KOTA KINABALU: Instead of spending more money on their Sabah holiday, a foreign couple stranded here decided to help those badly affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO).
German tourist Benedict Wermeter and his Indonesian girlfriend, who wanted to be known only as Lina, had planned to travel to Sabah's storied island retreats.
"When we arrived (in Sabah), we wanted to go to the islands for a weekend, but coincidently, the MCO came into effect at the same time.
"After that, both of us spent almost two months of the MCO here in Kota Kinabalu without going anywhere else," said Wermeter, adding that they have been in the state capital since March 17.
Last week, however, the couple met news photographer Irwan Majid at a waterfront area near their accommodation.
Irwan had earlier taken pictures of villagers at Kampung Pondo in Pulau Gaya, and he shared them with the couple.
Wermeter and Lina were moved by the images, and decided to collaborate with Irwan to acquire and deliver essential goods for the people using their vacation money.
Irwan said that besides getting permission from the police to send money to the needy islanders, the couple also bought basic necessities such as rice, eggs, cooking oil and others.
"They settled everything by themselves, I just helped them to arrange boat transport and liaise with the village chief when giving out supplies yesterday.
"Wermeter told me that after giving out the donations, he still wanted to help more people, as he realised that many still need assistance," he said.
The aid was delivered to 40 households, while five food packets were given to the management of the mosque on the island.