KOTA KINABALU: About 100 people of Kg Kinarut Pelarian here turned up to greet the President of MAPIM, Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organization (Majlis Perundingan Pertubuhan Islam Malaysia) Haji Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid, yesterday.
The President’s visit evoked many hopes from the attendees at Surau Taqwa as he was in Sabah to look into according assistance to the needy and impoverished especially in the form of housing, infrastructures and amenities.
After the gathering held at the Surau Al-Taqwa, he shared that his impression of the housing situation there as pathetic and the quality of life there was quite bad.
“This cannot be allowed to remain as it is, after too many years especially the drainage system and the houses, so we will be connecting this issue to the Government as we cannot just come in. We have to engage and with that engagement, with what information we can gather from politicians, we will try to help getting resources,” he said.
“MAPIM will try to use its connection and lobby, we need all the support available for our resources. We don’t want to be seen as intervening. Our target will be rebuilding and reorganising. ”
On subject implementation, he stressed that with funding in place from his sources, the project should kick off by mid 2023 and should be completed two years.
Besides housing, all complaints and requests voiced out by the attendees in that gathering would be looked into with plans to resolve the problems with assistance from the authorities, he said.
In yesterday’s gathering several people came forward to voice out their grouses and their hopes for MAPIM’s assistance.
Most complains focused on the lack of good infrastructures such as good road, better sewerage system and water supply, while others voiced out their need for a special school.
Hajah Enah Lijah said she was very happy that MAPIM had come to their village that had a population of 3000 people, most of whom were locals.
“We hope that with the infrastructures in place, we will be able to go into economic activities such as sewing, with hope that programmes such as skills training for girls and housewives can be carried out,” she said.
An attendee Abdul Salam Ali, 60, hoped that MAPIM would give him a boat with an outboard engine for him to eke a livelihood.
“I used to have a boat but its wrecked now, so I can’t go fishing. I can only do odd jobs such as house repairs in the village to earn a living, which is scarce. I have prayed for assistance for a long time, and I feel that MAPIM’s arrival is an answer to my prayers,” the elderly man said. .
MAPIM said he was in the State to visit such groups to look into the matter with a view to accord assistance to the poor and needy.
During the event, entrepreneur and philanthropist Azman Ismail donated RM10,000 to Surau Al-Taqwa.-Anna Vivienne
