Yap delighted with his new house

SIBU: Yap Siak Kim could not be happier to live in a more comfortable house built under the Housing Aid Programme.

Work on the new house in Kpg Telian started on July 25, 2016 and it was completed on Sept 6 that year.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, the 66-year- old shared that he was a happy man.

“I thank the community leaders and the government who had made it possible for me to live in a better home,” he said. Yap lives there with his wife. He has a son who recently found a teaching job in Peninsular Malaysia.

He recalled that he used to live in the same area with his siblings but about 20 years ago, he decided to build his own house from used wood, a few metres away from where his new house now

We are happy to help this man. His only source of income is the little vegetables and fruits he plants which he sells at the old ferry point. It’s good to make a difference in people’s life. Penghulu Ten Kim Loong

stands.

However, a few years ago, termites started to destroy the walls and the floors, making the old house unfit for habitation.

Yap who survives each day by selling vegetables and fruits at the old ferry point in Durin said he saw the need for a new home, but could not afford it.

Last year his son, while still an undergraduate, asked Chinese community leaders for help and they agreed through the housing aid scheme – a project under the regional and rural development ministry.

The application was approved six months later followed by the construction of the RM50,000 new house.

According to Penghulu Ten Kim Loong, initially, the application was to renovate the old house, but because of the termite infestation, the ministry decided to build him a new one.

“We are happy to help this man. His only source of income is the little vegetables and fruits he plants which he sells at the old ferry point. It’s good to make a difference in people’s life,” Ten said.

He said community leaders there had been helping many people in this area to lead a better life.