and a half kilos of fish such as selayang, cencaru, selar, pelaling and sometimes squid, he told reporters at the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) jetty yesterday.
He said the seafood was fresh off fishermen boats who returned from overnight fishing at dawn.
We will gather here at 7am to pack the fish and after all the fish is packed, which normally takes about one hour, we will send it to the affected households in the identified areas using four-wheel-drive vehicles, he added.
Among the identified areas are Indera Mahkota, Sungai Lembing, Cenderawasih, Kampung Tiram, Bukit Setongkol, Taman Impian and Felda Panching.
Abdul Rahim said the recipients are from all races and religions because hunger does not discriminate.
We also have agreed to collect funds to buy essential goods such as rice and cooking oil for those in need soon, he said.
The initiative will run until the MCO is lifted, and at the same time, more people who are in need will be identified, he added.
The MCO, which came into force on March 18, has been extended twice, with the third phase, to begin tomorrow and is scheduled to end on April 28.
2013 Borneo Bulletin Online – The Independent Newspaper in Brunei Darussalam, Sabah and Sarawak