Monday, August 11, 2008

To the aid of disabled siblings - Star

Aug 11, 2008 By RASLAN BAHAROM

HAPPIER days are in store for the three wheelchair-bound siblings who are among some 300 squatter families who have to move out to make way for the on-going electrified double-tracking project from Ipoh to Padang Besar.

The siblings - Ahmad Arbain Asri, 36, Mohd Ali, 26, and Mohd Isa, 27, have moved in to their new rented home at Taman Simpang Bakti in Simpang, Taiping, thanks to two elected representatives, Aulong assemblyman Yew Tian Hoe and Bukit Gantang MP Roslan Shaharum.

Yew, upon reading about the siblings’ plight in The Star, agreed to foot the TNB deposit and electrical wiring for the house amounting to RM500 while Roslan chipped in with RM100 to alleviate their predicament.

The siblings’ eldest sister, Salasiah Arbain, 40, thanked both the elected representatives for their assistance and donation, enabling them to move out from their squatter home.

New pal:Mohd Ali(second right)chatting with a neighbour,Faridah Musa.With him is Ahmad Arbain.

Salasiah, a divorcee with two children, said she was also informed recently that an Islamic religious body planned to build a house for them in Kampung Boyan soon.

“I hope it will materialise soon so that we don’t have to continue renting houses,” she said.

“A relative recently sold me a Proton Tiara cheaply to enable me to help my handicapped brothers move about easily,” said Salasiah, who runs a drink stall near their now-demolished squatter home off Jalan Raja Sulong.

Like other squatter families displaced by the double-tracking project, Salasiah re- cently received RM1,000 as transportation charges to shift to a new home and RM300 as monthly house rental allowance for two years.

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