Manjeet (left) teaching Jemali how to use the walker so that he has more mobility.
KUCHING: Relevant bodies should not go to the ground only when a minister visits a certain place, but should take their own initiative to locate people who need help and not just wait for news to reach them before acting.
Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Councillor Manjeet Sidhu found out that after a certain minister’s visit, life did not change much for Juliawati Jemali and her father.
According to her, no one gave a helping hand to the needy daughter and father, except a volunteer, Norhayati Abdullah, despite claims by certain bodies that help would come to them.
“I came to visit the family bringing donations but the living conditions did not improve much. It was raining when I came and Juliawati got rained on as she could not move away on her own as the roof has many holes. Especially when she is sleeping, she would be drenched,” said Manjeet during an exclusive interview with The Borneo Post yesterday.
“I don’t blame Norhayati since she cannot be there all the time, but where are all the Perkim, JKKK and PPWS people who were here when the minister visited? Do these people only come out because there was an opportunity to appear in the media?”
She said that she spoke to Juliawati and was shocked when she was told that she only ate canned sardine with rice for the past three days. She then took the matter up with Juliawati’s aunt, who received the duo’s welfare aid on their behalf, on why they were only fed that.
She thus hopes that the aid would be taken care of by Norhayati who can take care of them better, instead of her using her own money first and claiming from the aunt later.
She pointed out that during the minister’s visit, the state Welfare Department said it would be sending more volunteers to the family to ease the burden on Norhayati but that has yet to come true.
The rebuilding of the house would take a while to happen as well.
“I hope that there are generous and kind-hearted people out there who would donate cash so that we can repair part of the house while waiting for the district office to commence rebuilding of the house. I wanted to bring a bed for Juliawati but as the floor is unstable, it is not wise to do so.”
“The family also needs a lot of adult diapers, body wash, body powder, Raya clothes and food items, more financial aid as well as volunteers to cook and clean the place,” she added.
Though Serian is not under MBKS jurisdiction, she believes that if anyone wants to help, they can go beyond their jurisdiction as sincerity to help knows no boundaries.
During the visit, Manjeet brought donations from friends and fellow councillors that included towels of various sizes, clothes, adult diapers, wash basin, mattresses, sarongs and walker for Jemali.
As it is Ramadan, Manjeet hopes that members of the public will be willing to share the joy of Ramadan with the family by breaking fast with them. She said those who wish to do so should contact her at 014-6926123 so that she can make proper arrangement, besides asking them to bring along food and drinks to share with them.
She also welcomes donations for the family.
The plight of Juliawati and her father caught the attention of Minister of Welfare, Women and Family Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah after it was highlighted. She paid them a visit on Juliawati’s 31st birthday on June 12.
Juliawati is bedridden after an illness while her father suffered from stroke. They live in a termite-infested wooden house with holes in the roof at Kampung Hulu 2 in Serian.