Father of six relieved to have a more comfortable home
Translated from Malay and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- Bah Johan Bah Dot, a father of six in Tapah, supports his family through rubber tapping and collecting forest produce despite an income that depends on weather and seasonal harvests.
- Jakoa provided his family with a new RM80,000 home after their previous wooden house became cramped and dilapidated.
- The agency also assists with his children’s school transport and supports infrastructure and welfare needs in the Orang Asli community.
For Bah Johan Bah Dot, a new house has brought relief after years of sharing a cramped, ageing wooden home with his family, including children, a son-in-law and grandchildren.
The 51-year-old Orang Asli father lives in Kampung Orang Asli Batu 8, Sungai Tidong, near Tapah. He supports his six children through village work, including rubber tapping and collecting durians and petai. His income rises and falls with the weather and the harvest season, but forest and river produce, including herbs, fern shoots, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, cassava and fish, helps keep food on the family table. He also raises chickens for subsistence.
“Fortunately, the concern shown by Jakoa, which took my application seriously, allowed me to move into a comfortable new house at the beginning of this year,” Bah Johan said. The RM80,000 construction cost included utilities.
Fortunately, the concern shown by Jakoa, which took my application seriously, allowed me to move into a comfortable new house at the beginning of this year.
The 20-by-40-foot house has three bedrooms, a bathroom, a toilet, a living room and a kitchen. Bah Johan said it gives the family enough space to receive relatives and hold gatherings. He also said the application process was straightforward, with Jakoa officers visiting to inspect the old house and assess additional needs.
Jakoa, an agency under Malaysia’s Rural and Regional Development Ministry, runs the Orang Asli Housing Assistance Project. The programme builds or repairs homes for low-income Orang Asli households, particularly registered heads of household. The agency also provides assistance in education, socioeconomic development, community welfare and housing. Bah Johan said it had helped with his children’s school transport, while the Perak state government had provided food boxes containing staples such as rice, cooking oil, sugar, flour, canned sardines and rice vermicelli.
If there is a celebration or a feast, it is comfortable, including when relatives come to visit the house.
About this summary
Originally published by Utusan Malaysia in Malay. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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