BAYAN LEPAS, Sep 16, 2018 – Malaysia Day 2018 is celebrated with Tazkirah and ‘busking’ (Tazking) by Islamic Relief Malaysia (IRM) alongside Afad & Friends in an effort to encourage the public to continue serving the needy.

 

The busking which began with the songs in commemoration to comprehend the pain felt by the needy, either inside or outside the country, captured public interest to continue making contributions.

 

In addition to entertaining the public in support of the event, IRM also had the opportunity to share experiences and humanitarian messages that alerted the public regarding emergency situations that took place everywhere and needed compassion and the help of the public.

 

Nurdahlia Omar, one of the spectators who were in the busking scene, said that the steps taken by the IRM were a new initiative and gave a different uniqueness to humanitarian world as it grew the level of awareness on humanitarian issues happening across the world.

 

“I think this is a good initiative and should be continued because tourists from either inside or outside the country can understand better about humanitarian issues happening in the world,” he said when being interviewed.

 

At the same time, the program in conjunction with Malaysia Day 2018 not only received the support from Malaysians but also foreign tourists who also contributed to reduce the burden held by those in need.

Putrajaya, 8 Sep 2018 – Islamic Relief Malaysia (IRM) as an international humanitarian organisation is nominated as one of the implementing partners for Palestine Fund campaign alongside a local non-government organisation, MyCARE.

 

The Palestine Fund campaign was officiated by Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail implemented under National Welfare Foundation, Ministry of Women Development, Family and Society.

 

“I am happy to officiate the Palestine Fund and I hope that it could benefit the people in need.

 

“Our fundraising efforts to help Palestinians are aided by our strategic partners, Islamic Relief Malaysia and MyCARE,” she said when giving speech.

 

She also expressed her gratitude towards all donours and believes that Malaysians from all ethnic backgrounds can help change the fate of Palestinians.

 

“I believe Malaysians of different backgrounds and religious persuasions have come together to support this cause. Kindness is something that builds bridges between all of us and bring us together.”

 

Commenting on the humanitarian issues in Palestine, she emphasised the Palestinian issue is not just an issue for Arabs or Muslims but it needs the power from the public to help restore the condition in Palestine.

 

Dr. Wan Azizah hopes supports from the public and media organisations could make the campaign a success.

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 SEP 2018 – Squad Celebrity Global Volunteers organised a Pre Loved4U Charity Sales in efforts to collect funds of RM2.4 million for humanitarian projects of Islamic Relief Malaysia (IRM) in collaboration with Ukhuwah 4 Ummah (U4U).

 

The sales collection of pre-loved items belong to local celebrities through the event will be channelled to four development projects in Malawi, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India, and the Philippines.

 

Celebrity Squad Celebrity Global Volunteers which was formed last April allowed 12 local celebrities to get an opportunity to explore the pain that the people in these four countries feel in hopes that they could share with the public about these people.

 

The 12 celebrities include Irma Hasmie, Redza Syah Azmeer, Fara Fauzana, Faizal Ismail, Ashraf Muslim, Fara Lee, Lufya Omar, Diana Amir, Zoey Rahman, Lah Ahmad, and Dhirar Zainal.

 

Mohamad Sharudin Dawam, President of U4U said “It is also an opportunity for different Malaysian celebrities such as singers, actors, bloggers, and social media influencers to work together as a team to implement humanitarian projects globally.

 

“Such situation should be exposed to which people need to know and the local artists are the best icons because they are not only entertainers but also able to deliver humanitarian messages to others and they can also share what’s going on out there.”

 

Humanitarian Icon of IRM, Ashraf Muslim who was a part of the humanitarian mission of the Squad Celebriti Global Volunteers in Bosnia and Herzegovina also insists that every human being has been given the power to preach and deliver messages to the public.

 

“I’m sure everyone has their own advantages as well as professionals who have their own way to preach. I believe that Allah has granted the power to everyone to preach.”

 

Apart from the 12 celebrities in the Squad Celebrity Global Volunteers, a total of 20 local artists were also involved in contributing their personal items to auction and to be donated to the Squad Celebrity.

Petaling Jaya, 19 Aug 2018 – Three humanitarian icons of Islamic Relief Malaysia (IRM) stand together with IRM to celebrate World Humanitarian Day 2018 in appreciating beneficiaries.

 

Commemorating the backstory of World Humanitarian Day, Saujana Nasheed Group believes that the initiative taken by IRM is a great leap that can foster a better relationship between the youth and the elderly.

