SIBURAN: After more than five decades of sheltering under a dilapidated house with his husband and three children in Kampung Siburan, Goh Ah Miaw, 76, and her family will soon get a Rumah Mesra Rakyat.
An allocation amounting to RM82,000 from the federal Ministry of Rural Development was approved last year, and the construction of the house will be carried out soon and should be completed in October this year.
Deputy Director II of the Sarawak State Development Office (SDO) Safarina Rabiah Bolhasan handed over the letter of award to the contractor’s representative Eric Richard Dampeng at the project site in Kampung Siburan here today, which was witnessed by Puncak Borneo Member of Parliament Datuk Willie Mongin.
Both Goh and her husband, Ng Siew Chin, 84, are sick at home due to old age, while two of their children are retarded.
The couple is taken care of by one of their sons, David Ng, 34, while their two other children are working and staying elsewhere.
Willie, meanwhile, said the approval of the project was given three years ago, but due to three changes of government and COVID-19, the implementation was postponed.
He said the family wanted to own a decent house, as their present house is already in very bad shape.
“The family has actually been waiting for 13 long years for their new house, and their wish will become a reality soon, and when completed, it will definitely bring comfort to the family,” he said.
Willie added that the effort is one way the government provides welfare for people regardless of race and religion.
According to Willie, in the Puncak Borneo constituency, 10 units of Rumah Mesra Rakyat were approved annually, involving RM1 million from the Ministry of Rural Development.
He added that besides the RM1 million allocation from the federal government, each parliamentarian from Sarawak is also given a RM1 million allocation a year for the cost of repairing houses.
