Malaysians are indeed a caring lot as Koppalai Kirnan @ Gopal has found out.
The 62-year-old founder of charity group Spoonful of Hope started a donation drive to buy hampers to give to poor families, orphanages and old folk homes for Deepavali and the response has been overwhelming.
“We collected more than enough to buy 200 hampers, some of which we have already delivered,” said Koppalai from Shah Alam.
“As such, we will use the excess funds to buy fresh chicken, mutton and fruits for all of them.”
He added there was also a request to buy groceries for 20 families staying in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong.
“Although Spoonful of Hope was only registered a few months ago, I have been doing this for a long time.
“Many have reached out to me for help before, and this request just came in. We have kind sponsors and donors who are willing to help,” said Koppalai who set up the group to ensure transparency when handling donations.
“Although I have been doing charity work for many years, having the group will help me reach out to more people.
“I used to collect funds to buy breakfast for Tamil school children in Pulau Carey,” said Koppalai who does charity work on a full-time basis.
“I also spent RM70,000 buying lunch for 200 students who had to stay back to attend tuition in schools before their UPSR examinations. That was for six months a year.”
Due to Covid-19 and the cancellation of the UPSR examination, the group stopped the breakfast and lunch project.
He said the group now helps 10 families buy groceries each month. This is excluding the new request for Bandar Kinrara.
“I’m grateful to those who have helped. To those who still want to contribute, we are ever-willing to accept any form of donation.”
Those interested in helping Spoonful of Hope can donate to their Maybank account – 562085628547.
Here’s a round-up of The News Normal today.
MASZLEE LEAVES PEJUANG TO BECOME INDEPENDENT
Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik has resigned from Pejuang, saying he is now an independent lawmaker.
The former education minister was one of the five MPs supporting Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who formed the new party in August after they were ousted from Pribumi Bersatu earlier this year.
KEPAYAN PRISON EMCO EXTENDED, TWO EMCO AREAS IN LABUAN END TOMORROW
The Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) at the Kepayan Prison and prison quarters at Taman Mat Salleh, Kampung Matambai will be extended until Nov 16.
This comes as 1,671 out of 3,509 people have tested positive for Covid-19.
Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the EMCO at Kampung Saguking Laut and Kampung Sebor Laut in Labuan will end as scheduled tomorrow.
COVID-19 DEATHS SURPASS 1.2 MILLION
At press time, there have been 1,206,112 million deaths from Covid-19 globally.
Of that number, the United States has 236,501 fatalities, followed by India (122,651) and Brazil (160,104).
Locally, 834 new cases and two deaths were recorded today, bringing the total confirmed cases to 33,339 and 251 deaths.
AMBANK REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE EXCEEDS RM11 BILLION
In an effort to support SMEs and Malaysians affected by Covid-19, AmBank will extend its targeted Repayment Assistance Programme until June 30, 2021.
The extension is intended to further aid AmBank customers who are impacted by job loss or are facing reduced monthly income due to the pandemic.
DEVELOPMENT MUSTN’T HARM NATURE, SAYS ECO ACTIVIST SHARIFFA SABRINA
Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil says there is nothing wrong with development but it must not come at the expense of nature.
She said this after video clips of her confronting an individual over the alleged clearing of forest for timber, made their rounds on social media.
