This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 26, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: UDA Holdings Bhd has donated over RM100,000 worth of supplies to assist hospitals and frontliners in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia.

In a statement, the group said the donation was channelled to the health ministry via the Sungai Buloh Hospital, which has been facing an increasing number of cases.

“Sungai Buloh Hospital is currently setting up additional wards for Covid-19 patients and is currently upgrading old wards and hostels at the ministry’s health training institute. The upgrades being done also includes the resting area and offices for the frontliners,” it said.

Among the items supplied by UDA are televisions, thermopots as well as mobile phones and sofa sets.

The group said it is also collaborating with edotco Malaysia Sdn Bhd to address the connectivity issues at the hospital, with the latter installing a special infrastructure, edotco mobile solution, which allows for better coverage and capacity for users.

UDA president and chief executive officer Mohd Salem Kailany said that the group appreciates the continued service of the frontliners, as the number of cases continue to rise.

“We wanted to lend a helping hand to the hospital to ensure that new, comfortable wards can be provided to the patients, besides assisting medical officers on the front lines to give their best,” he said.

The group has also donated 250 packs of food to those on duty at the hospital on March 23 to 30, thanks to UDA chairman Datuk Hisham Hamdan. Hisham was the 26th person to be detected with Covid-19 in Malaysia.

AnCasa Hotel Kuala Lumpur, a subsidiary of the group, has also donated food to the Sungai Buloh Hospital and Petaling district health office.

UDA said that AnCasa will be accepting meal bookings, which will be sent directly to the specified location and is also accepting individual donations for food packs to be delivered to the Putrajaya district health office on March 24 to 31.