Kg Tanjung Belipat, Niah is located in Sibuti parliamentary and is approximately one hour’s drive from Miri city. The majority of the villagers are Malays and Penan Muslims and most of them are self-employed as farmers.

Recently Sarawak PAS visited Kg Tanjung Belipat and we received many complaints from residents about the problems they have been facing all this while. Among the issues is that their welfare issues are disregarded, they are not eligible for Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M), Persons with Disabilities (OKU) not getting appropriate assistance and not being given houses under the Housing Project for the Hardcore Poor (PPRT).

PPRT is under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.

Among the residents who complained that he faced problems for assistance is Mosekil Langajang. A few months ago he had an accident that caused a fracture, making it hard for him to work. As a result of the incident he had sought help from charitable organisations and he has been given the disabled (OKU) card.

The problem is that although he has the OKU card but he still did not get appropriate assistance from the relevant authorities, and he was told to find a job before being given assistance. According to him again, why are the parties concerned telling him to look for a job first whereas he finds it difficult to work due to the incident.

He appealed to us so that his problem can be addressed by the authorities for action. Why are disabled people like him discriminated against by the authorities whereas he had to earn a living for his family and children? He also appealed to the authorities to help repair his house that is quite dilapidated and change a leaking roof. If possible, he wants the government to build a new home through the PPRT.

Similarly, a single mother, Patimah Umar ( photo ), also urged the government to rebuild her house which was a bit dilapidated and change a leaking roof through the PPRT.

The problem of dilapidated houses and difficulty in obtaining welfare assistance is also faced by Ismail Johan. He had many times requested help from government agencies to rebuild his dilapidated house. Indeed there are parties concerned came and gathered information as well as taking pictures of his house, but although he had waited for several years, until now there has not been any action taken by the authorities to build his house.

No electricity supply is also a problem faced by most of residents across the river of Niah who still use generators. All this while they hoped their problems could be resolved amicably, but after so many years of giving support to the Barisan Nasional their fate remains unchanged.

Many more complained of the same problem as that mentioned, and we also have a list of names of those who faced problems getting BR1M and receiving welfare assistance, including an elderly grandmother who was about 110 years old, Ramdiah Dudo, who is being taken care of by her daughter.

According to her daughter, she had applied for welfare assistance and BR1M but was told she was not eligible because she was living with her elderly mother, while some families receive BR1M although they are staying in the same house. She is a single mother who needs help to take care of her elderly mother and her children.

Parties concerned urged to be fair to all

We urge the parties concerned to be fair to all without regard to race, religion and political affiliation for the sake of people’s welfare. We will continue to monitor and voicing the people’s problems regardless of whether they support BN or the opposition.

We urge the government always go down to the grassroots and monitor any provisions that have been channeled to the relevant authorities so that they actually reach the target group. We also find that many residents’ children cannot complete their schooling due to the difficulty in getting assistance. There are some elected representatives who promised to provide assistance, but it was never fulfilled, according to the villagers.

We hope this issue of people who do not get assistance of BR1M, welfare and PPRT housing are given priority, especially those who are disabled and less fortunate such as single mothers who need welfare assistance each month to cover their daily life.

Cooperation with the relevant government agencies to address this issue is highly appreciated because we believe they can solve the problem with the parties concerned after they have waited so long.

JOFRI JARAIEE is Sarawak PAS commissioner-cum-Miri PAS chief.