 

“I believe this is one of the best initiatives for each volunteer to appreciate these older beneficiaries. They are all like our parents despite them having different backgrounds and religious faith,” said Suffian Amrin, the spokesperson for Saujana group who is also a humanitarian icon for IRM.

 

IRM also utilises a friendlier approach to appreciate young beneficiaries so they will not feel neglected and feel accepted by the local community.

 

Commenting on Sports Day at Home for Abused and Neglected Children (HOPE), Irma Hasmie also feels that it does not only give such meaningful impacts to the kids themselves, but the programme may involve inculcating humanitarian values for her children.

 

“The programme today can help give more insights for my children today as they are exposed to the real situation by observing what we as volunteers are doing.

 

Apart from that, Irma also emphasizes that humanitarian values should go beyond what is deemed of ‘being choosy in appreciating the people who are less fortunate’.

 

“For the sake of humanity, we should not question who we are helping and who they are in terms of their race and religion. As in line with the World Humanitarian Day, we should never judge their social status,” she said when being interviewed.

 

Besides Saujana, Irma Hasmie and her husband Redza Syah, another humanitarian icon of IRM, Elfaeza Ul Haq also took part in the programme and they were nominated as IRM Humanitarian Icon last 30^th of June.

Dengkil, 25 Aug 2018 – A total of 290 indigenous families of Kampung Kolam Air Bangkong and Bukit Tampoi, Dengkil received meat offerings in conjunction with the Eid Adha celebration.

 

The Qurban Perdana 2018 programme organised by Islamic Relief Malaysia (IRM), aims to assist indigenous people who are also minority populations in Malaysia as in line with the focus of IRM to empower the community of these people to a higher status.

 

IRM Chief Executive Officer, Zairulshahfuddin Zainal Abidin said, “We held a view of this event as a ‘business man’ for the hereafter. It is not for personal gain but is a type of assistance from various contributing institutions.”

 

Zairulshahfuddin also pointed out that this humanitarian program also serves as a bridging point to foster a better relationship between the mainstream community to know the indigenous people more closely.

 

In the meantime, IRM also believes in the ‘touch and stay concept’ as it hopes the presence of volunteers and humanitarian projects will continue in the future.

 

Commenting on that, Datuk Dr Mohd Daud Bakar, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Amanie Group & International Shariah Scholar, as a special guest today states that the message of sacrifice being performed today is not about slaughter, but it is a humanitarian message and needs to be cultivated en masse with religious guides based on the Quran.

 

“The field of humanity has actually no limitation of time, no matter where the address is, and there is no race and religion to understand humanity. All are entitled to the mercy of Allah SWT. ”

 

In his statement, in the context of the sacrificing, there is a humanitarian meaning of the concept of goodwill in favour of justice and truth alone is not enough. That nature needs to be accompanied by a value of courtesy and weight which has no limitations.

 

As a record, IRM aims to help more indigenous families as based on the vision for five-years objective in the period of 2017 to 2021.

Tg Malim, 14 Aug 2018 – Islamic Relief Malaysia (IRM) had the opportunity to share a lot of knowledge with children aged around six-year-old regarding humanitarian issues breaking out across the world.

 

The programme known as Jalinan Kasih which began with video shows about conflicts in Gaza captured their attention and interest to dig out more about what is happening in the outside world.

 

Director of National Child Development Research Centre (NCDRC), Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Prof. Sopia Md Yasin said, the sharing session with the children also inculcated several acts of kindness such as the culture of helping as to encourage them in becoming more open and aware when disasters or crisis occur at one particular location.

 

“Even though the kids are around 6-year-old, such programme can help them open their eyes as IRM brings about an international context to them like what is happening in Bangladesh, Somalia, and more,” she said when being interviewed.

 

Prof. Sopia believes that the engagement of children should be further encouraged in the future so that the message that we want to deliver can produce better impacts for them.

 

“The upcoming modules to be introduced in the future should include more hands-on activities that involve kids to play their roles in a small group and automatically, IRM alongside teachers can work together to manage the activities.”

 

Apart from that, IRM also had the chance to deliver humanitarian messages to all parents involved in the programme which simultaneously increased their awareness about issues in war-thorn countries.

 

Speaking of the engagement of parents in the programme, Prof. Sopia states that through such sharing session conducted by IRM, she hopes that they can continuously share the knowledge with their kids.

 

“What I see is that parents’ engagement is necessary as it is so infrequent to have this chance where parents and kids can sit together and discuss about humanitarian issues although the explanation will be based on kids-level. However, it should be noted that kids must be trained to have a culture of giving and helping.”

 

She hopes that such activity can help increase their understanding about humanitarian issues.