Najib: Financial aid for flood victims
Malaysiakini.com
Dec 23, 2006

The government will provide financial aid to the flood evacuees to ease their burden, said Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today.

The deputy prime minister said the aid would take into account damage to their houses, appliances and other considerations.

"The amount and the assessment will be conducted after the floods but the aid is not a form of compensation," he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

He was speaking to reporters after visiting the flood victims at the relief centre in Sekolah Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Munshi Abdullah, Batu Berendam, Melaka.

Najib, who is also the National Disaster Management and Relief Committee chairperson, said that all this while the aid given was in the form of food and equipment when the victims were evacuated to relief centres.

He said that up to noon, 88,854 people had been evacuated nationwide with 71,000 in Johor, Melaka (12,416), Pahang (5,111) and Negeri Sembilan 327.

He said the aid to the victims was proceeding smoothly.

"This is no food supply problem in most of the relief centres. In fact, at some centres, the assistance rendered by the Malaysian Armed Forces, scouts and individuals has cheered up the mood and there is not only sufficient but also a wide variety of food for the flood victims," he said.

He would continue to monitor the situation and the government welcomed contributions like blankets, mats, mattresses and women's essentials from anyone.

"If there's not enough the (victims) can contact the district authorities. We have all kinds of vehicles, including 11 helicopters in Johor, to send the food," he said.

Don't pay for help

He said the government had made early preparations for the floods at the national and state levels but there were some hitches on the first day because the waters rose so fast.

"I spoke to several people here. They told me that previously, even when their areas were flooded, the water level only rose slightly but this time, it rose to waist level in the house within two hours. This is unusual," he said.

Najib was also satisfied with the aid extended to flood victims in Melaka including the RM200 immediate aid disbursed by the state government.

Asked to comment on claims that some rescue teams charged the victims to evacuate them, he said: "If there are charges, don't pay. There should be no charges, the aid is given as a service by the government agencies".

Earlier, he inspected the facilities for the evacuees at the school including the food preparation area and the sleeping quarters.

Najib, who was accompanied by his wife, Rosmah Mansor, and Melaka Chief Minister Mohamed Ali Rustam, also visited evacuees T Manoharan, 45, and his wife, P Nyanom, 39, who delivered a baby boy at the school three days ago.

He also visited the flood victims in Sungai Rambai, Jasin. 

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