By Mariam Mokhtar

In the areas where they operate, these two Malaysians, one from Kuala Lumpur and the other from Ipoh, are also known as the “Angels of Mercy”.

Former tour guide Cyndi Yong helps to feed the homeless in Kuala Lumpur’s Petaling Street (PS), whilst former private investigator Mohammad Faiz Abdullah does the same in the Buntong area of Ipoh. Both take different routes to helping the poor.

Yong’s inspiration

Single mother Yong had been out of work for six months when she started to serve vagrants in PS in November 2020.

The lockdowns meant that the tourism sector was closed for business. The future looked bleak for freelancers like her, who have no EPF and no government economic recovery scheme to fall back on during the pandemic.

Small and medium sized businesses may access government help, but self-employed people like her do not have many options.

As she walked along one of the familiar food trails in PS, where she had once taken foreign tourists to sample the sights and savor local delicacies, she stopped at one of the larger and well known kopitiams in Chinatown.

Yong exchanged greetings with the kopitiam owner who knew her from the days when she used to bring clients to his restaurant.

Yong asked the kopitiam owner if he could spare a free drink for her and her daughter.

It was a hot day and she said she only had a few ringgits on her. The owner told her he “did not do things like that” and made hand gestures as if to chase her from the shop.

Shocked at his reaction, Yong continued on her way and saw one of the hawker stalls selling beef noodles, to which she had not in the past sent tourists.

She asked if the stall owner could prepare a bowl of noodles worth only RM5 as that was all she had spare. The owner told her to sit, then gave her an ordinary full portion which normally costs RM10.

She protested that she did not have enough money to pay for her meal, but the owner dismissed her concerns.

She asked for an empty bowl and cutlery for her daughter so that they could share the meal, but he surprised her by giving her daughter another full bowl so that they did not need to share the food.

It was this act of compassion by the hawker stall owner, a complete stranger, that inspired and motivated Yong to help the poor in PS.

Yong is sad to see so many homeless people, single mothers, migrant workers, drug addicts, elderly and handicapped people in the streets.

She said, “Due to the pandemic many people lost their jobs and their savings were used up in a couple of months. Many were forced to vacate their rented homes or rooms and end up in the streets.

“Some people who were in quarantine at home also lost their jobs. Some of them contacted me, so I hand delivered food and dry goods to them.

“A whole area in my neighborhood was under lockdown, with barricades set up, so I brought the residents hot meals and met them at the security post as they could not leave the area.”

The people Yong helps are aware that the meager aid from the government is insufficient to live decently.

She receives funds from well wishers who see this as their charitable contribution. With the outbreak, the sponsors would rather contribute funds and stay safe at home.

Yong said, “Receiving funds on a regular basis has helped feed the poor and some food outlets have volunteered their services to provide hot meals.”

She is accompanied by her daughter on her mission, and one or two male volunteers help carry the heavier stuff.

She said, “I serve hot meals and at times give out fruit, cookies, cakes and biscuits. I do this almost daily.”

Yong has countless stories of how people ended up on the streets and how some have taken the wrong path.

After the pandemic, the situation worsened. She said, “Many younger people had lost their livelihoods and exhausted their savings. A number of women with children became homeless because their husbands left them. This is the sad reality of my street friends.”

She talks about the challenges of feeding the poor: “Regular funding is important. Another challenge is the unseen enemy as many friends advised me against serving in the streets, but so far there has been no coronavirus cluster among the homeless.”

Yong, who is known as “Mummy Cyndi” to the destitute in PS, is glad to help the less privileged even though she is unemployed.

“A lot of them rely on me for small necessities. I have even found them a place at a rehabilitation center and am grateful that a few have turned over a new leaf, found jobs and regained their dignity. This is very important!”

She is grateful for the coverage given by the local Chinese media because unknown to her, many youths found out about her community care work, interviewed her and wrote project papers based on her experiences.”

She said, “To me, life and death are in God’s hands.

“Many friends who stayed home and hardly ventured out of their houses have died whilst a few more are fighting for their lives in the ICU.”

