KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Malaysians are showing lukewarm response to both welfare activities or making donations to old folk homes, said a non-government organisation.

Universal Peace Federation Malaysia president Tan Sri Zaleha Ismail said Malaysians hardly visited welfare homes as compared to foreign nationals in the country.

“While diplomats and their wives and expatriates make frequent visits to welfare homes and make personal donations, not many Malaysians do likewise,” she told reporters after calling on Bernama general manager Hasnul Hassan and editor-in-chief Datuk Yong Soo Heong at Wisma Bernama here today.

Zaleha, who was former national unity and community development minister, said social awareness and the love for welfare activities should be inculcated at a young age.

“Inmates at old folk homes are lonely. School children could visit them once a week and talk to them,” she said, adding that in Japan, kindergarten children visited old folk homes to entertain the inmates.

Zaleha said she planned to set up the Corporate Social Responsibility 1Malaysia (CSR 1Malaysia) Foundation to encourage Malaysians to take part in welfare activities.

“We are raising funds and are looking for partners. We will carry out our programmes, once we have the funds,” she added.

She said, among the projects in the pipeline were the 1Malaysia School Children to support school co-curriculum and the 1Malaysia Micro-economy to ease the burden of the poor. – Bernama