Here’s how MUDA spent every sen of the RM2mil donations for flood victims.

Politicians have been getting a whole lotta flak lately for their “participation” (or lack thereof) in the flood clean-up and rescue efforts. However, the political party that seems to have been at the frontlines the most throughout the entirety of this was MUDA.

But what struck the interests of Malaysians the most was that MUDA managed to raise over RM2mil in donations, despite the #DONOTDONATEHERE and #DONOTDONATETOGOVERNMENT hashtags trending all over Malaysia. And so, MUDA took to social media and went live to explain how they spent the RM2mil that they’ve been able to collect thus far. Here’s what they said…

Out of the RM2mil they collected, they’ve spent around RM789k ringgit so far.

During the press conference by the MUDA Team, YB Syed Saddiq explained that they were able to raise cash donations of approximately RM 2,062,186.98 in a single week through citizen donations. They were initially expecting only RM10,000, but had managed to reach over 200 times that amount! 

They also received in-kind donations worth up to from their ‘MariBantu’ campaign, which were given directly to the families affected by the flood. As of now, they’ve been able to help around 500 families with their search & rescue initiatives, clean-up works, and other post-flood recovery efforts.

The MUDA team highlighted that out of the RM2mil that they’ve collected, they’ve only spent approximately RM789,521.66 thus far, and broke down their expenses made for the flood efforts. Here’s what they spent the money on:

A majority of the cash donations were spent on cleaning supplies, state flood provisions, and logistics. They also noted that they tried to cut down the management costs, and clarified that none of the volunteers were actively paid for their help. Only their food and transportation costs were covered.

Despite all the expenses that they’ve made to assist the victims of the flood, they’re still left with over RM1.2mil. So, what happens to the remaining amount of money?

The remaining cash will go into their ‘BANGKIT’ Campaign.

We know what you’re probably thinking… Yet another campaign? Yes, but fortunately for this one, there’s a solid plan in place. Here’s what MUDA is planning to achieve with their newly-launched BANGKIT campaign:

1. They’ll be looking to give RM300 to 300 families who have been worst hit by the flood. Priority will be given to the families who are within the B40 category.
2. They will also be providing 100 units each of school supplies such as school bags & stationery, school uniforms, and laptops for uni students.  
3. They are also aiming to supply 50 families each with fridges and washing machines, and 80 families with kitchen appliance sets (consisting of a rice cooker, gas stove, and a kettle)

Additionally, they are also planning to recruit lawyers to provide legal help for matters pertaining to things like insurance claims and recovering important documents, and will also be collaborating with NGO’s like NYAWA to provide psychological assistance to all of those who have been affected by the flood.

Currently, their plans are still a work-in-progress as they’re still asking for quotations from different vendors, in order to get the best prices possible, but assured that they will be sure to use each and every single cent they’ve obtained for the benefit of the flood victims… or in Syed Saddiq’s own words, “get the best bang for a buck“.

And they’re planning to do this with FULL transparency.

‘Cause here’s the thing about donating: You wanna ensure that the money you’ve given will actually go to the cause you’ve donated to. And with so many shady organizations (and certain figures of authority) trying to profit off the plight of others, Malaysians can’t help but be skeptical about where the money will actually go to.

However, MUDA has assured that they have kept all the receipts (both figuratively and literally) and that the moment the donations and accounts are closed, all their expenses will be audited by a third party. With that said, they’re currently calling on any accredited accounting firms who might be interested in doing some pro-bono work. 

“We’re going to set the right standard of transparency and accountability. And we’re going to prove that every cent that has been given will be spent well.” – YB Syed Saddiq, in a press conference.

And though we can’t say for sure if the campaign will be a success, we do have hope that the money they’ve been able to collect will be able to benefit the victims of the flood tragedy. And since the BANGKIT campaign is still a work in progress, we’ll be sure to update this article when there are new developments.