The government’s move to stop non-governmental organisations from sending aid directly to the needy is meant to safeguard their health against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.
In his daily press conference, the senior minister of defence said the government was grateful for the NGOs’ eagerness to help but was advised by health authorities to stop them from distributing aid as they could be exposed to Covid-19 and spread it unwittingly.
“They have no way of knowing if the aid recipients are free of Hovid-19 and might become infected if this is the case.
“Then they risk spreading it to others while distributing the aid or even to their own families.
“The government is really thankful to the NGOs who have come to the forefront to help the people,” he said.
This comes after a group of more than 120 NGOs pleaded with the government to allow them to directly distribute aid such as food.
The group said in a joint statement that there are communities who are without access to food and other basic necessities at such a time.
“These communities include the B40, urban and rural poor, Malaysians who have lost their income as a result of the MCO, the elderly, the housebound, the sick, orphans, Orang Asli, migrant workers, refugee communities, and many, many more,” the statement read.
“It is hard to imagine that the government has a complete list of all the vulnerable communities that need assistance and will be able to take over serving all these communities immediately.
“The very suggestion of such over-centralisation suggests poor planning and a poor understanding of the plight of the poor.”
Ismail said he hoped the organisations would understand the rationale behind restricting food aid through non-governmental channels, adding that the authorities would come up with the best way to distribute the food and aid.
Ismail said the government will be liaising with NGOs through video conferencing to get their feedback.
“I have been receiving feedback and ideas since last night,” he said.
The government has announced RM50.8 million worth of food to those who qualify.
“Maybe tomorrow we will announce a new SOP on the second phase of MCO,” he added.
On a separate matter, Ismail said there was sufficient food supply.
Just because certain brands of certain products like rice were not available, it did not mean there was no supply of these goods, he added.
He also thanked hypermarkets, supermarkets and shoppers for adhering to social distancing rules.