KUCHING: The Sarawak Social Welfare Department (JKMS) has spent a total of RM1,771,751 to help people affected by various disasters as of April this year.
Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said until last month, there had been a total of 264 disaster cases involving fires, landslides, storms, floods and drought in Sarawak.
“Those affected had received the assistance under the new State’s Disaster Relief Scheme introduced in 2017. And the fund under this scheme is fully allocated by the Sarawak government,” she said at the press conference on Nadma and disaster relief at Wisma Kebajikan in Petra Jaya today.
She said as of last month, for fire incidents in the state, there were 59 cases and assistance spent involved RM635,005, while there were eight landslides and assistance spent involved RM83,944.
“There were 21 flood cases and the assistance spent involved RM97,106; 175 drought cases and the assistance involved RM955,195, including one storm case involving RM500 of assistance,” she said.
Fatimah said this disaster relief and assistance was intended to alleviate the family’s burden and this included providing daily essentials such as cash, clothes, food, bedding set, including temporary protection assistance such as for the purchase of home furnishing materials such as canvas, roof, bricks, renting canopy and house rentals.
“There is also assistance for affected small businesses due to the disaster. And for drought cases, clean water was distributed to the affected areas,” she said.
She added the scheme was to cover victims, especially those of the B40 group that earned an average household income of below RM4,000 per month.
Meanwhile, after the press conference, Fatimah also presented aid worth RM21,050 to fire victim Haidir and his family today.
The aid covered RM2,900 cash assistance, RM1,450 food assistance, RM5,800 daily clothes, RM2,000 school uniform, RM1,000 school stationery, RM2,200 bedding set, RM700 kitchen equipment and RM5,000 building materials.
