ZIARAH KASIH MADANI PROGRAMME ASSISTS 10 NEEDY FAMILIES IN PERMATANG PAUH

BUKIT MERTAJAM, May 9 (Bernama) -- The Ziarah Kasih MADANI programme continued its tour to the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency today by reaching out to 10 families among those less fortunate.

Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim, the political secretary to Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said that besides delivering contributions, the programme aims to lend an ear to the people's problems, and subsequently help to alleviate their burdens.

"The directive given by the Finance Minister, who is also Prime Minister, is that in addition to carrying out duties at the ministry level, we must go down to the ground and find out the people's problems, and then take immediate action to resolve any arising issues.

"Today, for example, we visited 10 houses in the Permatang Pauh area, and we saw that some of the houses are in a dilapidated condition, requiring various forms of assistance, including rebuilding new houses," he told reporters after visiting a house in Kampung Permatang Janggus here today. Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli Abdul Halim was also in attendance.

Muhammad Kamil hopes that the aid can be distributed immediately considering that some of the houses are no longer suitable for living.

Meanwhile, Normah Jamaludin, 38, who has a speech impediment, expressed her gratitude when the difficulties she faced received the Prime Minister's attention.

Her younger brother, Abdul Latif, 29, said his sister, the fourth of five siblings, lived alone in their ancestral home. However, its structure is no longer safe to live in as some parts have collapsed, especially in the kitchen area, after being hit by a storm recently.

"We (the other siblings) invited our sister to live with us, but she prefers to live on her own, so we are very grateful to the Prime Minister’s concern in wanting to rebuild the house," he said.

In addition to the Ziarah Kasih MADANI programme, the group today also stopped by the Semilang Mosque in Seberang Jaya and Saidina Abu Bakar As-Siddiq Mosque in Taman Guar Perahu to distribute food packages.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Kamil said the next programme is a casual chat with 30 fishermen from Permatang Pauh at the Seberang Jaya Recreation and Leisure Jetty, and in the evening, the programme visits the Northern Zone MADANI Majlis Semarak Keadilan and appreciating the Legacy of the Reformasi by the Penang Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) which is expected to be attended by Nurul Izzah Anwar.

--BERNAMA