RM100 mln allocated to implement Rumah Kasih Keluarga Malaysia initiative

PUTRAJAYA: An allocation of RM50 million each has been provided to the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) and the Rural Development Ministry (KPLB) to rebuild and repair houses damaged by the floods under the Rumah Kasih Keluarga Malaysia initiative.

This was announced by Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican and Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid at a joint press conference in Putrajaya today.

Reezal Merican said through the initiative, between RM5,000 and RM15,000 had been set aside for the repair of each affected house while RM56,000 would be used to build a new home.

"KPKT is responsible for the affected houses in urban areas and under local authorities' purview while KPLB will be in charge of houses in rural areas," he said.

According to Reezal Merican, KPKT has so far identified a total of 8,257 houses that have been affected by the floods and of the total, 118 are in need of complete reconstruction while 8,139 require repairs.

"The numbers are expected to increase as there are states that are still affected by the floods. The data is being finalised by the state government and will be submitted to the ministry," he said.

Reezal Merican said the implementation of the Rumah Kasih Keluarga Malaysia initiative at the KPKT level would be done by Syarikat Perumahan Nasional Bhd (SPNB) and Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia (PR1MA).

He said KPKT had also proposed for a rental voucher of RM200 be given to flood victims whose homes were destroyed in the floods to ease their burden.

Meanwhile, Mahdzir said the process of repairing the affected houses through the Rumah Kasih Keluarga Malaysia initiative would take two weeks while the construction of new homes was expected to be completed within four to six months.

So far, he said, KPLB had received 1,879 applications for house repairs and 165 applications for the construction of new homes in flood-affected areas.

"Information on the matter will be obtained from the District Disaster Operations Control Centre (PKOB).

"We will also appoint local contractors to carry out repair works or the construction of new homes," he said.

Mahdzir also informed that KPLB had allocated RM50 million to repair damaged public infrastructure in rural areas such as community halls, surau and bridges.

-- BERNAMA