Flood Relief Why Rm78mil For Kedah And Only Rm2mil For Sabah Asks Mp

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Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin said Sabah should get a bigger amount to fight floods as ‘fair’ treatment by the federal government. (Bernama pic)KOTA KINABALU: A Sabah opposition MP has slammed the federal government over the RM18 million allocation for disaster relief efforts in the state, saying it pales in comparison to the RM78 million pledged to help those affected by floods in Kedah last month.
In fact, he said, only RM2 million of the RM18 million would go towards helping flood victims in Sabah.
DAP’s Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin said this has infuriated Sabahans, noting that netizens had compared the allocations given to Sabah and Kedah.
“What a shame, for a Malaysia Day gift to Sabah,” he said in a statement here today.
Chan Foong Hin.“Kedah is such a small state and yet it is getting RM78 million. In comparison, Sabah has a much bigger land size and yet it is only given RM18 million.”
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had announced the allocation yesterday, totalling RM18,241,250, to be channelled through the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma).
Ismail said the money was meant, among others, to purchase 2,000 food kits worth RM160,000 and 2,500 tents worth RM961,250. Another RM20,000 will go to the state disaster operations management committee.
A total of RM1.1 million will be channelled to the 22 district-level disaster operations management committees and RM16 million will be for Covid-19 operations management.
Last month, Ismail announced that the government would allocate RM78 million to help those affected in the Kedah floods, with priority for infrastructure repair and immediate cash assistance to those whose homes were damaged.
In his first public act as prime minister, Ismail said the funds would be used to repair rivers and irrigation channels in the Yan and Merbok areas, including the building of dams and assistance to padi farmers who lost their crops in the floods.
Chan said that of the RM18 million for Sabah, RM16 million was meant for Covid-19 operations.
“It means that less than RM2 million is going for flood relief and out of this, the bulk of it (RM1.1 million) is for the operation costs for the 22 district-level disaster operations management committees.”
He added Ismail had also noted that RM3 million out of the RM78 million for Kedah would be allocated to repair houses and other damages incurred by victims in the state.
“Kedah got RM3 million to repair houses and other damages. This is already higher than the total non-Covid-19 allocation announced for Sabah.
“Is this part of the ‘fair’ treatment by the federal government to Sabah? Is this what we get even when the state government is supporting Putrajaya?”
Chan said he also found out that the federal government had budgeted a mere RM500,000 for Sabah to use for unexpected emergency repair works before and after floods.
This information was contained in a reply to his question in Parliament on Tuesday.
“So, what Ismail announced yesterday is an ‘extra’ given to Sabah after the state’s west coast had experienced massive flooding before Malaysia Day.
“If there had been no visit by the PM to Sabah, in conjunction with the Malaysia Day celebration, would Sabahans have received this extra RM18 million?”
Meanwhile, Kepayan assemblyman Jannie Lasimbang also questioned why it was taking the local authorities so long to implement the solutions to resolve the flood problem.
The Sabah DAP women’s chief said many locations in Kepayan and Penampang had experienced severe flooding for the first time, adding the poorly maintained drains in residential areas had resulted in slow or blocked outflow of rainwater.
“How many projects and necessary financial allocations have been planned and approved for flood mitigation in Sabah?
“And what are the steps taken by the local authorities to ensure the drainage system is well-maintained to curb floods in the future?” - FMT

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