Federal govt to help rebuild Kampung Baru Karak

BENTONG: The Federal Government will help rebuild the settlement in Kampung Baru Karak, here, which was destroyed in a fire last Oct 1, said National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique.

She said the redevelopment plan would be discussed with the state government and would also take into account the views of the locals there and the Kampung Baru Karak Redevelopment Committee, which was set up by former Bentong Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai to ease the burden of the victims involved.

"We had been informed that the committee had made preliminary plans on the redevelopment by seeking the views of various parties, including engineers, architects and surveyors, as well as residents' representatives.

"We will discuss the development proposal before bringing it up to the cabinet," she told a press conference after visiting the fire victims here today.

During the visit, Halimah handed over contribution of RM189,000 from her ministry to the fire victims.

The fire, which occurred about 9 pm, destroyed 51 houses and nine shop units. However, no fatalities or injuries were reported in the incident.

In a related development, she said the ministry would look into the safety aspects of all new villages in the country to prevent a similar incident.

It is learnt that there are 613 new villages in the country, with more than 400 villages set up during the Emergency.

-- BERNAMA