KUCHING: Ten families in Kuching have received food baskets from the police under the new Ops Bantu food aid programme.

       Kuching police chief Asst Comm Ahsmon Bajah said the nationwide programme was introduced by the Home Ministry and the Royal Malaysian Police for families in need of help during the Covid-19 pandemic.

       "We hope this will help to ease the burden of the people, especially those who are finding it hard to earn income and buy daily necessities during this challenging time," he said when presenting a food basket to a recipient at Kampung Tabuan Dayak Paya here on Wednesday (July 7).

       ACP Ahsmon said he was leading a team of police and Rela personnel to hand over the assistance to 10 families on Wednesday, followed by 10 more families on Thursday (July 8).

       He said the recipients were selected from a list provided by the state Welfare Department and Kuching Resident's Office.

       He advised the public in Kuching to contact his office if they knew of any families in urgent need of assistance.

       "We will deploy our teams together with the Welfare Office and other relevant agencies.

       "We will do our part to assist the government in ensuring that the needy will be helped," he said.

       ACP Ahsmon also said he was proud to be part of Ops Bantu, which he described as going beyond the call of duty.

       "This initiative is very good. It's the right time for us to implement it and we have no problem doing this," he said.

       Recipient Muta Nyotan, who is currently not working, said he was grateful for the food basket from the police.

       "We have been hoping for assistance since applying for it. I was surprised earlier today when the police came by to inform us that they would be delivering assistance to us later," the former soldier said.