Yap (left) with owner, identified only as ‘Madam Chai’ (seated), of the Stutong Baru house, which has just undergone some renovation works carried out under the MRP-PPRMS.
KUCHING (June 4): A dilapidated house at Stutong Baru here has undergone renovation works costing RM15,000, funded under the Minor Rural Project-Sarawak House Improvement for the Poor Programme (MRP-PPRMS).
According to Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap, the house was selected as a beneficiary of the programme, following a preliminary assessment that was carried out by the local community leaders.
“We repaired the roof, the walls and the ceilings, and also repainted the house,” he told reporters when met during an inspection on the house yesterday.
It is reported that the works on the Stutong Baru house took about two weeks to reach completion.
Yap said the dilapidated house was brought to his attention by Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong from Democratic Action Party (DAP).
Moreover, he said any household facing similar issue could inform the local community leaders about applying for a grant under the MRP-PPRMS and upon verification of the application, an evaluation would then be carried out.
Yap also said every assemblyman from the state’s ruling coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) would receive annual MRP grant of RM2 million, Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) grant of RM5 million, and MRP-PPRMS of RM1 million.
“For the record, the funds slated for all these three initiatives are not deposited into my banking account; rather, an application for the fund must be made to the Sarawak Premier’s Office before the money could be disbursed by the State Financial Office.
“As elected people’s representatives, our job is to bring up issues faced by the people and help using the funds that have been allocated to us.
“This said, the final say would still be coming from the Premier’s Office – this is the real situation.”
Yap then cited Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg’s repeated call for all elected people’s representatives to ensure that every allocated fund would be fully utilised for the benefit of the people.
Adding on, Yap described the local village security and development committees (JKKKs) as ‘the eyes and ears of his office’, keeping him informed about the problems faced by the people.
Moreover, he said: “The claims for any works conducted under the MRP-PPRMS must be attached with the original receipts before being certified by the local community leaders and my office, for the allocation to be distributed later on.”