Uncle Tony is the latest Ebit Lew
Allah sayang
TIMES have been hard for the people of Malaysia lately, with the worst of it falling on the shoulders of the poor and the homeless.
While the glimmering skyscrapers of Kuala Lumpur symbolise the city’s affluence, down below in the dark streets, the poor struggle.
During the holy month of Ramadan, all devout and capable Muslims are expected to fast daily, only to eat or drink at sundown.
For some of Kuala Lumpur’s poorest, getting to break fast with any amount of food is a luxury in itself, let alone a full meal.
While he may not be able to keep everyone in the city fed, pensioner Tony Lian – otherwise known as Uncle Tony – is doing all he can to make sure that the poor get to enjoy a proper iftar meal this Ramadan.
Continue reading a report first published by FMT.
At the age of 71, Uncle Tony has long been setting aside a life of comfortable retirement to instead work towards feeding the urban poor via his charity organisation, Food4U.
In his current endeavour, he has been feeding the poor in Chow Kit every Friday evening, providing individuals and families with full iftar meals.
He has worked tirelessly to help the underprivileged since 2016, volunteering in other charity groups before founding Food4U to reach out to more people.
Speaking to FMT after one hectic Friday, he said that the poor of Chow Kit have a special place in his heart.
“The community here is very close to me, simply because I’m here every Saturday providing them with groceries,” he said.
“I provide them with rice, cooking oil and other essential items so they can manage on their own.”
The people who come to him are primarily from the B40 group, though others have recently fallen on hard times due to job losses and pay cuts.
Uncle Tony said he wanted to help the destitute of Chow Kit as they are his fellow Malaysians.
“A true Malaysia is that of one race and one nation. Human race is the only race. It does not matter who is in need of help, we will transform them.”
Uncle Tony is not a one-man show, and he does rely on the support of others to keep Food4U going.
Family, friends, the general public and corporate sponsors have been vital in securing necessities for Food4U to distribute to the poor.
One thing to note is that although Food4U is willing to accept any and all donations, it will not actively ask for them. It is simply not Uncle Tony’s policy.
This is the second year that Uncle Tony is providing the poor with iftar meals, but things have been made slightly more complicated due to Covid-19 restrictions.
For one, he was instructed by the city council to open his soup kitchen in a designated area instead of going about distributing food.
Said area can only fit 70 people, limiting the number of folks that he can feed on a single night.
The lack of volunteers has also posed a problem, said Uncle Tony.
“Right now, not many volunteers are willing to come out and assist us because of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
He also expressed his fear for the safety of his volunteers, should the worst happen in the form of an outbreak.
It is for this reason that he has kept his team of volunteers small.
But why do all this? Why do any of this?
Uncle Tony answered, “I have already achieved what I wanted to do in life. I feel that it is only right that for whatever I have achieved, I return to society through charity.”
“I have come to a point in my life where I have everything. What else do I need? Money is not everything in this world.”
He attributes this calling to serve the community to his alma mater, the prestigious St John’s Institution.
“In the school, we were taught to share and care and most of all, we were taught compassion. This practice has been with me till today.”
How can the general public contribute to such a worthy and noble cause then?
“They can either come in as a volunteer, donate groceries and essentials, identify families in need of help, or donate whatever sum they feel comfortable with.”
And considering it is Ramadan, there is no better time to practise charity, especially to the poor and needy.
As for the future, Uncle Tony is hoping to continue with his charity work as long as his health allows him.
“I will keep doing it. And I believe I will keep doing it as long as I’m able to.”
Help feed the hungry by donating essentials to Food4U’s distribution centre, donating to its account (Public Bank 4826007307) or calling Uncle Tony at 0178812666 for further information.
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ReplyDeleteBy the way, trying to ELIMINATE our INDIGENOUS Malay Muslim Identity is SOCIO-CULTURAL GENOCIDE - got it, you FECKING DAP liars & pretenders!!
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