Senior citizen receives 'angpao', rental assistance extenstion for another year

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27  -- It will be a Chinese New Year to remember for senior citizen Leong Choong Keong, whose monthly rental assistance for his residence has been extended for another year.

Leong, 66, had caught the attention of various parties in February last year, after he was found living in a dilapidated hut surrounded by bushes in the Kampung Baru Salak Selatan area.

Moved by his plight, Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, who was then the Federal Territories Minister, had helped to pay the deposit and monthly rent for his house at the Salak Selatan People's Housing Project (PPR).

Today, Annuar agreed to extend the monthly rental assistance for the senior citizen which was supposed to end this April, for another year until April 2023.

“As it is the time of celebrating (Chinese New Year), I came here. I was also happy to see that his house was still in a nice and clean condition, considering that he had lived in very poor conditions before, and he has kept the house very well.

“He used to have an elder sister but she passed away, so he has no livelihood. Therefore, I will bear (the monthly rent) for another year until 2023,” Annuar told Bernama after presenting Chinese New Year aid to Leong at his residence today.

Last year, Leong was found living in an old hut with only a corroded zinc roof and used blankets and plastic for cover.

As he only carried an old (plastic) identity card which is almost worn out, he was not able to apply for assistance from the Social Welfare Department and other facilities provided by the government.

His identity card was replaced with the MyKad in March last year by the National Registration Department (JPN) through the Mekar Programme set up to issue identification documents for the needy.

-- BERNAMA