Street Feeders of KL began in November 2011 when Liew and his friends would walk the streets looking for people who needed a meal.
“I took my favourite nasi lemak bumbung from Seapark (in Petaling Jaya),” he told FMT, explaining it was important to Liew that the meal be something he enjoyed. “My mum always said, ‘Never feed people what you wouldn’t eat yourself’.”
Shortly thereafter, Street Feeders became a registered organisation and, within a few years, established a presence in 10 cities in Malaysia and sister branches internationally.
Liew, however, is no longer spearheading the organisation. “I’ve stepped away as the chairman. I’m still the founder. I can’t unfind something I found, I think,” he quipped.
The desire to make a difference started with Liew’s mother. Christabel Rozario, 62, is a woman who has always helped people. “She inspired everything I have become today. She is my role model.”
She spent a decade serving at a soup kitchen and Liew would often join her. He grew up around the homeless community of KL and counted many of them as friends.
But the idea of helping them only came when he was very far away from home. “I’m a child of the ’90s. Back then, when you wanted to change the world, you went to feed starving children in Africa,” he said.
True enough, Liew headed to Kenya for mission work and realised what he really wanted was “to do something for my country”.
While running Street Feeders, he was simultaneously building a successful career in the film industry. A perfectionist, he refused to disclose the names of films he has produced as he feels he could have done a better job.
Some of these titles are on Netflix, but he does not want to “be defined by something I used to do”.
Pre-pandemic, he and his friends would also dress up as Marvel superheroes to visit children with cancer in hospitals. When the lockdowns were imposed, Liew found a workaround: “We recorded hundreds of videos sending greetings to these kids all across the country, dressed as their favourite characters.”
He hopes to resume in-person visits to the children soon.
Liew knows what a difference a little magic can make in a person’s life. Growing up dyslexic, he said he had felt inadequate because he could not read.
Then, when he was six, his father took him to meet renowned magician David Copperfield at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur. “That started a love affair with magic,” Liew shared, spurred into learning more about the craft and how to do tricks.
He has been performing magic part-time ever since. As a shy 13-year-old at the soup kitchen, it was one of the ways he could contribute when he could not cook. Now, he uses his sleight of hand to break the ice with people he meets on the streets.
He even had the opportunity to meet Copperfield again and perform for him. “I was so nervous, I did the lamest trick,” Liew admitted sheepishly. “But it was another full-circle moment.”
Indeed, Liew has had many such full-circle moments, from meeting his magician hero to letting go of his film-producing work and stepping back from the NGO. This is why he wants to retire.
So, what does he want to do once he does?
“I want to be a dad,” he replied earnestly. “My dad was always working and I missed his presence throughout my life. I would like a family and be a present father to my future children.”
Still, as someone who has lived for others as fully as he has, Liew cannot let things go completely. He started a podcast during the pandemic that is now in its third season and has become a source of thought, conversation and guidance for listeners – a way for him to help people help others.
“I like to think everyone can be their own hero,” he said in reflection. “Even if you don’t have an organisation or a lot of funds; even if it’s just in your own circle – we can all make a difference.”
For more information on Street Feeders of KL, check out its Facebook and Instagram profiles. Follow Gary Liew’s podcast The Bar Live to hear his thoughts on everything.