MELAKA: Butik Rakyat Rahmah at the Klebang Besar Rural Transformation Centre (RTC), which has been offering free clothes to the community since the start of Ramadan, continues to be the focus of many as they make preparations for the upcoming Aidilfitri celebration.
Visitor Norizan Mustaffa, 48, from Padang Temu, said the boutique was the best choice for her and her children due to financial constraints and the need to buy new clothes for Aidilfitri.
“Due to the unstable income of the family as my 62-year-old husband is now unable to work, the preparation to celebrate Raya is also similar to last year; it is celebrated in a modest manner, and we also never bought new clothes.
“However, with this boutique, we can choose the clothes we like, and there are many choices of colours and sizes, as well as the fact that the condition is still good and the quality is good, so we don’t mind as they still look beautiful to wear,” she told Bernama here.
Meanwhile, housewife Norimah Erelis, 40, from Klebang, said she came to the boutique with several other members of her family to choose the clothes there.
The mother of seven said an initiative such as a free second-hand clothing boutique can help the B40 group and the underprivileged save money to buy new clothes, especially those who have many dependents.
“The clothes here have a lot of choices, are of good quality, and some are still new. Here, we can reduce the amount of spending as many other things need to be prioritised before shopping,” she said.
Meanwhile, Normala Mohd Sidik, 46, from Chenderah said she found out about Butik Rakyat Rahmat via the WhatsApp application from the community group where she lives.
She hoped the programme would continue in the future to help more people who need clothes for Raya.
Meanwhile, Klebang Besar Village Safety and Development Committee (JPKK) chairman Datuk Mohd Yusoff Abu Hasan said there were more than 35,000 clothes offered at the boutique.
According to him, the response has been very encouraging from visitors who came from various places to choose clothes, and one can feel the excitement of the atmosphere like shopping at the Aidilfitri bazaar.
“More than 3,000 visitors have come here since it opened at the beginning of Ramadan, with the operating hours being from 8pm to 12am daily. More and more people are here in the last week of Ramadan.
“Here, every piece of clothing received will be selected first so that we can ensure that it is still of good quality to be given to the public. It will be washed first before we arrange it in the boutique,” he said.
Mohd Yusoff said the programme started in 2020 for the Aidilfitri celebration and continued to be improved to provide the best service to the public. – BERNAMA
