Ipoh Punk Collective ‘Food Not Bombs’ Sell Awesome T-Shirts For Donations To Feed The Homeless

By Ameera Rosli  •  14 Oct 2020 in News

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Punks get a bad rep due to the way they dress and the music they listen to.

Stereotypically, punks are loud-mouthed, vulgar, and have spikes on their wardrobe if not their head, and in some cases, like Rancid’s Lars Frederiksen, had face tattoos way before Soundcloud rappers were a thing.

However, the truth is, punk is an anti-establishment, anti-fascist ideology and its followers carry many moral values that we need to see more often in youths today. Punk isn’t just a subculture to feign being rebellious and edgy, punk is a middle finger to conformity and all the corruption and submissiveness that comes along with it.

Contrary to popular belief, there are actually many punks in Malaysia and the subculture is still kicking hard and strong. Believe it or not, there’s even a punk in JUICE.

So it comes as no surprise that a punk group in Ipoh has been making waves lately by displaying their anti-poverty values through feeding the homeless.

Decked out in their spikes, bandanas, ripped jeans, boots and face masks (of course), these Ipoh punks have been making their way around poverty stricken areas with numerous bags of food packets to give to those in need.

Their spokesperson, Rozaiman Salahuddin, claimed that they were a part of the Food Not Bombs group, which is popular for their ideology that denounces poverty and hunger in a world where the rich have food in abundance and excess.

Rozaiman and the group ended up driving in the hours of the night to find homeless people. They initially started at 8pm but couldn’t find anybody. According to Rozaiman during an interview with Malay Mail,

“We wanted to test the market and started out at the Medan Selera Dato Tahwil Azar area at about 8pm. But when we arrived at the park area, we failed to find any homeless people.”

In the end, their mission had to end at 12am with only 10 packets of food left. Initially starting with only 20 packets of food, the group eventually grew to supply 80 packets of food due to the demand.

Despite their acts of selflessness, the stigma behind punk subculture still prevails. After posting their efforts, Rozaiman noted that there was a significant amount of backlash from social media, mostly targeting the group’s outfit choice. He said, “We are not mere rebels” and that just because they dress in all black, it doesn’t negate their acts of kindness towards society.

As an additional effort to receive donations to sustain their mission to gradually rid hunger from the streets of Ipoh, the group has been selling punk-inspired t-shirts for RM23 a piece. RM3 of every purchase goes to the programme.

Check out their sick designs…

Some of these shirts are pretty damn metal with anti-establishment, anti-war messages…

You know what they say, those with a hard, spiky exterior usually have the softest hearts. Like a sea urchin.

To support the group, check out Rozaiman’s Facebook page.