KUCHING (March 23): More than 600 people in Santubong parliamentary constituency have benefitted from the ‘Program Sinar Syawal YKN 2025–Sumbangan Pakaian Raya’, an initiative by the National Welfare Foundation (YKN) in collaboration with Alliance Islamic Bank Bhd.
Federal Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, also the chairperson of YKN, said the initiative meant to ensure that the underprivileged communities could celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri with dignity.
“In P193 (Santubong constituency) alone, we have over 600 recipients.
“Today, we have distributed contributions to 200 recipients in N4 (Pantai Damai state constituency), with similar numbers for N3 (Tanjung Datu state constituency), N5 (Demak Laut state constituency), and other areas,” she told reporters after officiating at the programme in Mydin Vista Tunku here today.
Apart from Raya clothing, the recipients also received ‘duit raya’ (cash aid) and food aid packages to ease their festive preparations.
Nancy, the MP for Santubong, emphasised that YKN’s efforts were not limited to Sarawak, as similar programmes were being carried out nationwide with the cooperation of deputy ministers and other stakeholders.
However, she said her personal focus was on Santubong.
She also highlighted the ministry’s ongoing disaster relief efforts, particularly in Johor and Sarawak, where flood assistance had been mobilised.
“For Johor, we have dispatched the aid today, and our deputy minister is there to oversee the distribution.
“In Sarawak, flood assistance in Sibu follows the same procedure, handled by the Welfare Department (JKM) and the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma).”
Nancy also gave assurance that the government had sufficient funds and resources for disaster relief efforts, with contingency plans in place.
On the spirit of giving during Ramadan, she acknowledged the generosity of Malaysians, noting that many individuals and organisations had independently organised charity drives to help those in need.
She also encouraged those aware of underserved communities in remote areas to reach out to YKN for assistance.
Last year, YKN’s corporate partners personally visited remote villages to deliver the aid by boat.
-Agency
