Royal foundation to continue aid to the needy

JOHOR BARU: The Yayasan Sultan Iskandar will continue to provide food packages to the needy on a daily basis, particularly those who have been affected by Covid-19.

Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar said the foundation would continue to provide such support in every district of the state.

“This is the only foundation with not a single staff, with every sen going to help the poor,” he said.

Yayasan Sultan Iskandar not only helped the poor but also provided aid during natural disasters and even provided funds for education.

The current Ruler, Sultan Ibrahim, has his own foundation that provides education and welfare aid, scholarships to needy students, as well as medical aid for senior citizens and the disabled.

Allocations for this foundation, Yayasan Sultan Ibrahim, were donated from allowances received by His Majesty.

The Johor Sultanate, ever since the time of its second ruler Almarhum Sultan Sir Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar in 1899, has always donated allowances from the state government to aid the needy.

This practice continued during the time of Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail, where the allowance was channelled to Yayasan Sultan Iskandar.

According to the Royal Press Office, even when the late Sultan Iskandar was the eighth Yang di-Pertuan Agong between 1984 and 1989, his allowances from the Federal Government were channelled to the foundation.

SEPANG: It was the most nerve-racking hour in Captain Hamdan Che Ismail’s (pic) 29-year career in the aviation industry as he navigated flight MH604 carrying the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines from Singapore to Malaysia.

Besides flying the plane, Hamdan needed to ensure that the correct temperature was maintained in the aircraft at all times so as not to affect the effectiveness of the vaccines, which must be stored at -70ºC.

The Malaysia Airlines flight operations director admitted that he was a little nervous about the task.

“When I thought about the Covid-19 vaccine supply on the plane, I was worried that it (the supply) could get spoilt.

“Alhamdulillah, the vaccine supply has now reached Malaysia,” said the pilot after landing the plane at the KL International Airport yesterday.

Carrying 312,390 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, Flight MH604 landed at KLIA at 10.07am.

The Passenger-to-Cargo flight operated by MAB Kargo Sdn Bhd (MASKargo) – the cargo arm of national carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd – used an Airbus 330-300 decorated with the Jalur Gemilang livery.

Hamdan said he and five other crew members – an assistant pilot, two cabin crew, an officer from MASKargo and an engineer – arrived in Singapore an hour after leaving for the republic at 6am.

According to him, it took about two hours to transfer the Covid-19 vaccines onboard before it was allowed to take off again at about 9am.

“When I arrived at KLIA, I felt jubilant, overwhelmed and excited to have successfully brought the Covid-19 vaccines to the country,” he added.