Poor elderly couple gets govt aid since 2009 – Jainab

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Jainab talking to Nyuk Hiong (left) and his wife, Yun Pin, and discussing the couple's welfare.

Jainab talking to Nyuk Hiong (left) and his wife, Yun Pin, and discussing the couple’s welfare.

KOTA KINABALU: The hardcore poor senior citizen couple residing in Menggatal who recently gained public attention via social media have been receiving welfare aid from the government since 2009, said Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid.

Jainab said that Kong Nyuk Hiong, 71, and his wife, Liew Yun Pin, 80, who did not have any children, had been residing in their dilapidated house in Kampung Bandulan for more than 50 years, from which the government had been asking them to move, into the old folks home pending the completion of their new house.

“We have been facing difficulty in trying to convince the couple to move. We too had been concerned for their safety and also their properties.

“We suspect that drug addicts had been stealing their belongings. We have already instructed that there should be a scheduled monitoring to be done by police as well as the Karambunai community’s voluntary patrol team,” said Jainab.

Other than a health and medical checkup, Jainab and her team had also brought with them clean water supply and a water tank to be donated to the couple during their visit, apart from discussing assistance to be provided to them under the People’s Housing Project (PPR) together with other relevant departments and agencies.

“We were made to understand that the piece of land has a grant but part of it had been sold to a company. So we will discuss further with the company to ask them to contribute some assistance under the corporate social responsibility (CSR),” she added.

Further, said Jainab, the government would also consider providing assistance under the 1Azam programme for Nyuk Hiong who is growing and selling ginger and herbs in markets around Luyang, Foh Sang and Gaya Street with an average income of RM20 a day. His wife is suffering from acute myocardial infarction

In the meantime, Jainab asked the Malaysian Communication and Meltimedia Commission (MCMC) and the police to apprehend the individuals who started the viral posting for insulting the couple’s family and creating slander by saying that the government had not been giving them any welfare aid.