KUALA LUMPUR – Following Muda’s launch of a flood victim relief fund on December 18, the youth-based party has raised RM2 million for victims.
In a press conference this afternoon, pro-tem president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said his party has collected RM2,062,186.98 in donations from 42,209 individuals as of yesterday evening.
He said Muda has spent RM789,521.66 to help families affected by the recent flash floods.
Based on slides shared during the press conference, the Muar MP said the biggest expenditures went to purchasing cleaning equipment (RM198,212.88), followed by logistics (RM138,769.59), flood allocations for states (RM129,056.00) and bedding sets (RM116,050.00).
Other expenses include RM73,765.50 for packed meals, RM25,691.34 for management, RM11,390.00 for private initiatives, RM10,000.00 for mosques and RM14,283.00 for other expenditures.
He said RM58,000 has been allocated to provide assistance to non-governmental organisations.
“Majority of the expenditure is focused on logistics and welfare assistance to flood victims.
“Volunteers do not want any funding, all they asked for was some money for food and transportation. But we cut costs on management to focus on delivering the aid (to the victims.”
On top of that, he said the party has received public donations in kind.
Among contributions received are 4,500 packed meals, 500 mattresses, 100 waterjets, four units of 42-ton water tanks, two boats and two container homes.
Referring to the remaining funds, Syed Saddiq said it will be spent on post-flood recovery efforts.
“For instance, we want to purchase laptops and tablets for students who lost their devices to the floods, and electronic appliances for kitchen use.
“We want to make sure we get the best price and best equipment. We are currently asking for quotations (from vendors) for those purchases so it can be done in a transparent manner.”
So far, Muda has mobilised 5,000 volunteers to help 5,000 families in search and rescue efforts, provide assistance to temporary relief centres, obtain necessities, do clean-up work at flood-hit areas, and engage in post-flood recovery efforts.
As soon as the fundraising ends, he said the contributions will go through a thorough audit process by a third party to maintain transparency and integrity.
“We have collected all the receipts and documents relevant to the initiative. We want to improve the governance process and set the gold standard for fundraising.
“Therefore, I am appealing to the Big 4 (accounting) firms to give (us) a pro bono service to look into the financial details – or a heavily discounted service – of our flood relief fund to ensure that every single sen we received have been spent wisely.”
Meanwhile, Syed Saddiq also announced a Bangkit programme which will provide RM300 financial aid to 300 families affected by the floods.
“The Bangkit aid will provide support to students in terms of stationery, school uniforms and laptops. Apart from that, house appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and other electrical appliances will also be given to families.
“At the same time, we have mobilised lawyers to provide legal assistance for free to those who want to make insurance claims or would like to obtain loan moratoriums at their banks.
“We have also worked together with a few NGOs like Nyawa (a mental health aid organisation) to provide mental health support to victims.”
Earlier today, the party announced that it had raised an additional RM1 million over four days to specifically help flood victims in Pahang.
“God willing, this effort will be continued, especially in Pahang, which is now deeply affected by the floods.”
The floods described as among Malaysia’s worst in living memory have claimed 48 lives so far while five victims remain missing. – The Vibes, December 27, 2021
