Bright and joyful Raya for villagers
With streetlights installed, Kampung Pering residents can move around, celebrate safely
ILI SHAZWANI
KUBANG PASU shazwani.ihsan@nst.com.my
ALL this while, single mother Ku Senang Ku Ahmad, 51, had to brave the dark when riding her motorcycle alone along a small road from her house in Kampung Pering here in Kedah.
Those were risky trips, but sometimes, she had no choice as she had to go out to buy groceries at night. Her two children were living and studying in other states.
Ku Senang’s plight was shared by fellow villager Nurul Asyiqin Yusri, 12, whose mother had to send her to Quran classes, which was 2km away from their house.
“It’s pretty scary, especially during the trip home, as my class ends about 10pm. But we have no choice,” she said.
Ku Senang and Nurul Asyiqin were among 672 villagers who had to travel in the dark until recently, when streetlights were installed in their village.
Their worries had become a thing of the past, thanks to the Federal Government’s initiative called the “Village Road Lights Project”, which saw 21 streetlights, including two light-emitting diode types, being installed at 11 roads in the village.
Tomorrow, Kampung Pering villagers can celebrate a bright Hari Raya Aidilfitri for the first time.
The Village Road Lights Project is under the Rural Areas Electricity Supply Programme, which has been implemented by the Rural and Regional Development Ministry and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) since 2003. To date, RM250 million has been spent on installing 422,133 units of streetlights.
Kampung Pering is one of the rural villages nationwide that benefited from Phase 8 of the project, known as LJK8, which is currently being carried out.
The Federal Government has allocated RM100 million under LJK8 to install 122,133 units of streetlights nationwide. Some 8,093 units are being installed at 15 parliamentary constituencies in Kedah at a cost of RM6.1 million.
Kampung Pering village development and security committee chairman Johari Yahaya, 68, said residents used to face the risk of The new LED streetlight recently installed beside a road in Kampung Pering.
getting into accidents or becoming a crime victim while travelling at night, as most of the roads in the village had no lighting.
There were 185 houses that were connected by 11 access roads. Johari said the installation of 21 new streetlights was a boon to villagers.
“The situation has gradually improved and we are very grateful as our application to install 21 new streetlights early this year has been approved, including four near the Al-Ubudiyah Mosque,” he said.
It was even more meaningful for Kampung Pering villagers when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself came to launch the national-level LJK8 project at their village recently.
“The new streetlights may have brightened our nights, but the prime minister’s visit to our humble village during the launch of LJK8 is
a historic occasion.
“We are delighted to welcome him. It is a rare opportunity to meet him in person and to break fast with him,” he said at the launching ceremony at the mosque recently.
Al Ubudiyah Mosque committee secretary Shari Arhad, 49, in thanking the Federal Government for the new streetlights, said he hoped more villagers would come to the mosque for evening prayers.
Shari said prior to this, some were reluctant to attend evening prayers as the area was poorly-lit.
“The new streetlights near this mosque will resolve the issue and we are very delighted that the prime minister himself has launched the project in our village,” he said.
Under LJK8, the 122,133 units of streetlights were expected to be completely installed by October.