SUNGAI SIPUT: The Year of the Horse gallops in with extra luck for 71-year-old Chan Fook Yan, who will celebrate the festive period in a newly rebuilt house.
Chan could not contain her happiness at being able to spend the Chinese New Year this year in a brand-new house.
She said her old wooden, dilapidated house, once crumbling and unsafe, is now a thing of the past.
“For me, this is more than just a house; it is a long-awaited dream that finally came true,” she told reporters after Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming met her at her house in Kg Baru Simpang Jalong here on Saturday (Feb 7).
The house was constructed under the “Sentuhan Kejayaan Kampung Baru 2025” programme by the ministry.
Chan has been staying in her previous run-down wooden house for over 40 years.
“Over the years, my home began to crumble, with the roof leaking badly and the structure in a run-down state.
“I am so happy that my plight was looked into and a new concrete house was rebuilt,” she said.
Chan lives in the house with two of her unmarried sons, aged 31 and 26. Her husband passed away five years ago.
The new house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen.
“I have received food hampers and other necessities as well. This is my best moment,” she said.
Nga told reporters that Chan was so grateful, kept thanking him, and said she had never been happier and that this was her best moment.
He also said that through the Chinese and Indian New Villages Division under the ministry, a total of 2,750 projects in such villages nationwide have been completed in three years.
He said the projects were carried out in 613 new villages, with a total allocation of RM325.3 million.
“This includes 1,786 basic facilities and infrastructure projects, 902 dilapidated houses that have been repaired, 62 new houses that have been completed, and more than 2,300 solar-powered LED streetlights installed for the convenience of New Village residents,” he said.
