As politicians from both sides of the divide bicker over who’s to blame for last weekend’s flash floods in Penang, a quiet force has been feeding flood victims in the state with hearty meals for free.
Kembara Kitchen, a multiracial charitable group from the Klang Valley, has been serving the worst-affected in Penang since Sunday with what it calls a “disaster menu”. The menu is not disastrous literally, but indicates foods that can be stored longer without a fridge, says kitchen founder William Cheah. He said their signature dishes such as macaroni with sardines, nasi lemak “mama bear” sambal and seafood fried rice were disaster-friendly foods.
“The items we make can last you at least 48 hours. Our nasi lemak has been a big hit. This was also a favourite with flood victims in Kuala Besut, Terengganu, earlier this year.
“Since supermarkets here are still open, we will be making ayam masak merah,” Cheah said when met at his busy makeshift kitchen at a futsal court next to the Dewan Besar Sungai Dua here yesterday.
Cheah, 45, arrived in Butterworth on Sunday afternoon with two tonnes of food supply in tow, using a three-tonne lorry provided by a donor. Cheah said many had driven all the way from KL to deliver supplies, groceries and other items to their centre. He and his team of eight staff and about 10 volunteers had been churning nearly 2,000 packed dishes daily for flood victims in mainland Seberang Perai since then.
A representative from the affected area usually stands by to collect the packed food. Cheah said some locals in Butterworth have offered to deliver the meals to areas affected on the island as well. Their staff and volunteers are also a muhibah bunch, with Malays, Chinese and Indians. Three Muslim cooks are also on standby to cook meals, but Cheah said more cooks were needed to cope with the demand.
Mohd Al-Hafiz Mohd Zam, 32, a volunteer cook, said he took time off from his Mee Kari Udang Galah shop in Cheras to help out with food preparations here. My shop is not that busy now. So, I thought of lending a hand to help,” he said.
Cheah said more volunteers are needed. He said an ideal number of cooks in the kitchen would be 10 as he could simultaneously cook more and deliver quickly to waiting victims.
“We are looking for like-minded people to lend a hand in the kitchen and to work on whatever they like.”
As of today, he had orders for 600 packs of food for Penanti and 200 packs for Sungai Dua victims. He said the number was growing and he expected the number to soar to 1,600 today.
Cheah said he knows how to manage the demand from his previous job as a logistics security officer at a “million-dollar” firm. He said he had quit his job earlier this year to fully focus on charitable work through the kitchen.
“We were founded by four people with RM500 each. We are a RM2,000 company. We pay RM500 to each of our staff. We do not make much,” Cheah said.
The Kembara Kitchen is no stranger to providing help during disasters. Cheah, his wife Chan Yi Lyn and his group members have travelled extensively around Malaysia to provide food for disaster-struck victims since 2011. Cheah and his wife helped set up kitchens during the annual east coast floods and have used their trusty-old Honda CR-V to get around.
The kitchen has been to Kuala Besut five times on its mission to feed flood victims there.
The kitchen was registered as an enterprise in 2015 to garner profits which could later be used for disaster relief.
They provide catering, event management and photography services to make money.
“Currently, we have a rented shophouse in Shah Alam where we stockpile food and essential items. We have opened it to any old folks’ home or charitable organisations to come take it for free.
“Those doubting our accounts, can see our accounts, which are audited yearly,” Cheah said.
The kitchen currently requires help in the form of necessities such as blankets, pillows, bed covers, pillow cases and mattresses. It also needs extra cooking stoves, gas tanks and some extra funds to buy food items.
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