Family on Ipoh-HKL motorcycle commute gets help from Perak MB

IPOH: The difficulties faced by a family who travels by motorcycle from Ipoh to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) every fortnight has received the attention of Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.

The story of how Nur Natasya Rasid, 24, and her husband Muhammad Iqbal Ramli, 24, had to rely on their trusted motorcycle to take their three-year-old daughter Nur Mardhiah Shahadah for treatment recently went viral.

Ahmad Faizal's wife, Datin Seri Nomee Ashikin Mohammed Radzi, who visited the family's residence in Taman Meru here today said apart from helping to provide transportation, other forms of assistance would be given to them.

"The Menteri Besar has informed that transportation would be provided for Nur Mardhiah Shahadah who needs to get treatment every two weeks at HKL, which is a burden.

"We will also help this family pay their rent for at least six months and I will try to help refer some of the child’s treatment sessions to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital here but it depends on whether HKL allows it," she said.

She said this when met by reporters after presenting donations to Nur Natasya's family in Taman Meru here yesterday.

Nur Natasya, meanwhile, was very grateful over the concern shown by the public and the Menteri Besar and his wife.

She said her daughter's expenses had increased to around RM1,700 a month due to the commute from Ipoh to Kuala Lumpur and her husband's income as a labourer of around RM1,000 is hardly enough.

Nur Mardhiah Shahadah, the youngest of three siblings suffers from various chronic diseases including eye cancer, Chromosome 13q Deletion Syndrome, kidney and lung disease.

"Alhamdulillah, I am very grateful for the assistance. I hope to continue the treatment of my child. Although she has been given five years to live, we are praying that she will be cured,” she said.

-- BERNAMA