Smoother charity rice distribution at Miri Hwa Kwang Buddhist Temple this year

MIRI (Oct 27): The atmosphere at the charity rice distribution by Miri Hwa Kwang Buddhist Temple was notably calmer and more organised this year, despite the long queue stretching about one kilometre from outside of the temple to its compound.

In this second edition of the event, about 2,346 packets of 10 kilogrammes rice were distributed to those in need, thanks to the generosity of Mirians.

The temple’s working committee chairman, Lee Eing Pin, told The Borneo Post that they had learnt from last year’s experience and made several improvements, such as employing more police traffic to manage traffic, deploying Rela personnel to control the crowd and enlisting volunteers for rice distribution.

“We started preparations at around 5am, and the crowd began to gather around that time,” said Lee.

By 7.30am, the queue had peacefully extended around the temple’s exterior and into the nearby residential area.

Lee added that a special section was set up for the elderly and people with disabilities, providing chairs for them to sit and rest.

To prevent overcrowding, the temple began distributing rice before the arrival of Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts I Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew and Mayor Adam Yii around 8am.

Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin arrived around 8.40am to grace the event.

“We wanted to create a friendly atmosphere without causing chaos like what happened last year. The first year was (challenging) due to a lack of experience, but we hope to do better in years to come,” the chairman added.

The temple’s rice distribution initiative began with house-to-house distribution during the Covid-19 pandemic, with last year being the first mass distribution.