BY CHOO WOON LIM

Basic household goods: (From left) Bauhinia MPKj chairman Fadilah Razali, Eco World group liaison general manager Datin Natrah Abdullah and Mohd Sayuthi handing over some goods to Asmah Mohammad, 57, at Flat Sri Kenari in Sungai Ramal, Kajang. Looking on is (far right) Mohd Sayuthi’s wife Zuraida Dahari.

IN THE spirit of Ramadan, the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) and property developer Eco World will bring festive cheer to 30 underprivileged families.

They donated basic household goods such as rice and noodles as well as duit raya to the first five families at Flat Sri Kenari in Sungai Ramal, Kajang.

The charity programme is an initiative under the council’s social and welfare department, Bauhinia MPKj.

During a visit to hand over the goods, MPKj president Mohd Sayuthi Bakar said they would focus on groups such as the poor, sick, disabled and single mothers.

Recipients were selected after a series of interviews was conducted to ensure that the aid went to the right parties.

“We have been doing this for the past five years but this is our first collaboration with Eco World.

“We hope to get more corporations to join us in the future so that we can help the needy,” he said.

The next visits will be to selected families in Kajang, Beranang, Semenyih and Hulu Langat throughout Ramadan.

One of the recipients, Hasmah Muhammad, 57, said the contribution would help lessen her burden.

The mother of three supplements her income by selling home-made bubur lambuk and kuih melaka to neighbours.

“I’m hoping for a happy Raya celebration,” she said.

At another event, Mohd Sayuthi said MPKj would carry out checks at Ramadan bazaars in the municipality to ensure that cleanliness and hygiene standards were met.

“We want the bazaars to look clean and attractive to visitors, besides making sure that the food is safe to consume,” said Sayuthi at the launch of MPKj’s Ramadan Bazaar Food Safety Campaign at Taman Prima Saujana in Kajang.

The campaign will focus on ensuring cleanliness of stalls, certified traders and hygienic food preparation.

Licensing Department director Kamarulzaman Salimin said they would conduct spot checks at the bazaars every day.

“Before obtaining their trading licence, the traders must have had their health jabs and they must possess a food handling certificate.

The owner and workers who registered for the licence must also be present at the site,” he said, adding that the strict rules were to ensure the safety of food preparation and handling.

Kamarulzaman said hawkers must also clean up after the day’s business.

If their stalls are found to be dirty and after a third warning, they will be removed from the lot and fined RM1,000.

“There have been no cases of food poisoning last year, and we hope to keep that record,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sayuthi handed out goodie bags with a pack of recyclable paper bags to encourage recycling and reduce the use of polystyrene packaging.

He was joined by MPKj councillors and officers from the District Health Office, who helped to distribute campaign material and brochures.

Sayuthi said more traders were now aware of environmentally friendly practices and are reducing their use of polystrene packaging.

“We hope more biodegradable packaging alternatives can be developed,” said Sayuthi.

There are 34 Ramadan bazaars under MPKj, involving more than 2,000 traders.