GEORGE TOWN: The family that lived in the boot of a car and survived on water from public toilets can now live in a proper house — thanks to celebrity preacher and philanthropist Ebit Lew.
Lew came to the rescue of the family of five which has been forced to sleep in their car for the past eight months after their home was razed in a fire in April. Their plight has tugged at the heartstrings of Malaysians here and abroad.
In a Facebook post today, Lew said he drove to Penang from Johor Bahru and got the family of security guard Ganesh Soundarajah a rented three-room home at an undisclosed location.
Not stopping there, Lew also bought the family new electrical appliances, such as a refrigerator, television and rice cooker, and other household items.
He also pledged to pay a month’s rent in the event they manage to get their government rental flat. A Penang government official told FMT that Ganesh is expected to get his keys to a new rental flat at Rifle Range, Air Itam, by Monday.
“Ganesh and his wife could not stop saying thank you, they were in tears. They kept asking me, ‘why so many things, Ustaz?’
“I said look, I slept well, ate well, but I can’t stomach seeing people living in the boot of a car,” Lew said.
Ganesh, 33, his wife Parameswari, 32, and their three children, cannot afford to live anywhere else. Ganesh has applied for public housing, but has not received any response from the authorities, they claimed.
When contacted, a delighted Ganesh thanked FMT readers for their kind donations in cash and kind through the FMT Helpline.
He said, however, that Bank Simpanan Nasional had “blocked” his account and he was unable to withdraw any money or even check his bank balance.
“I have received calls from those as far as London and Japan, who asked how they could help. All I said was, I need a home.”