THOSE who have been relying on the support of others on a day-to-day basis were caught off-guard by the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) which began on March 18.
Some of the people who fall in this category are the elderly, poor and ones with mobility issues.
With their routine disrupted, some are stranded, left to fend for themselves.
Even their next of kin are unable to be of help because of the order.
Thankfully there are some groups and organisations stepping up to help these people.
StarMetro spoke to several non-profit organisations, community leaders and independent groups who are doing their part to help these affected groups.
Helping with daily needs
Expatriate Joseph Mathers, 29, helps the elderly and needy during these trying times through a Facebook page he started called “Caremongering Malaysia – Community Response to Covid-19”.
He and other volunteers in the community support group help the elderly by shopping for groceries and medical supplies, among other needs.
“The idea came to me because I could not be there for my grandmother, Patricia Mathers, in Scotland at the moment.
“She does not know how to use a smartphone so I cannot contact her either. She is 92 and my parents managed to reach out to her and provide her care, ” he said.
“I remember her sharing stories from her World War II days when there were community support groups that helped the needy.
“I decided to do the same here in Malaysia during this period. In just a few days, the Facebook page reached close to 3,000 followers, ” added Mathers, who is a social entrepreneur.
The group has hotlines with volunteers who can converse in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil.
It also has local WhatsApp groups to enable volunteers living in parts of Kuala Lumpur to help the elderly.
In addition, Caremongering has an online map indicating the numerous non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as individuals providing assistance based on their respective locations.
The group reaches out to the elderly in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
“At the moment, about 300 people have volunteered to help in various ways — from managing the online platform to those on the ground.
“Around 77 needy people are attended to each day.
“Based on our observations, many elderly people are living alone and they are not tech-savvy.
“They only have a few contact numbers in their phones, including maybe one sundry shop delivery service number, ” he said, adding that many delivery services were overwhelmed with orders and the waiting period could stretch to over a week.
Mathers said usually, it was the children of the elderly contacting the group for assistance through Facebook and the volunteers would then provide the help needed.
“We feel there is a need for us to understand what, when and where they need help.
“Ask the elderly first how you could be of assistance and then help, ” he added.
Mathers said the group also helped with the distribution of food items from soup kitchens to the needy and social distancing was practised.
“The soup kitchens need more volunteers to deliver food as many are not able to reach these places to get the food.
“We also want to minimise volunteers’ contact with the public, ” he said.
Providing food aid
Sri Raja Rajeswari Temple in Klang focuses on serving hot meals to the elderly and those from the B40 community.
Its chairman Chandra Sekaran said the temple has been providing free vegetarian meals to the two groups since the MCO was imposed.
“Many have lost their income during this period and we help them with food until the order is lifted, ” he said.
He added that the food programme was also supported by Sentosa assemblyman Gunaraj George and the Aruloli Sakambari Thitham, an NGO that helped the poor.
“We are very careful about how we prepare the food and only four people are involved in the process.
“Another six volunteers deliver the cooked food, ” said Chandra, adding that volunteers went through temperature checks before they were allowed to do the tasks each day.
“Some of the needy come to the temple to collect the food themselves but there are no gatherings in the temple.
“We only cook, pack and deliver the food, ” he said.
Similar efforts are taking place at Gurdwara Sahib Subang with the help of volunteers.
Its spokesman said so far, they have shortlisted 50 people, comprising people from various ethnic backgrounds, who would benefit from the two daily meals each.
“We were overwhelmed with calls and sadly had to turn down many as they were located too far away.
“We have confined our delivery to areas within Subang Jaya, Bandar Sunway and Putra Heights because of logistic constraints.
“Our in-house cooks will prepare basic Punjabi vegetarian meals such as chapati with dhal, and rice with vegetable side dishes daily while seven people make the deliveries, ” added the spokesman.
Each caller, he said, would be vetted to ensure they were desperately in need of assistance.
He added that they were thankful that some people donated cash to help with the efforts.
“I hope more organisations will look into offering meals with delivery because there are many who need it, ” he said.
Another group in need of support now is the NGOs.
Sols 24/7 Malaysia stakeholder management director Alya Syahida Allias said many NGOs relied on people’s generosity and were now out of supplies.
“They reached out to us. We shortlisted 16 beneficiaries and started a crowdfunding campaign to ensure these NGOs can continue to serve the underserved communities such as the homeless, elderly, orphans, disabled and refugees, ” she said.
Giving neighbours a hand
Community spirit has made a difference for some who have been trying hard to make ends meet during the MCO period.
Taman Tun Dr Ismail Residents’ Association showed its care and concern for the 100 families in neighbouring Bukit Kiara longhouse by giving RM50 Hero supermarket cash vouchers to each family.
Its vice-president Clinton Ang said after a discussion with Persatuan Penduduk Rumah Panjang Bukit Kiara secretary Sivakumar Muniandy, it was decided that the best way to help was with shopping vouchers.
“Hero donated RM500 and we raised RM4,500 to make it happen.
“This is a gesture in community spirit to help those who may be struggling with reduced or no income to pull through this tough time, ” he said.
Golden Age Welfare Association Malaysia president Datuk Rohaini Mohd Yusof said the elderly had difficulty comprehending some of the messages disseminated by the authorities.
She added that all messages must be made in layman’s terms and in all languages spoken by Malaysians.
“When the Prime Minister first spoke about the MCO, many seniors could not understand what it meant.
“They did not understand terms like social distancing and movement control order.
“My neighbours, who are in their late 70s, asked me what the speech meant. They speak good English and are educated but could not understand the jargon, ” she said.
“They are childless and they live alone. These are the vulnerable groups and we need to make sure they understand the information sent out.”
She called on everyone to explain the current situation to seniors who lived alone in their respective neighbourhoods.
Rohaini said the association had volunteers who help the needy elderly regularly.
However, with the MCO in place, volunteers have reduced visits to clients.
She added that those in more remote areas such as Kuala Selangor did not have hand sanitisers and face masks.
“The elderly cannot afford to buy face masks and hand sanitisers.
“I would like to suggest that the government buy these items in bulk and distribute to the volunteers who can pass them to the needy, ” Rohaini said.
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