'Heritage' homes that Penang can do without

NEWS FEATURE Georgetown celebrated its second anniversary of its Unesco heritage site status with much pomp and glory last month.

On the fringes of the city, though, the hardcore poor continue to live in dilapidated homes. A case in point is that of a Malay couple.

For the last 40 years, Md Abu Bakar Abbas, 58, and his wife Majimin Mohamad Yusoff, 50, have lived in a wooden shack that is about to collapse into a stinky swamp in Kampung Jalan Kota Giam, Jelutong.

The house, which stands on stilts of rotting plywood, is bare except for a stove, bed and several pieces of furniture. The kitchen and half of the tiny bathroom are about to break off from the rest of the house.

And yet, the couple has decided not to move out - they cannot, as they have nowhere else to stay.

“We have no children to turn to. Our family members help us from time to time but they have their own burden too,” said Majimin, who used to work as a cleaner.

Theirs is one of 34 wooden houses in the village comprising about 250 people. They hold a temporary occupation licence as the settlement is on state land.

The village once fronted a beautiful beach called Pantai Jelutong, but this was taken over in 1998 for a housing project which was then abandoned.

After the RM700 million Jelutong Expressway - which runs behind the village - was completed in 2006, the area turned swampy.

Most of the families living there earn below RM1,000, and survive on several jobs to make ends meet.

Majimin was forced to leave her job to care for Abu Bakar, who has been paralysed from the waist down since 2007. He worked as a security guard and was a part-time fisherman prior to suffering a stroke.

Now, he has difficulty talking and he is completely dependent on Majimin for his daily needs.

“I have to do everything for him, and see to his eating, drinking and bathing, as he cannot do these things for himself,” she said.

“I need to carry him to the bathroom too. Sometimes he falls, but I do not have the strength to lift him. I am grateful to neighbours who have come to my help many times.”

Majimin herself is poor in health and hard of hearing. The couple has no other income other than the RM300 a month that Abu Bakar receives from the Welfare Department.

Repairs underway

The Jelutong mosque committee has come to the couple’s assistance, and their house is now undergoing repairs.

Abu Bakar used his Employees Provident Fund savings, meagre enough at RM2,800, to start the repairs, but completing the job will require another RM15,000.

Jelutong Welfare and Public Complaints Bureau chairperson Khairil Annuar Kamaruddin is collecting donations from the public.

“Many sectors have done their part, including Jelutong parliamentarian Jeff Ooi and Sungai Pinang state assemblyperson Koid Teng Guan,” said Khairil Annuar, who is also a Jelutong PKR committee member.

“We would like the public to come forward to help the couple, so that they have a decent home before Hari Raya,” he said.

Khairil Annuar said he has also formally raised the matter of proper housing for the poor.

“The (state government’s) response is positive. It is working out proper policies that in time will help the poor,” he added.

Up to now, politicians from rival camps have been blaming each other over the inadequate state of housing for the poor.  

At the recent state legislative assembly session, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (right) had accused the Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) of neglecting the needs of the lower income group.

He alleged that Perda does not want to increase the number of low- and medium-cost houses in its Sungai Batu project in Teluk Kumbar.

However, Perda chairperson and state Opposition Leader Azhar Ibrahim denied this. He explained that the initial requirement was for 80 houses but this was raised to 210, hence leading to delays in the project.

While politicians bicker, it remains uncertain how the state’s housing policy will immediately benefit the hardcore poor surviving on the island and mainland.

Last year, the state announced that a RM35 million public housing project would be implemented on a 4.2ha site worth about RM10 million in Teluk Kumbar, in the south-west of the island.

It was also reported that 500 poor households will benefit from the project, with priority to be given to those earning a maximum of RM700 per month.

The question is whether this will be delivered before the run-down houses collapse.