PETALING JAYA, May 12 — AirAsia has lent a helping hand to over 1,700 Orang Asli families in Pahang by gifting food baskets filled with essentials in conjunction with the month of Ramadan.
The charitable act was conducted via AirAsia’s Ikhlas platform, a new business set to launch in June 2020 to provide access to faith-based practices for Muslims around the world.
The recipients were indigenous families based in Jerantut and Temerloh who were given basic necessities such as rice, sugar, flour, cooking oil, instant noodles, coffee and tea, biscuits, and canned food.
Ikhlas head Ikhlas Kamarudin said they were inspired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, who is also the Pahang Sultan, to kickstart the donation drive for the Orang Asli.
“We would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to the YDPA, whose words of wisdom have given us strong inspiration and encouragement to help the Orang Asli communities as an extension of our current network of charity programmes.
“We would also like to thank everyone who joined forces to enable us to reach out to the less fortunate and the frontliners whilst supporting local businesses during this holy month of Ramadan, especially to our main collaborator Yayasan Amanah Assofwah Almalikiyyah who has been instrumental towards this campaign.
“We will continue our efforts to distribute more necessities nationwide, and would like to thank the public again for their support and contribution towards our cause,” he said in a press release.
The project was supported by various government agencies including the Orang Asli Affairs Department, the Royal Malaysian Police, Malaysia Civil Defence Force, local district councils, and the Pahang state executive council with air transportation courtesy of Charter Group Aero Sdn Bhd.
The “Give With Ikhlas” project, which falls under AirAsia’s #InThisTogether campaign to address the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, has raised over RM780,000 of its RM1 million goal to date through its online donation drive.
Since Ramadan began, the Ikhlas team has distributed aid and meals to over 3,700 families and 19,050 individuals all over the Klang Valley, Melaka, Kota Kinabalu, Labuan, Jerantut, Temerloh, Kuantan, Kuala Terengganu, Dungun, Kuala Nerus, Marang, Besut, Kubang Pasu, Langkawi, Kuala Kangsar, and more.
To read more about Ikhlas and chip in for the initiative, check out its website.
