Soldiering on in the kitchens for flood victims

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Flood victims seeking relief at evacuation centres are not without hearty warm meals to help make them feel a little more at home, thanks to the unsung heroes working behind the scenes.

Soldiers, the Civil Defence Force and Rela personnel have been spending days toiling at makeshift kitchens at these centres since heavy rains caused widespread floods in Penang last weekend.

At the evacuation centre at the Seberang Prai district land office in Jalan Betek here, a team of 80 people were seen preparing and cooking meals at two army field kitchens, each capable of serving up to 250 people.

The team is led by the Malaysian Royal Armoured Corps’ Third Regiment from Sungai Petani.

A corporal, who declined to be named, said their daily tasks include cooking rice for more than 500 people for two servings, cutting and dicing 30kg of onions, 15kg of garlic and 15kg of dried chilli.

The usual meals served are bihun goreng (fried rice vermicelli) and hard boiled eggs for breakfast and ayam masak lemak, ayam masak kicap and gulai daging with vegetables for lunch and dinner.