Yong is happy to take the Malaysians who do not believe stories about the homeless and the starving, for a walk around the city.

“Seeing is Believing!”

She added, “Our society needs more compassion as all the SOPs and social distancing have made many hearts cold. Kindness begets Kindness.”

Faiz’s story

Faiz was brought up in a squatter area in a house which did not have electricity or running water.

The family’s source of water was a well, and light came from a kerosene lamp.

Although his father was employed and his mother was a housewife, the family struggled financially with five children, but they managed to get by.

As a young boy, Faiz would help strangers carry things or assist them when their cars came to a halt on the road.

He said, “The satisfaction that I felt when helping others is worth more than money.”

As an adult, Faiz, who was born in Ipoh, now helps those in the immediate area where he lives, which is Buntong. He has created a reputation for helping others and people frequently contact him if they need help.

He often feeds the poor and most of the time, works with other NGOs, corporate bodies, or the public.

“It is my nature to help. Sometimes I have group programs, and at other times, I make individual visits to people’s homes to hand over groceries like dry food, diapers and milk powder. I get these provisions from an NGO called Perak Women for Women Society (PWW).

Although he is not self-funded, he gets support from NGOs and he welcomes support from others to provide groceries for needy families.

He prefers it this way rather than receiving cash as he finds this method to be more effective when feeding the poor.

One of his concerns is that some of the people who are going through very hard times are ashamed to ask for help because of the perceived loss of dignity.

He shared some of his saddest cases. One was a family with one child, a mother and a husband made jobless by the pandemic.

“The child was two-years-old, and when they asked me to help, they could not afford to buy her any milk so they gave her kopi-o instead.

“I contacted PWW and they provided milk powder and groceries for this family at the Taman Pertama flats in Ipoh.

“Another case involved a man staying at the Harmoni Flats in Buntong. His wife was disabled and his 26 year-old son had a permanent disability and was bed-ridden.

“The family survived on money from the welfare department. The man tried many times for aid from his local councilor (ADUN) or political party representative, but has not been successful.

“When I heard about his plight, I gave them groceries and diapers for his disabled son, which were provided by PWW.

“I feel sorry for this uncle who is unable to find work because of his age, and because he has to care for his family.”

When those who need help contact him, Faiz approaches an NGO and tells them about the specific help needed.

He never looks at race, religion or nationality when helping people.

After several months of engagement and interaction, the NGOs support him and have mutual trust.

Not every needy person is able to get help from the authorities for a number of reasons. Some may not be able to articulate their needs while others are afraid to say they are illegal migrants.

At the same time, Faiz is keen to raise awareness among the people he helps. He tells them the importance of keeping their surroundings clean, to keep on the right side of the law and to always be aware of their rights.

He does not agree with the contention that those who want help are greedy. He says one should help others for humanity rather than for reward.

He talks about the people he has helped.

A tearful 50-year-old woman said his (Faiz’s) mother should be proud to have a son like him. Faiz had come to her rescue as the family had no food.

Another was a man with a disabled wife and a 22-year-old son in college. With a reduced income because of the pandemic, the family had no food, and the son could not continue his studies.

Again with the help of PWW, Faiz managed to find provisions and a generous friend to pay the son’s overdue tuition fees and for study aids.

The man also asked if Faiz could help sort out his funeral expenses if he were to die, but Faiz told him despite being a Catholic, there was a SOCSO entitlement for funeral costs.

One of the challenges faced by Faiz is the shortage of groceries to feed the poor and he would welcome more people to come forward to help.

He says that his greatest achievement is that he has helped over 5,000 families with the assistance of NGOs.

He has succeeded in making residents of various housing areas keep their surroundings clean. He has also advised the poor not to give out copies of their identity cards to people who might be bogus helpers, as the ICs may be used for illegal purposes in future. He has also initiated neighborhood watch groups in blocks of flats.

His message to all Malaysians is to be kind to others and treat everyone equally.

“You don’t have to be rich to help others. You only need to have the heart to help.”

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)