“WE finally have a mosaic-floor house,” said 24-year-old Nurlayla Tamrin – a simple sentence that carried the weight of years spent dodging rainwater dripping from broken ceilings.
For most of her childhood, Nurlayla and her siblings lived in a worn-down rented house in Kampung Ranggu, a rural village on the outskirts of Tawau in Sabah’s east coast, where every downpour meant scrambling for buckets.
“The ceiling was damaged and water leaked everywhere. When it rained heavily, we had to stay awake all night to make sure the house didn’t flood,” she said.
Plastic pails were placed across the floor, the fans had to be moved away from dripping water, and sleep was often sacrificed to protect what little the family had.
The house had been their home since they were small – even before their father died 11 years ago.
After that, their mother, Norhayati Awang Aming, raised four children alone, taking up babysitting jobs and doing small sales to survive.
Life became about endurance rather than comfort.
Festive seasons, which many families associate with joy and togetherness, were often quiet and fragmented.
“The house wasn’t comfortable.
“My siblings and I were studying or working, and we rarely gathered properly. Raya didn’t feel like Raya,” Nurlayla said.
What the family longed for was not luxury – just a safe, dry place where they could finally live together under one roof.
That wish became reality when they received a newly built home under the Bantuan Mesra Rakyat (BMR) initiative by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd last month.
The bright, solid and fully furnished house stood in stark contrast to the fragile structure they once called home.
For the first time in years, rain no longer meant fear.
“My mother keeps saying we can finally invite relatives and friends to celebrate Raya here,” Nurlayla said.
“Now all of us can’t wait to come home.”
For Norhayati, 55, the house symbolises far more than shelter.
“It’s not just a home. It’s hope and a new beginning for my children and me,” she said, adding that receiving it just before Ramadan felt like a blessing she never imagined possible.
The house was handed over in a simple ceremony officiated by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Datuk Lo Su Fui.
Sabah Electricity chairman Saadiah Aziz said the BMR housing project was introduced in 2020 to directly assist families living in extreme hardship.
So far, nine homes have been built across Sabah at about RM80,000 each – almost RM1mil in total – benefiting recipients in Putatan, Tambunan, Kinabatangan, Ranau, Kundasang, Tawau and Tuaran.
“These homes are meant to create immediate impact for families who truly need help,” she said, adding that the company aims to build one to two houses annually, with more planned in Tuaran and Kota Marudu.
Beyond numbers, she said the greatest reward was seeing families regain stability and dignity.
For Nurlayla, the change is already clear.
Where there were once buckets catching rainwater, there is now clean tiled flooring. Where nights were once spent anxiously listening to storms, there is now peace.
“It feels like a dream,” she said softly.
“For the first time, we have a comfortable place to live together.”
This coming Hari Raya, instead of worrying about leaking roofs, the family will welcome guests into a home built on safety, warmth and renewed hope – marking not just a festive celebration, but the beginning of a better chapter.
