Flood: Standard format for compensation needed - Uggah

KUCHING: There should be a standard format for compensation claims by flood victims nationwide, said Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

He said whatever decision is made by the federal Cabinet regarding the matter should also be applicable in Sarawak.

"We need to know what victims can claim for compensation. Can they claim for their vehicles, electrical items, livestock and crops destroyed by floods like those in the Peninsula?

"The matter was brought up at the recent Parliament sitting, asking why Sarawak was excluded from the compensation payment. A deputy minister replied that there has been no such application from the state," he said in a statement today.

Uggah, who is the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman, also asked the federal government to explain whether those who declined to stay at evacuation centres were eligible to receive the 'wang ihsan banjir' (flood compassionate aid).

Meanwhile, Uggah also requested the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) to supply the state with an effective communication system to reach settlements and longhouses deep in the interiors as the SDMC secretariat could currently only reach them via amateur radio.

-- BERNAMA