YAPIEM allocates RM13.5 mln to upgrade homes for asnaf families

The Sun

06-07-2025

PASIR PUTEH: Close to 300 underprivileged families in Malaysia have seen their housing conditions improve thanks to a RM13.5 million allocation by the Malaysian Islamic Economic Development Foundation (YAPIEM) between 2020 and May this year.
The funding, managed through the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs), has facilitated the construction and repair of 293 homes for asnaf (those eligible for zakat assistance). This effort is part of a broader national push to enhance living standards for vulnerable communities.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar shared that the initiative includes 167 home repairs and 126 new builds, with 199 projects completed and 94 still underway.
'This initiative is made possible through generous public contributions to the YAPIEM Trust Fund, which are channelled directly to those in need,' he said during the Sinar Lestari and Sinar Kasih Housing Programme handover ceremony in Kampung Merkang.
The programme is a collaborative effort involving the Kelantan Federal Development Office (PPPNK) and the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) under the Prime Minister's Department. YAPIEM, established in 1976, is among 14 agencies under the Religious Affairs portfolio.
At the event, four recipients under the eKasih Kelantan programme were handed keys to newly built homes, each valued at RM80,000, totalling RM320,000.
One beneficiary, Nor Liza Hassan, 51, had waited 14 years for a home. She now cares full-time for her husband, Mohd Ridzuan Nawi, 52, who has been bedridden since 2011 after a fall.
'This is truly a meaningful blessing. I've been applying for housing aid for over a decade,' she said.
Nor Liza supports two children, aged 17 and 18, one still in school while the other attends Kelantan Matriculation College in Kok Lanas. The family relies on monthly aid from the Social Welfare Department and PERKESO, as her husband previously worked as a school security guard.
To supplement their income, she sells herbal products online and works as a seasonal food vendor during Ramadan, with plans to open a small food stall when possible.
Single mother Nik Shazrina Nik Mohd Zulkiflee also received assistance—a RM9,600 Sinar Kasih grant—after her husband died in a road accident last year. The aid aims to ease her financial burden following the loss of the family's sole breadwinner.