KUALA LUMPUR: Political maverick Jamal Md Yunos, who was widely panned recently for smashing bottles of beer in a protest against the Selangor government, today earned praises for his latest project – free meals to the public.
The free meals with drinks will be served to 1,000 people every day for three years with an allocation of RM5,000 per day at his newly opened restaurant.
The money for the scheme will be donated by himself and his corporate friends who do not wish to be named, Jamal said at the official opening of Restoran Gabungan NGO 1Malaysia at Jalan Pahang here today.
He is the chairman of the NGO and Umno Sungai Besar division chief.
On Oct 5, Jamal made a spectacle of himself when he took a sledgehammer to crates of beer outside the Selangor secretariat building in Shah Alam to protest against a beer festival.
He was arrested and remanded for a number of days to assist the police in investigations for unlawful assembly and causing a public nuisance.
The Restoran Gabungan NGO 1Malaysia, located next to the McDonald’s outlet in Jalan Pahang, is open daily from 11am till 3pm.
The first branch of the restaurant will be opened in Sekinchan on Oct 25.
Jamal said the restaurant would be manned by 15 volunteer workers and operate on the concept of “eat all you can without waste”.
Those who eat there are required to wash the dishes themselves.
“We have a different menu for each day to serve Malaysians from all walks of life. That is the muhibah (goodwill) concept,” he said.
The menu for the opening day offered plain white rice and “nasi minyak”, spicy chicken in tomato sauce, fish curry, fried fish, fish sambal, boiled corn, and vegetables.
Jamal dismissed claims that the free meals scheme was aimed at winning voter support ahead of the 14th general election.
“The idea for this project came to me two months ago when I attended a friend’s funeral. I realised that however many assets we accumulate, we cannot take them with us when we leave this world.”