The stick-thin man appeared to be optimistic, from his smile.
But the tanned, wrinkled face of the former rubber tapper gave a hint of the hardship he had been enduring all this while.
With a shuffling, slow gait, he gestured me into his 150 sq ft shack built from planks.
He built it with the permission of the estate owners, located across the Mengkuang Dam. In return, he acts as a watchman for the owners.
His only income is the RM300 in Welfare Department aid monthly.
What’s even shocking, Yap has managed to live for the past 50 years without any electricity or water supply.
Despite that, he has found ways to make things easier.
To allow some light into his shack, Yap replaced part of a corrugated tin roof with plastic. But that, however, leaks whenever it rains.
At night, he lights up an oil lamp.
For water supply, he collects rainwater in a cleaned up oil drum and uses it for cooking.
Yap also uses the same water to bathe outside the shack and eases himself at a dug-out pit latrine.
He boils water for drinking using a stove he has fashioned from eight bricks.
He uses twigs and newspapers to cook his simple meals, which often consist only of instant noodles
“I eat in a shop sometimes. I like fish. When I can, I’ll buy fish. I’ll come home and cook,” he said when asked about his unhealthy diet.
Entertainment for Yap is in the form of a portable radio.
Company for the cold nights is a stray dog, which Yap says appeared “out of nowhere”.
“I have not named him yet… he comes to visit me often. He stays here overnight. I can only feed him noodles and biscuits… but he still comes here.”
Yap sleeps in a tiny enclosure on a thin mattress, placed on a table. A folded comforter is used as a pillow.
When asked why he would not move out to live with his family, he said he wants to move out but doesn’t know where to go.
Yap said he could move in to live with his only sister, aged 70, in Kulim.
“But her house is packed with her grandchildren. There is no space for me.
“I want to move out. Tapi mana?”
Yap’s dire situation was discovered by Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin’s service team not long ago.
Norlela said upon learning about Yap, she had handed him emergency assistance in the form of cash aid.
“We were extremely concerned after finding out he has no electricity or water. For now, I have asked him to eat out, buy some new clothes for the Chinese New Year.
“Meanwhile, we are trying to get him a rented home not far away, with a supply of clean water,” Norlela said.
On a different note, Norlela said there were many cases of poor people in her Penanti constituency and she had discovered more during her door-to-door visits.
“Of my 29,800 constituents, 70% are poor. Most of them are in the villages, and the penghulus and my service team alert me when there are any new cases.
“After I brought up their cases, the Penang government has helped built 14 new houses for the poor and helped repair and refurbish many homes in Penanti. I feel we can do more.”
The state government has allocated RM32.37 million this year in development funding for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat. Penanti comes under this constituency.
Last year, RM9.43 million was allocated for Permatang Pauh for various development projects, such as new mosques, religious schools, community halls, road maintenance and flood mitigation projects.
Those who want to help Yap can contact Norlela at [email protected] or her service centre at 04-538 3871/ 012-200-2871.