A man looks out the window of his flat unit in Selangor Mansion, Kuala Lumpur April 11, 2020. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 — Several NGOs have stepped up to provide food and essentials for residents under lockdown by the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) within Jalan Masjid India and its vicinity, including the Masjid India Business Owners Association (MIBA).

With most shops have shuttered due to the EMCO, the group is focusing on a daily charity drive to help provide three meals a day to the residents of Selangor Mansion and Malayan Mansion.

“It is a continuous effort by our organisation to provide for the people living in both locations. We want to ensure that they have enough food and provisions while the EMCO is in effect.

“Regardless of the circumstances, they shouldn’t be sidelined or starved,’’ MIBA president Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin told Malay Mail.

Ameer Ali is the managing director of Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd, whose iconic branch in Jalan Masjid India is among shops closed due to the EMCO on the area starting Tuesday this week.

“It is closed as part of the EMCO strict regulations, as they intend to minimise possible exposure to Covid-19. But my organisation and I are doing our part to support the local community,’’ he said.

Mydin’s first branch in the Klang Valley opened some 33 years ago in Jalan Masjid India. His small shop and subsequent hypermarket has become a go-to location for the local community to stock up on daily necessities and goods.

The fifth EMCO area involves Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Dang Wangi, Jalan Tun Perak, Jalan Melaka and Jalan Ampang, after an earlier EMCO on Selangor and Malayan Mansions.

Police use a drone to monitor the enhanced movement control order imposed on Menara City One, Kuala Lumpur April 15, 2020. ― Picture by Hari Anggara

Over 10,000 residents living in the area has been affected by the move, including 6,000 in the Selangor and Malayan Mansion flats, 3,200 residents in City One Plaza, and nearly 1,000 more living in shophouses in the area.

Other major businesses affected include textile mall Jakel and the Silka Maytower hotel on Jalan Munshi Abdullah, and banks such as Bank Muamalat, OCBC and CIMB on Jalan Tun Perak.

Ameer said the group has begun sending nearly 2,500 packs of food daily since the EMCO started and is looking for more funds to provide meals to affected residents.

Last week, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the respective foreign embassies were responsible for the welfare of foreigners living in the two buildings and not Putrajaya, as with the other previous EMCO zones.

The Federal Territories and religious affairs ministries have since taken responsibility for facilitating relief efforts from Putrajaya to provide food to migrant residents.

However, Ameer said he is relieved to hear that another building within the vicinity of Jalan Masjid India, Menara City One and its residence are being well-taken care of, with delivery of food and goods allowed.

Menara City One was placed under EMCO on March 30 following a string of positive Covid-19 cases traced back to its residents.

Malay Mail quoted Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah yesterday as saying that the EMCO on Jalan Masjid India and its vicinity was to allow for active cases detection among high-risk groups there, linked to the Seri Petaling tabligh event.

On Monday, Dr Noor Hisham said Covid-19 infections at Menara City One and Malayan Mansion remained at 39 and four cases, respectively, while Selangor Mansion added one new infection to bring its total to 83.



