SINGAPORE - The Hindu Endowments Board (HEB) and Singapore Buddhist Lodge (SBL) have donated tonnes of rice to mosques around the country ahead of Ramadan.

The HEB on Friday (May 3) donated two tonnes of rice to the Abdul Gafoor, An-Nahdhah, Ba'alwie and Jamae Chulia mosques.

Last month, the Singapore Buddhist Lodge (SBL) donated 35 tonnes of rice to mosques here.

The SBL began donating rice to Singapore's Muslim community in 2014 and it has since donated close to 153 tonnes in total.

The donation was delivered in April by SBL president Tan Lee Huak during a ceremony at the Ba'alwie Mosque in Bukit Timah. Also present during the ceremony were chief executive of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) Esa Masood and local mosque representatives.

The donation is a tradition which was started by the SBL's former president, the late Lee Bock Guan.

The local mosques use rice to prepare breaking-of-fast meals, such as porridge, or divide it for distribution to needy groups.

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Eighteen mosques will benefit from the SBL's donation this year, including the Mujahidin Mosque in Queenstown.

The executive chairman of the Mujahidin and Al-Amin Mosque, Mr Muhammad Khairul Jameel Yahya, said: "Praise to God, with this rice donation, we will prepare breaking-of-fast food such as porridge."

On supporting Muslims during Ramadan, HEB chairman R. Jayachandran said: "The month of Ramadan gives everyone, including non-Muslims, an opportunity to slow down and recalibrate our lives and values. It is also a time of extraordinary generosity by the Muslim community. Hence, it is an appropriate time for the Hindu community to reciprocate the kindness and support which the Muslims extend."