KUALA NERUS - The Malaysian Fisheries Development Board (LKIM) has approved the construction of 257 new housing units under the Special Housing Project for Fishermen (PKPN) nationwide this year.
Its chairman, Muhammad Faiz Fadzil said the houses would be built in stages and involve a cost of RM16.3 million.
He said 71 houses would 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 the PKPN houses in Pulau Redang here today.
This year alone, he said, LKIM had handed over 173 new houses to the recipients with each house costing about RM58,000.
At the event, Muhammad Faiz also handed over donations in the form of food baskets to the fishing community there 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, he said LKIM also provided an allocation of RM212 million for house repair under the PKPN programme this year.
Meanwhile, he said LKIM had sufficient stock, amounting to 90 metric tons, of frozen fish as preparation for the approaching monsoon season.
"We also have a trade partner that stores approximately 1,500 metric tons to ensure there will be sufficient supply of sig during the monsoon season," he added,
According to him, there are 56,000 fishermen registered with LKIM and they receive a cost of living allowance of RM300 a month. - BERNAMA