Yayasan Perak denies it will stop distributing aid to opposition-led areas

Yayasan Perak has refuted claims that it will stop distributing food aid to the needy, especially in areas represented by opposition assemblypersons starting next month.

Its administrative manager Mohamad Hidayat Abd Halim said as the agency responsible for coordinating the programme, Yayasan Perak will continue to channel the aid regardless of area.

It will also make improvements to ensure that the target group will directly benefit from it.

He said the foundation takes the various complaints received seriously, including allegations that items in the food boxes were repacked before political party logo stickers were put on them, the quantity of food packages was changed, and they were not distributed according to the quota and set period.

The act of repacking or putting other stickers on the boxes to cover the labels of the types of food and the deadline for distributing the aid, he said, could result in the recurrence of unwanted incidents such as recipients receiving food items that have expired.

“Yayasan Perak has recommended that the distribution method be improved to ensure the aid reaches the target group and that the quantity and quality of the food items are always satisfactory,” he said in a statement today.

Direct distribution

As such, beginning in October, Yayasan Perak’s food aid will no longer be channelled through any assemblyperson’s community service centre but will instead be distributed directly by the foundation in collaboration with NGOs it has appointed.

He also stressed that it will ensure that every food box distributed to those in need is safe after going through the prescribed quality control process.

“Yayasan Perak is also committed to complying with the state government's policy as set by Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad so that the distribution of food aid to the needy is done fairly.

“The foundation will continue to establish good relations with all elected representatives in the state and always be open to sharing information to ensure that those in need of food assistance in their respective areas are well served,” he said.

Yesterday, Perak opposition leader Razman Zakaria claimed in a Facebook post that the distribution of 50 food boxes for the opposition state constituency community service centres for October had been stopped.

- Bernama