KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 — Touched by the suffering of Sabahan due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysian fans of K-pop superstars BTS have come together to raise funds for them.

The fans, who call themselves Army, managed to raise some RM20,000 after the call for donations was made via social media.

According to one of the organisers Nur Amarlyna Najua Zainuri, she managed to raise RM9,000 that were later distributed to non-governmental organisations in Sabah.

"Recently, I saw a video of an uncle in Sabah who was chasing a boat as he has no food. I pitied him and started reading up on the situation there.”

"Initially, I wanted to raise money from among friends but when others found out about the fundraising, they too wanted to chip in,” she said.

Speaking to Malay portal mStar, Amarlyna said she managed to raise the sum in a week.

The 28-year-old manufacturing executive said their fundraising effort was a reflection of the social work done by BTS globally.

Aware of negative perceptions cast on the Army, Amarlyna said they were not letting it bother them but would focus on helping society in their own way.

"Some think Army are teenagers but the truth is many of us are working adults.”

"If we see there are people who need help, we will try our best to help them,” she added.

Amarlyna also expressed her happiness with other fans for their fundraising efforts.

"If all the donations are combined, the total would come to RM20,000,” she said.