By Fasiha Khushiri
BETONG: Yayasan PETRONAS and Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd (MLNG) recently contributed essential food supplies to some 500 underprivileged families in Betong in conjunction with the upcoming Gawai Dayak celebration.
The contributions were made under its signature Sentuhan Kasih Festive programme in collaboration with Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat. Each recipient received essential food items such as rice, cooking oil, sugar, flour, glutinous rice, salt, milo and local biscuits.
“I am grateful to PETRONAS for this aid. However, I will not be able to celebrate Gawai as much as other people this year because I just lost my mother in March 2022. Gawai will not be the same without her,” said pne of the recipients Minah @ Bejau Broke, 69, from Rumah Kedu Lempaong, Betong.
Minah is single and currently living together with her younger sister, Mendung Broke, who is a teacher at SK Bangat/Issu. She has been suffering from chronic kidney disease for more than a year, which requires her to do dialysis treatment every three months.
Another recipient Manggau Berundang, 78, from Rumah Mandau Lempaong expressed his gratitude to Yayasan PETRONAS and MLNG for helping to ease his burden in preparing for the Gawai festive celebration.
“I’ve been relying on my relatives to provide food on my table. I am unemployed and have no home. So, I’ve been living with my sister and her family all this while. With this aid, at least it helps to supplement my daily needs,” he said.
This programme is an annual programme organised by Yayasan PETRONAS. Each year, in conjunction with major celebrations in Malaysia, Yayasan PETRONAS extends necessities aimed at improving the communities’ well-being.
“We hope our contributions will be able to bring joy to the recipients and help reduce their burdens as they prepare for the upcoming Gawai celebration,” said general manager of PETRONAS Sarawak Zulaihi Mantali.
In April 2022, Yayasan PETRONAS also contributed essential food supplies to some 150 recipients from Matu in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
