IPOH, March 30 — About 3,000 kilogrammes (kg) of unsold food at Ramadan Bazaars around Perak were collected through the MySave Food@Ramadan programme in the state.

Cosmopoint College Ipoh Student Consumer Movement (GPS) chairman Muhammad Amirul Khairuddin said it was a sharp increase compared to only 563 kg last year.

"In Ipoh, there are four Ramadan bazaars involved, namely the Perak Stadium Bazaar, Taman Cempaka Bazaar, Taman Perpaduan Bazaar and Taman Silibin Bazaar. Its implementation (of MySaveFood) was from March 14 until yesterday March 29,” he said in a statement.

Muhammad Amirul said that about 20 volunteers were involved throughout the campaign, namely from Pertubuhan Pemuda Gema Malaysia Negeri Perak and GPS and nearby higher education institutions, including Cosmopoint College Ipoh.

He said among the factors for the increase in food surplus may be due to an increased number of bazaar traders, food over-priced from last year’s levels in some bazaars and the inclement weather.

"Lately, there has been a spate of stormy evenings, so this also contributed to the increase in unsold food,” he said, adding that most of the unsold food was confectionery like kuih, cakes and pastries.

The MYSaveFood Ramadan project to reduce food wastage is an initiative carried out throughout Ramadan by donating excess unsold food by bazaar traders to charity and the needy. — Bernama