SINGAPORE — Executives from international property developer Lendlease and community leaders became “chefs” for a while on Thursday (June 1), during a cook-out at Paya Lebar Quarter.

They were preparing food and serving migrant workers as a gesture of thanks for their hard work, before joining them at the communal iftar dinner where Muslims observing the holy month of Ramadan break fast at dusk.

This was the second consecutive large-scale gathering organised by Lendlease during Ramadan, and gado-gado — a popular Indonesian salad — was prepared for Muslim workers, who make up 50 per cent of its 1,200-strong workforce. A similar one was held last year where food was catered for the workers.

More than 200 people were at Thursday’s dinner, and the Muslim employees are involved in building up Paya Lebar Quarter, a mixed-use development by Lendlease. Another 400 or so Muslim workers who were not there due to shift work or space constraints got their food later.

Mr Richard Paine, 52, managing director of Paya Lebar Quarter, said that the company wanted to recognise and celebrate the festival with its foreign workers. “Many of (them) are far away from their families and loved ones during this time,” he said. “This is an opportunity for us to take on a proactive role in planning recreational activities for our migrant community to meet their social and cultural needs.”

Joining in the cook-out was Associate Professor Fatimah Lateef, Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC, who thanked the workers, calling them “a part of our community”.

“I think it’s always wonderful when we show appreciation for people in general, especially for the foreign workers who do a lot of hard work,” she said.

The event was well-received by the workers, who described it as a “beautiful” experience.

Mr Farhad Md-Eskender Ali, 31, who has been an environment, health and safety ops coordinator at Lendlease for about four years, said: “Sometimes it’s quite painful (to observe Ramadan here) because our family is away from us.”

His wife and son reside in Bangladesh, but he was very grateful that he had his colleagues around him for the time being.

Mr Najmul Arefin, 33, who holds the same job as Mr Farhad and lives with his wife here, said: “I find it totally interesting and very enjoyable for the whole workforce.” He has been with Lendlease for slightly more than a year, and has broken fast before with fellow co-workers at his previous workplace.

That his employer organised the gathering was a welcomed change for Mr Faiz Rahman, 31: “In my previous company, my Muslim friends and I will get together, (pool some money) and organise some parties (on our own).” Mr Faiz, who lives with his wife and daughter in Singapore, has been a quality assurance and control engineer at Lendlease for the past year or so.

During this fasting month, Lendlease has put in place extra measures to ensure that its workers get adequate rest and sufficient food when breaking fast. Muslim workers are given the option to work in the evening instead of during the day, for example. They also have stickers on their hardhats so that people will be more watchful over their safety when they are at construction sites.