A total of 1,600 families from selected non-governmental organisations (NGOs), orphanages and madrasahs in the Klang Valley have benefited from 'Korban Perdana with IKHLAS' initiative which contributed 11 cows today.

Mahsuri Food Sdn Bhd commercial head Mohd Jazri Ikmal Hijaz said this was the fourth corporate social responsibility programme (CSR) held with the cooperation of IKHLAS, a brand new line of business under AirAsia.com specifically catering to Muslims, since the Movement Control Order (MCO) began on March 18.

"Mahsuri hopes the contributions and cooperation would ease the burden of the affected members of community, especially during the MCO due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Insya Allah (God-willing), we will continue our cooperation with Ikhlas.com or any other NGO to help the needy," he told reporters after the programme.

Also present were head of IKHLAS, Ikhlas Kamarudin, celebrity entrepreneur Datuk Fizz Fairuz and Malaysian Women Icons Club president Datuk Normaziah Sheikh Mohamed.

Mohd Jazri said the qurban (sacrificial ritual) was carried out in the new normal and according to the standard operating procedure (SOP) with not more than 20 attendees per animal and those present wore face masks and maintained physical distance to prevent COVID-19 transmission.

"Mahsuri which produces ketchup and cooking sauce hoped to assist the local community as many of them were affected by the MCO. Today's programme is among our CSR to contribute back to the community, and we cooperate with IKHLAS because we share the same mission and objective," he said.

Meanwhile, Ikhlas said due to the overwhelming response for the 'Korban Perdana with IKHLAS' programme, the company would continue to provide services to ease Muslims to fulfil their obligation to help the needy.

"We thank everyone who booked the qurban through our online platform. Let's make the Aidiladha celebration more meaningful for the people in need in Malaysia as well as 35 other countries as part of this initiative," he said.

Mahsuri is a Malaysian sauce brand which has received halal recognition from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) and is also available in neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Brunei and Singapore. It started with only one type of sauce and Mahsuri now offers seven flavours.

-- BERNAMA