White Flag Movement Inspires Home Rental Assistance Programme
KSK Land believe a roof over your head is as important as other essentials and gives backs with their #KSKCARES initiative.
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The pandemic has been a challenge for everyone mentally, physically, and financially, and as most Malaysians do, we tried to help each other out.
The Kita Jaga Kita movement took shape and in late June this year, the White Flag initiative emerged on social media as a response to those who needed help amid the economic fallout.
Read More: “Bendera Putih” Movement Going Viral As Malaysians Try To Reach To Those In Need
Crowdsourcing websites and apps like kitajaga.co, Sambal SOS and MyBendera also started popping up, made by Malaysians to locate those who needed assistance – primarily for food supplies.
Not only were people raising these white flags outside their homes, and discreetly on the apps, people on professional networking site LinkedIn were also raising them as a call for employment due to the rife conditions of unemployment brought upon by the pandemic.
But something the White Flag Movement didn’t aid in was money – something crucial and much needed for something simple as rent money to keep a roof over your head.
White Flag Movement Inspires Rental Assistance
KSK Land, a leading lifestyle property and design company in Malaysia and wholly-owned subsidiary of KSK Group Berhad, launched its own community-focused initiative that aims to assist in giving one of life’s most basic needs – shelter.
The #KSKCARES White Flag Rental Assistance Programme was created to grant financial support for families and individuals struggling to meet their housing rental commitments, over a duration of three months.
So far, the initiative has provided rental support to 63 households in the Klang Valley area with a contribution amounting to a total of RM118,950.
We took notice of the White Flag (Bendera Putih) movement and wanted to lend a hand to those in need. While many received food and medical aid, we came across recent findings that vulnerable communities were also having trouble paying their rent. Putting a roof over your head is just as important as other essentials, and as community builders, we felt that was a gap that we could help to fulfil.
Joanne Kua, Chief Executive Officer of KSK Group and Managing Director of KSK Land
Many of the families that have received the assistance have expressed the importance of the rental aid in alleviating the financial and mental stress that plagued them during the pandemic. The support also provided them more space to focus on reviving their source of income.
Emerge Stronger As A Community
The KSK Land Managing Director also commented that more can be done by various stakeholders apart from providing aid for the long run.
If we work together to support every level of society as a collective unit, we can remain resilient in the days to come and then emerge strong together as a community.
Joanne Kua, Chief Executive Officer of KSK Group and Managing Director of KSK Land
Housing Rental A Contributor To Stress Levels
A recent report by the Crisis Management Centre posted on LinkedIn titled “Consolidated Data Analysis of Malaysia’s Kita Jaga Kita Movement” highlighted that the need for housing rental aid comprised 31.5% of the requirements with people citing losing their jobs due to the pandemic as a reason for being unable to pay their rent.
The study also implied the potential of the rental gap being a contributor to mental health issues in post-pandemic Malaysia with 67.7% of people self-declaring stress levels before receiving assistance as “very stressed”.
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