PEKAN: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today decreed that all recipients of the Rumah Rakyat Al-Sultan Abdullah (Ru’RASA) homes must never sell or rent out their units.
His Majesty said that the Ru’RASA homes, built in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Government, are “only for the recipients’ families” and they are responsible for taking care of these facilities.
“Do not even think about selling or renting it out. I don’t want to hear about a recipient trying to sell the house. If he or she has no heir, let us know.
“Just contact the district office or Pahang Sultan’s Office to report having no heirs. The Penghulu or village head are also responsible in this matter,” His Majesty said.
Al-Sultan Abdullah said this after presenting house keys to 16 recipients of Ru’RASA homes at Kampung Pahang Tua here today. Tengku Panglima Raja Col Tengku Amir Nasser Ibrahim Shah and UAE Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Mubarak Saeed Al Dhaheri were in attendance.
In his royal address, Al-Sultan Sultan also expressed gratitude and appreciation to the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed Zayed Al Nahyan, for his generosity in providing comfortable homes for those in need.
“On behalf of the people and the Malaysian Government, I express my sincere thanks, and hopefully, this project will be continued and expanded... I will work towards that, Insya-Allah,” the King said.
The implementation of the Ru’RASA housing project in Pekan involves two types of houses, valued at RM75,000 and RM100,000 respectively, with a construction period of 16 weeks.
Meanwhile, single mother Nor Rafeah Mustafa, 41, from Kampung Pahang Tua, described the house she received as a perfect shelter for her and her two sons, aged 10 and 15.
“Alhamdulillah. We are so grateful for this. Ever since the construction of the house began, my children and I have occasionally come to see it from afar because we are so eager to move into a new home,” said the stall assistant who had to move in back with her mother and siblings after her divorce five years ago as she could not afford to rent a house with her children.
Another recipient, Kamarulzaman Zakaria, 49, from Kampung Banjir Batu 8 Lepar, expressed his relief at receiving Ru’RASA home because he needs to vacate the workers’ quarters he has been living in next year upon retirement.
As a plantation worker, he admitted to being concerned about where his family would live after his retirement as he couldn’t afford to buy another home.
He said several applications he made for special housing for the underprivileged had also been rejected.
“It’s difficult for someone at my age to get a home loan...and the monthly instalments would likely reach RM1,000. Three of my children are still in school, and that is a priority expense,” he said.-Bernama
