Ebit Lew with the supplies for Sabah’s east coast.
KOTA KINABALU: Celebrity preacher Ebit Lew has brought in food aid, electronic gadgets and wheelchairs for the needy in the east coast of Sabah.
The assistance will be distributed in four districts during Ebit’s 10-day mission to the east coast starting today.
Ebit, who is the founder of Pertubuhan Kasih Umat Malaysia (PKUM), flew to Tawau from the national capital on Thursday morning, and headed straight to Lahad Datu for his first programme with policemen at the district police headquarters there in the evening.
He disclosed that 1,000 food packs, 100 wheelchairs, 75,000 face masks and 200 multimedia tablets (for students in need) were flown to Sabah for the mission.
Sabah PKUM volunteer head Mohamad Ikhsan Helzy Sutarso said they would head to Kunak on Saturday before going to Semporna to engage with communities there, and then heading back to Tawau.
He said they are scheduled to visit four villages in Lahad Datu and the district hospital there.
“As for the gadgets for students to use for online learning, we had sought the help of school administrations and teachers to identify those who really need them for PdPR (home-based learning).
“Since the school session has started, they (schools) would be able to determine which students face difficulties, ” Ikhsan said.
Ebit, in a social media post Thursday, expressed gratitude that the volunteer team were given a special rate for flights during the mission by Malaysia Airlines (MAS).
“We talked about other missions. MAS will also join in other charity missions, despite facing the impact of Covid-19 itself, ” he said in his post.
MAS flew 18 volunteers from Pertubuhan Kasih Umat Malaysia via two flights to Tawau.
Its Group Chief Executive Officer, Captain Izham Ismail and Group Chief Operating Officer, Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi, sent off the entourage travelling on flight MH2660 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport this morning.
Moved by the unwavering dedication and numerous charitable deeds carried out by Ebit and his volunteers, Captain Izham said, “The challenges faced by the community due to the prolonged pandemic have never been more serious and as national carrier of the country, we are always ready to play our part in transporting aid in support of various humanitarian missions.
Since the Movement Control Order started in March last year, Malaysia Airlines and our sister companies MASkargo, MASwings and Firefly have also mounted numerous rescue, repatriation and special cargo flights for countries and organisations in need as well as to ensure global supply chains are maintained.
Today, we are delighted to extend our warm Malaysian Hospitality to the group especially in making sure the entire coordination and journey are seamless and most importantly, safe.
We are truly honoured that they chose to travel with Malaysia Airlines, and our hearts go out to them for carrying the act of kindness to ease the burden of the needy especially during this difficult time.
“We are humbled by the continuous support given to Malaysia Airlines, especially during this most challenging time, which demonstrates the passenger’s confidence in our services and our promise of the best of Malaysian Hospitality throughout their journey.”