Heroes of the community

Subramaniam runs a soup kitchen to feed the homeless around Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: If there is one thing the pandemic has taught us, there is no shortage of moments of solidarity and kindness as the world battles the pandemic.Heartwarming stories of hope and kindness poured in as Sime Darby Property Berhad embarked on its #BERSAMA 2.0 Spotlight on Heroes movement last month.

Hundreds of submissions were received during the three-week campaign when the master and lifestyle developer called upon the public to shine a light on their everyday heroes via the Group’s co-creation platform, dtoideas.

Norazam helps to build automated disinfectant walk-through gates for SMEs.

The stories shared featured individuals from all walks of life, including volunteers, community leaders, educators, family members and friends whose good deeds and selfless acts during the pandemic deserve recognition.

From the 421 submissions, 30 were selected as BERSAMA Heroes, of which 18 were picked via a random generator.

The remaining 12 were winners of the Golden Pass, an additional category introduced to show appreciation for more heroes. Golden Pass winners were unanimously chosen based on merit by the BERSAMA committee.

Among the BERSAMA Heroes is 56-year-old Subramaniam Krishnan, who has been providing food to the underprivileged community for over 30 years. He runs a soup kitchen to feed the homeless around Kuala Lumpur.

Despite the pandemic, he not only kept to his routine but went the extra mile to ensure the community had sufficient necessities.

“I truly appreciate this initiative and that my services and efforts to the less fortunate are being acknowledged for the first time, ” he said.

Subramaniam’s dedication to helping the vulnerable community began at the early age of six when he accompanied his father to a temple to volunteer.

“I grew to love doing good for others and the community as it provides me with a sense of accomplishment and happiness.”

Subramaniam, who operates a herbal treatment and grocery business, urges the public to donate reusable items instead of discarding them. He has set up a centre in Ampang to collect food and donated items before sorting and sending them out to deserving families.

Norazam Sulaiman, 55, provided food supplies and cooked bubur lambuk for the community in need.

Wui says the people can help frontliners by following the SOP so that we can flatten the curve together.

He also helped to build automated disinfectant walk-through gates for several small and medium enterprises.

He lauded Sime Darby Property for providing a platform to showcase the work of everyday heroes who are good examples for the younger generation.

“This campaign will inspire many others to spread kindness and positivity in their everyday lives. I am truly delighted to be nominated and chosen as one of the BERSAMA Heroes. I always believe that I can make a difference to those in need and I am always proud to contribute to society.

“This recognition will only fuel me to contribute even more and be a good example to all Malaysians, ” said Norazam, a management system consultant and trainer.

MRI radiographer Kathy Wui Ai Leng, 37, who is part of the Covid-19 team at University Malaya Medical Centre, said the recognition has encouraged her to keep doing her best for the people.

“I am honoured and grateful to be one of the BERSAMA Heroes.

“No matter the challenge, my colleagues and I do our best to serve the community.

“We just hope that everyone can help us by following the standard operating procedure of wearing a mask, practising social distancing and good hygiene so we can flatten the curve together, ” she said.

Winners of the #BERSAMA Spotlight on Heroes movement were due for a night to remember at KLGCC Resort, but with the pandemic restrictions in place, Sime Darby Property will instead send specially curated gifts, some of which were sponsored by Auto Bavaria and MST Golf.

‘The stories we received were honest, inspiring and full of gratitude for the individuals, ’ says Azmir.

Sime Darby Property group managing director Datuk Azmir Merican said the Group was proud of the #BERSAMA Spotlight on Heroes’s impact and the outpouring of support it received.

“We are delighted that the movement drew overwhelming support from the public. The stories we received were honest, inspiring and full of gratitude for individuals who give without expectation and are deserving of a gesture of thanks in return, ” he said.

Azmir also expressed his gratitude to all who nominated their heroes and shared uplifting stories.

“We sincerely thank all who took part in our #BERSAMA movement. We at Sime Darby Property look forward to working with Malaysians in future movements and campaigns that seek to inspire the nation, build hope and spread positivity in the country, ” he said.

To view all the nominations, go to https://bit.ly/BERSAMA2_Heroes.