SIBU, July 2: The raising of white flags by families who have run out of food in Lai Chee Lane and which later spread to other areas in Bukit Assek is a wake-up call to the government that the recent distribution of food aid under BKSS 3.0 is insufficient.
Bukit Assek assemblywoman Irene Chang in a statement said that from her understanding, the recent food aid was based on the list curated during MCO 2.0, where 5,000 food baskets were allocated for the constituency.
“This MCO 2.0 list obviously needs to be revised. Since then, many more people have fallen into poverty. That is why despite the food aid from the government, we still received a lot of calls for help. It is also an eye opener to the government that the food aid given was either not sufficient or has not reached everyone who in need,” she said.
Chang said as Bukit Assek housed many who are in lower income groups, many more white flags are expected to emerge in the days to come as the pandemic shows no sign of abating.
She regarded this white flag movement as a show of “community spirit”, however she wanted those who had already received food aid from any parties and individuals to take down the flag.
“They can put it up again when they need provisions. This way, more households and people can be helped as those who have the heart and ability to share can give to other households first,” she emphasised.
On her part, she said she would continue to distribute food aid and help whenever she could. — DayakDaily
