AFTER losing a roof over his head due to an interim court order in Penang more than two weeks ago, Tan Kim Swee thought his parents would never get to enjoy the comforts of a home.

The 34-year-old construction worker, who earns only RM900 per month and has to support both his ailing parents, was ordered by the court to move out from his rented home in Perak Lane after being unable to settle his rental for about two years.

After spending three nights by the roadside near his former residence, Tan and his parents can now rejoice as he was offered one of the seven Rifle Range flat units under a refurbishing project, undertaken by the Penang Master Builders & Building Materials Dealers Association.

“When my landlord asked for a court order to ask my parents and me to move out, I was at my wit’s end as we did not have anywhere else to stay.

“I could not afford to pay rent, which was RM350 per month, as I had to pay for my parents’ medical fees and other expenses such as food,” he said.

“Even after I sold off my motorcycle, it was not enough. A friend of mine recommended me to seek assistance from Sungai Pinang assemblyman Koid Teng Guan, who helped me move in into one of the units at Block J of Rifle Range flats,” said Kim Swee.

He said his adopted father, Thor Yu Aun, 64, is suffering from a stroke while his mother Tan Saw Lean, 75, has symptoms of old age illnesses.

Association president Lim Kai Seng said the refurbishing project, costing over RM10,000 per unit, was part of the association’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) project.

“We hope those who are without homes or are in need of a shelter will be able to benefit from our CSR project,” he said before presenting a mock key to Kim Swee in Komtar recently.

State Town and Country Planning, Housing and Arts Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said priority was given to the poor and needy as it was the state government’s effort to provide homes to them at a minimal rental cost.

“The state government is repairing all of the units in blocks E and J in Rifle Range so that we can rent them out to the needy.

“This is also our initiative to take care of the poor,” said Wong.

The two 16-storey blocks with 170 units were once used as quarters for the military in the 1980s and 1990s. The state is currently subsidising the rental of such units, which normally cost between RM250 and RM300 in the market, by charging only RM90.

Source: The Star