Hello little one: Jackson (right) and Sultanah Pahang Sultanah Kalsom (centre) sharing a light moment with an abandoned baby at the OrphanCare Foundation in Kampung Tunku while Ch’ng (left) looks on.
PETALING JAYA: Superstar Jermaine Jackson is in town but this time, he is not singing for his fans.
A member of the pop group The Jacksons, he was accompanying Sultanah Pahang Sultanah Kalsom in paying a visit to the OrphanCare Foundation in Kampung Tunku near here.
It was his third to the centre after previous visits in April 2009 and Dec 2012.
Jackson lauded the initiatives of the foundation, whose patron was Sultanah Kalsom.
“We want to spread the message of love and care for children all over the world.
“These efforts will be carried out continuously through our songs and music,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sultanah Kalsom urged more individuals and companies to support the foundation’s noble efforts.
She said Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan was the latest to pledge financial support.
Sime Darby Foundation will be donating a sum of RM1.05mil for three years.
Sultanah Kalsom also spent time to cuddle a week-old baby girl, who will be up for adoption soon.
The foundation’s chairman Tan Sri Faizah Mohd Tahir said 114 babies had been rescued since the foundation was set up in 2008.
“We have three centres in Petaling Jaya, Johor Baru and Kota Baru.
“Another will be set up in Sungai Petani,” she said, adding that unwanted babies due to various reasons could be left in the baby hatch for adoption.
Faizah said the foundation would work closely with the authorities to get the babies adopted so that they could live a better life.
She said raising children in an orphanage was not the answer and should just be a short term measure.
“Every child needs a family. Orphanage is just a transit and not the solution,” she said.
Faizah added that some 3,000 couples have signed up to adopt the babies.
She said they would have to go for counselling and training courses before the babies were given to them to raise as their own.
Also present was Pahang Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation chairman Datuk Seri Johny Ch’ng Ewe Gee.
