No Chinese New Year Joy For Two Families

GEORGE TOWN, Jan 24 (Bernama) -- While others are busy making preparations to usher into the Chinese Lunar Year of the Rabbit, two families there have little to celebrate.
Two senior citizens, Goh Geok Eng and Ong Soh Chin, aged 83 and 82 years old respectively, who live in their wooden houses located near Jalan Maxwell, are now staring at a bleak future as their houses are expected to be demolished by the authority to make way for a new development.
Goh, who is suffering from high blood pressure and having difficulty to walk, said she has been living in the area for more than 60 years with her daughter and a granddaughter who is blind.
"We have no choice but to continue staying at the house because we cannot afford to rent another," she told Bernama when met at her house here Monday.
She said her wooden house has only one small room which is for her daughter and grandchild while she is sleeping in the dining area.
"We have no plan to move out. Previously there was an offer for us to move to a low-cost flat at Weld Quay with a monthly rental of RM300 but it does not have a lift. It will be difficult for me to live there," she said.
Goh, who had a major operation on the left leg a few years ago following a fall in the kitchen, said their house also had no water supply and that she had to rely on her neighbour for her daily water need.
"I need to look after my granddaughter, Choo Li Li, 30, who is blind after suffering a high fever many years ago, because my daughter has to work," she said.
She said her daughter Teh Ah Choo, 65, a part-time sale promoter, is the sole breadwinner for the family, with a monthly income less than RM300 a month.
Sharing the same fate as Goh is Ong, who lives in the area since the past 59 years, with her son and family.
Ong said her son Lee Chor Hee, in his 50s, is selling Hokkien Mee in the nearby market and only earn about RM500 a month.
"It is very difficult for us to move to a flat with no lift because we are old and has no strength to claim up the stairs.
"We are working hard to earn a living here and now they planning to demolish it without reasonable compensation. It's very hard for us to accept," she said, wiping tears in her eyes.
She said her house has only one room and she has to sleep in the kitchen because the room is for her son's family.

tunku : what is the welfare government doing? sleeping or busy making money for themselves.the cm busy politicking all over the country, hardly in penang to look after its people.the state government at least can find a ground floor unit for these family.have some mercy on them and don't make them pay the rental.i hope these family is getting welfare from the state government too.