Singaporeans and Malaysians walk 300km to promote goodwill

The gloomy weather and downpour in the morning of 17 May 2014 did not deter a group of Singaporeans and Malaysians from embarking on a 300km walk from Singapore to Malacca to promote goodwill and raise funds for orphans, widows, single mothers, handicapped children and the elderly.

The Singapore leg, organised by YSA, was flagged off from Silat Road Temple in Jalan Bukit Merah. Close to 50 Sikh participants from Singapore and Malaysia walked about 25km to the Causeway before crossing over to Johore. The participants then made their way to up north and reached the Sikh temple in Malacca on 24 May 2014 to coincide with the Sikh community’s annual celebration of the late Sant Sohan Singh Ji, a renowned humanitarian and community leader who had helped many Sikhs and non-Sikhs during his lifetime.

Every year, thousands of Sikhs from across Malaysia gather in Malacca to honour Sant Sohan Singh Ji. The event also attracts Sikhs from Singapore, Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong.

In addition to raising funds for a needy cause, the week-long walk was dedicated to the passengers of MH370. There were special prayers at the temple for the MH370 passengers on that day.

Mr Malminderjit Singh, YSA’s President, who led the Singapore leg of the walk, stated that, “This initiative is important on several fronts. Firstly, it represents the strong bonds between the people of Singapore and Malaysia; the ground-level efforts are just as important as those at the government level. Equally importantly, it is an opportunity for Singaporeans to lend a hand to help the needy across the Causeway. At the same time, the walk is a show of the Sikh community’s support and empathy for the families of the passengers on MH370. Our prayers are always with them.”

Mr Rishi Singh Randhawa, a Malaysian radio deejay better known across the Causeway as “The Flying Singh”, led the Malaysian contingent. He stated that, “We are indeed grateful to our friends in Singapore for their involvement and support for this walk. We want to raise money to build a school and a home for orphans, widows, single mothers, handicapped children and the elderly on a seven-hectare site in Pahang. We hope to raise a minimum of RM100 per km and we will walk for an estimated 10 hours a day in the next eight days.”

United Sikhs Malaysia had, in the past, raised funds for the victims of the tsunami in Aceh and an earthquake in Pakistan. This year, it also hopes to raise funds for children in Syria affected by the ongoing political turmoil in the country.”