Jainab presenting clothings to Liew and his wife at their home in Menggatal.
KOTA KINABALU: Help is being organised for an elderly couple who have been living in a dilapidated wooden hut in Menggatal, near here, for years.
For decades Liew Yun Pin, 83, and his wife Kong Nyuk Hiong, 71, have eked out a living by planting vegetables near their hut and selling medicinal herbs at Luyang in the city.
The couple also make do with the RM300 they receive each month from the state Community Services Department.
A nearby well provides just enough water for the couple.
However, life became tougher for them when Kong came down with a heart ailment recently and Liew had to spend the little savings they had on her medication.
State Social Services and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid visited Liew and Kong on Wednesday upon learning of their plight.
She said the department was proposing that Liew and his wife move to a senior citizens’ home where they could be cared for.
Alternatively, she said ministry officials would meet representatives of the company that now owns the land where the couple is staying to see if a proper house can be built for them.
“It would be part of the company’s corporate social responsibility,” Jainab said.
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