The 74-year-old is worried sick about her unit being repossessed by the State Housing Department.
“I have been living here since the Taman Bagan Jaya public housing project was completed five years ago.
“My husband passed away in 2008 and the department sent me a notice in March, telling me that I cannot stay here any more.
“I was shocked. Where will I go if I’m evicted?” she said at her home here yesterday.
Rokiah, who receives RM250 wang zakat monthly, has fallen behind on her rent payments. She owes RM1,188 in arrears.
The state housing authorities issued her a letter dated March 17 to move out within 15 days. They have yet to enforce the notice.
Bagan Barisan Nasional coordinator David Chua, who was also present, urged the state government to give Rokiah and other tenants like her a chance to pay up before considering repossession of the units.
“It is not that she doesn’t want to pay but she cannot afford to. We cannot just throw her out.
“While we understand that the public housing project is not for single occupancy, Rokiah should be exempted from this rule because she was actually living here with her family before the children moved out and her husband passed away.
“If rental is the issue, give her some time to work it out,” said Chua, who is also the Bagan MCA Youth division chief.
Disabled labourer Mohd Radzi Othman, 39, was told to move out because he was married to a foreigner.
He claimed that he did not owe any rental arrears.
“I rushed to the department after receiving the eviction notice and was told that my unit would be repossessed because my wife is an Indonesian,” said the father of two who lost his arm in an accident.
Chua said Rokiah and Mohd Radzi were just two of some 20 residents who were worried about losing their flats.
On Tuesday, Penang Town and Country Planning, Housing and Arts Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the state government had repossessed 154 flat units in eight public housing projects since last year after their tenants breached the tenancy terms and conditions.
from The Star.Metro
No comments:
Post a Comment