SINGAPORE - Ahead of Hari Raya Aidilfitri on Thursday (May 13), some 2,000 families in need here will be receiving a gift pack consisting of poultry and other food items, as part of an initiative by Muslim voluntary welfare organisation Jamiyah Singapore.
On Sunday, Bukit Panjang MP Liang Eng Hwa and Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development and Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua helped to distribute the gift backs to families in their respective constituencies. Mr Chua is an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC .
In total, 300 gift packs, dubbed "Meat-for-Eid" packs, were given out.
The packs include 2kg of meat, two whole chickens, basmati rice, rendang paste and a packet of instant ketupat, so that families of all races and religions will be able to prepare and enjoy a festive meal for the Hari Raya celebrations.
Beneficiaries of Jamiyah's community outreach and development department also collected the gift packs from Jamiyah Food Bank in Tannery Lane as well as the Jamiyah @ West Coast centre in Clementi West last week. The distribution efforts will take place in eight constituencies in total, with the last one scheduled on Tuesday.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Maliki Osman, who attended a distribution event at the Siglap Community Centre on Saturday, told reporters that the gift packs will help to ease the financial burden of many families here.
"The Covid-19 situation this year is improving, but still disrupting the economic situation of many families in the community," he said.
Charity initiatives like Jamiyah's demonstrate the Singaporean spirit of giving, he added.
Dr Maliki also noted that some may be disappointed about the recent tightening of Covid-19 measures ahead of Hari Raya, because of a recent spike in community cases.
But he said that this year's situation, where households can receive five distinct visitors a day, and individuals attend two social gatherings a day, is still an improvement over the same time last year, when no social gatherings were allowed during the circuit breaker. However, groups must be limited to a maximum of five people, from eight before the new measures went into force.
Dr Maliki said: "We have to sacrifice not being able to visit more relatives, but I think this sacrifice will lead to an outcome that we want which is... the safety of the country and the community."
