Kuala Lumpur (The Star/ANN) - Meat-lover Isabelle Zhen decided to give meat a rest for a vegetarian meal to support a good cause.
The 24-year-old radio presenter said she has never tried pure vegetarian food until yesterday during a "Let's have lunch to clean Malaysia" event to raise money for volunteer movement Sampah Masyarakat.
"I went for a burger on Saturday knowing that I'm coming today. So, I mentally prepared myself," she said at the event held at a restaurant in Brickfields here.
Zhen said she enjoyed the all-you-can-eat vegetarian meal for 20 ringgit (US$6.62).
"This is actually my second helping," she said, adding the event was a good time for her to catch up with friends.
Patrons enjoyed being served lunch by local personalities and celebrities like Marina Mahathir, Low Ngai Yuen, Daphne Iking, Rina Omar and Afdlin Shauki while taking pictures with them.
My Khatulistiwa Sdn Bhd chief executive officer and Sampah Masyarakat founder M. Shyam Priah said the group creates awareness to bring behavioural changes in Malaysians who like to litter.
"The fund-raising event will help cover our costs when we go to other states to clean up," she said.
She said they are trying to encourage Malaysians to separate their waste as the landfills in the country are running out of space.
Shyam added they hoped to make the fund-raising event a yearly occasion.
Meanwhile, Iking said she took time off on a Sunday to help the group as she knew funds were needed in order to keep the movement going.
"I am very much a kampung girl who grew up playing in trees and swimming in the river but my kids never got to experience all these. I am not against development but I support sustainable development," she said.