PENAMPANG: This district should become a starting point for the production of retort food, or food packed for long-term storage, which can benefit disaster-stricken victims.
Kapayan assemblyman Jannie Lasimbang said her constituency has become the microcosm of the effects of climate change as flooding and landslides as seen with the past disasters.
She added that people have to accept that climate change is affecting everyone thus, the need to prepare for any disasters.
"Now when it rains, it is not just about flooding. There will be landslides and erosion in hilly areas.
"When disaster hits, many (nearby) shops would close and there are those selling food at higher prices.
"I remember after Sugud area was severely flooded, it took our people up to three months to clear (the mud) using shovel and hoes. It is not much about the tools, but the big budget to feed them," she said during a ceremony to hand over of retort food under the #SantapaHeroMeals Sabah initiative at the IDS hall here.
Present were Institute of Development Studies chief executive officer Datuk Dr Ramzah Dambul, Kembara Kitchen founder William Cheah and CIMB foundation corporate responsibility head Rositah Mariam Sulaiman.
Jannie said peninsular-based Kembara Kitchen is transferring their knowledge of making retort food to community-based organisation, the PACOS Trust here.
She hoped that Penampang would set an example to many more places to be more prepared in facing disasters.
Retort food is a type of food packaging that is used to keep food fresh for a long time. The food which can be kept for up to two years is ready-to-eat.
The PACOS Trust is likely to take up to a year to learn the skills of producing retort food using a machine based on Kembara Kitchen's knowledge and recipes.
The machine is able to produce up to 600 packs of food per day.
Jannie said with the retort food project kickstarting in Penampang, it would be significant to convince state government agencies and departments to expand upon similar measures.
As a state lawmaker, she wanted to raise awareness about the importance of food readiness to relevant agencies and during the state assembly sitting.
Earlier, more than 5,000 sets of retort food items were handed over to Penampang district officer, district Civil Defence department, district Fire and Rescue department and PACOS Trust.
Tomorrow, another 5,000 will be handed over to authorities in Semporna.
These 10,000 packs of food by Kembara Kitchen are funded by the CIMB foundation.