Najib, Rosmah attend iM4U Hari Raya open house

PUCHONG: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, joined hundreds of people at 1Malaysia for Youth’s (iM4U) first Hari Raya open house at its operational hub, iM4U Sentral here yesterday.

They were greeted by orphans and the elderly from Monfort Boys Town, Rumah Pengasih Warga Prihatin, Pusat Jagaan Al-Fikrah, Ampang Welfare Committee, Persatuan Kebajikan Ci Hang Chempaka, Pusat Pemulihan Dalam Komuniti Hulu Kelang and Pusat Jagaan Harian Warga Emas Kompleks Penyayang Bakti.

Guests were treated to an array of traditional dishes, including ketupat, rendang, nasi beriyani, mee soto, murtabak and roti jala, prepared by volunteers, comprising university students and representatives from non-governmental organisations.

There were performances by artistes, including Alya, Awi Rafael and Yasin Sulaiman, as well as ghazal group Sri Saujana Ghazal.

The spotlight, however, was on the children from Pusat Pemulihan Dalam Komuniti Hulu Kelang, who performed Tari Indang, a traditional dance from Minangkabau, Indonesia.

Najib later visited the booths and spent time with guests, including 16year-old Ahmad Syazwan Mohd Sabri, who is suffering from cerebral palsy.

iM4U chief executive officer Rudy Malik said the event, named “Let’s Beraya with iM4U”, was organised for the underprivileged.

“We are blessed with the opportunity to share the joy of celebrating different festivals in Malaysia.

“It is a practice that breaks down all barriers,” he said.

On the current programme by iM4U, he said it had disbursed RM4.5 million for 3,500 volunteer projects under Dana Sukarelawan 1Malaysia (DRe1M) since its inception in 2012.

It is aimed at assisting youth in organising their own volunteer programmes.

“Applications for funds can be made online, and we provide between RM4,000 and RM10,000, depending on the size of the project.

“Among them are gotong-royong and enterprise projects with the profit channelled back to charity,” said Rudy.

iM4U also introduced a line-up of ambassadors, namely Aanantha Rajaram, Ann Osman, Altimet, Faizdickie, Kevin Zahri, Michael Teoh, Mohd Muqarrabin, Najwa Latif, Sangeeta Krishnasamy and Sazzy Falak.