PETALING JAYA, Dec 23 (Sin Chew Daily) – The massive floods in parts of the country have once again protruded the selfless spirit of Malaysians holding out their hands to help those in distress irrespective of race and religion.

For the past few days, thousands of people – Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sikhs, etc. — have thronged to Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya just for one purpose: to cook warm meals for tens of thousands of Malaysian families stricken by the floods.

Some have come up with cash donations while others offer to help physically at the temple over the past five days.

Some have sacrificed their precious sleep time, waking up early in the morning to prepare the ingredients and cook.

Some have been taking the trouble to deliver the warm food and other necessities to the flooded areas for distribution to those in need, while others have come out with the money to buy the necessities and send them to the temple.

When Sin Chew Daily visited the Sikh temple this morning, we were indeed moved by what came into our sight: Malaysians of all races coming together to prepare the meals for flood victims.

Gurdwara Sahib PJ president Awatar Singh Terry told Sin Chew Daily the temple received telephone calls for help at around 10p.m. last Saturday (Dec 18), seeking the provision of free food and necessities for the flood victims.

“Knowing that the floods were very bad this time, we launched a campaign on social media to seek public assistance, but we never expected the response to be so overwhelming.”

He said thousands of people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds had volunteered, some preparing meals while other distributing the food to the victims.

“Some even take leave to come here to help while some take the opportunity of school holidays to help. Others come after their work.

“We have Malays, Chinese, Indians and Sikhs here. I am touched by their enthusiasm to help.”

Awatar Singh also said the volunteers work on shifts with about 150 to 200 people each shift to ensure social distancing.

He said the volunteers start preparing the meals as early as six in the morning and work until midnight. The cooked meals are then sent by other volunteers in their own SUVs to reach the disaster zone.

“To ensure the food can be consumed by people of all religions, all the food prepared by us is vegetarian.

“We prepared more than 10,000 meals on the first day, 20,000 meals on the second day, 15,000 meals each on third and fourth days. As for today, more than 5,000 meal requests have been received so far and we expect the number to reach 10,000 to 20,000 at the end of the day.”

With more flood victims now returning to their homes, the food needed is expected to be less.

“Without the support from the public, this campaign will never be successful.”

Gurdwara Sahib PJ has purchased ten boats specifically for this relief operation to deliver food and necessities to the flood victims.