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KUALA LUMPUR – Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has assured that he will monitor the distribution of “wang ihsan” (cash aid) to ensure it reaches flood victims in a timely manner.
“Our promise is that they (flood victims at relief centres) should get it (cash aid) before returning home,” he said during Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PN-Rantau Panjang) on the status of the installation of a pump in her constituency to check floods and the extension of cash aid to flood victims, which she claimed had been delayed.
Zahid, who is also rural and regional development minister, said there was coordination with the district disaster management committees on the aid distribution.
“Maybe they have not received it (allocation) yet; we will monitor. We have issued an order on this because we have identified the families concerned and the flood-prone areas for ‘parking’ the allocations in these places,” he added.
Zahid said the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) had extended aid of RM68 million each to Kelantan and Terengganu.
On the installation of a high-powered pump for draining stagnant floodwaters in Kelantan, Zahid said the allocation had been approved and it was in the process of being purchased by the Irrigation and Drainage Department.
To the original question from Datuk Seri Sh Mohmed Puzi Sh Ali (BN-Pekan) on the government’s coordination to ensure no flood victims were left out of the aid scheme, Zahid said the government could no longer afford to work in silos.
He said the government through Nadma always ensured that aid would reach flood victims as quickly as possible regardless of which state administration they were under.
Zahid, who is also National Disaster Management Committee chairman, said the committee had identified schools in flood-prone areas where permanent halls would be built for use as relief centres. – Bernama, February 16, 2023
