KUALA NERUS, Oct 7 — The Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) has approved the construction of 257 new housing units under the Special Housing Project for Fishermen (PKPN) nationwide since 2012 until now.
Its chairman Muhammad Faiz Fadzil said the houses would be built in stages and cost RM16.3 million.
71 houses will be built in Sarawak, followed by Kedah (49 units), Perak (34 units), Negeri Sembilan (25 units), Terengganu (25 units), and the Federal Territory of Labuan (16 units).
The houses would also be built in Johor (11), Selangor (eight), Perlis (five), Pahang (four), Kelantan (four), Melaka (four) and Penang (one), he said, at the handing over of PKPN houses in Pulau Redang today.
From 2012 until now, LKIM has handed over 173 new houses to the recipients, with each house costing about RM58,000.
At the event, Faiz also handed over donations, in the form of food baskets, to the fishing community, as well as six units of LED lights, worth RM4,500, to be installed at a fishermen’s facility in the area.
Apart from the allocation for the construction of new houses, LKIM, from 2012 until now, has also provided an allocation of RM212 million for house repair under the PKPN programme.
Meanwhile, he said LKIM had sufficient stock, amounting to 90 metric tons, of frozen fish, in preparation for the approaching monsoon season.
“We also have a trade partner which stores approximately 1,500 metric tons to ensure there will be sufficient supply of sig during the monsoon season,” Faiz added.
There are 56,000 fishermen registered with LKIM, and they receive a cost of living allowance of RM300 a month.
— Bernama
