KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 – “Uncle Kentang” is known for his philanthropic work.
Among the many charitable acts that he has been doing includes the Pasar 10 Sen.
“Uncle Kentang” (whose real name is Kuan Chee Heng) has been organising Pasar 10 Sen at various locations for almost five years now.
Pasar 10 Sen is among Kuan’s initiatives to help the poor by selling varieties of pre-loved items for only 10 sen.
All of the items sold are donations from the public which has been collected by Kuan and his team.
“We don’t give them for free because if we gave them for free some would take it for granted.”
“Even though the denomination is small, it carries value,” Kuan told Malay Mail.
Among the items that were sold in Pasar 10 Sen included clothes, home appliances, furniture, mattress, toys and even essential baby items like car seats and strollers.
Kuan also said that he and his team would open up the Pasar 10 Sen every week at various locations depending on which area needed it the most.
The most recent ones were held last Sunday at Dataran Puchong Utama and the Bukit Jalil people’s housing project (PPR).
“Donations are open every day and we will sell it once every week.”
“We go to different places, we’ve done USJ 1, Bukit Jalil, Serdang, Damansara and areas with PPR,” Kuan said, adding that they also followed a strict standard operating procedure under the watch of Community Policing Malaysia members.
Besides that, Kuan also said that as precaution, they carried out background checks on their recipients, making sure that they are indeed in need of these things.
According to Kuan, most recipients faced financial difficulties despite having jobs.
They, nevertheless, felt the need to buy nice things for their families and this is where Pasar 10 Sen plays its role.
“Sometimes they want to buy nice things for their family, things like toys, jewelleries, handbags, shoes and all.”
“For some worst cases, there are people who have never owned a mattress or even slept on one and now they can,” he said.
Kuan also said that Pasar 10 Sen has the potential to stop petty crime as well as people won’t need to succumb to stealing if they can afford the things that they need.
He added that besides looking out for the less fortunate, he was also trying to encourage Malaysians to build a more generous trait by providing them a platform for them to donate.
The next one will be held next week as they still have a lot of items to give away.
He added that he was not the only one organising such events as there were others who were also doing it to help the less fortunate.
“I wish all Malaysian could have their own Pasar 10 Sen which encourages people to donate.”
“Especially at this moment with the Covid-19 and the stress, it’s a good time for us to work together, donate together and walk across this bridge together,” Kuan said.
Kuan is well-known for his community work in the past 14 years and amongst his notable initiatives includes the Pasar 10 Sen, the 10 Sen Ambulance service and the 10 Sen Van Jenazah initiative.
For those who are interested in donating in the form of personal belongings or even monetarily, you can do so by contacting Kuan and his team at Kentang Fund through this number +6018-2683999.
