Bersih, Engage winding down #MakanKongsi, over half a million raised

CORONAVIRUS | Bersih and its partner Engage will be winding down their #MakanKongsi food aid initiative after having collected over RM544,000.

The decision was made in view of the government decision to begin easing the movement control order (MCO) which has now permitted the reopening of restaurants and other businesses.

As such, the electoral watchdog, together with Engage, are halting collection of donations from today onwards.

“#MakanKongsi was first initiated with a humble call for RM13,440 by Engage on March 20 to provide food vouchers so that the homeless will be taken care of during the MCO. Together with Bersih, it has evolved over the weeks into a humanitarian aid funder for other NGOs and individuals who are working to ease the hardships of the most vulnerable communities during the MCO.

“#MakanKongsi regrets that we are not able to help every one of them. However, with the public donations, and the hard work of our partners, we have collected RM544,262.72 to date and given out 99 grants in forms of food vouchers, financial aid and provision packs to approximately 19,786 beneficiaries all across Malaysia, regardless of ethnicities, nationalities and creeds,” the Bersih steering committee and Engage executive committee said in a joint statement.

Even so, they acknowledged that many would still face challenges, even when the MCO is fully lifted.

“As such, we call on all generous Malaysians to continue supporting organisations and individuals who are helping those in need.”

In the interest of transparency and accountability, a list detailing the initiative partners, grants given, communities served, the number of beneficiaries, donations to date, total disbursements and balances are made available.

They will also make the final report on #MakanKongsi public once donations have been dispensed. All monies raised will be converted to meals for the needy, they said.

Engage was founded by Bersih chairperson Thomas Fann. - Mkini