PUTRAJAYA: A sum of RM100mil has been allocated by the government to rebuild and repair houses damaged by the floods under the Rumah Kasih Keluarga Malaysia initiative.

       According to Bernama, the allocation has been divided equally between the Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Rural Development Ministry.

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

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

       He said his ministry will be responsible for the affected houses in urban areas and under local authorities’ purview while the Rural Development Ministry will be in charge of houses in the rural areas.

       He said his ministry had 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 required repairs.

       Working together: Mahadzir (right) and Reezal Merican speaking about the allocation under the Rumah Kasih Keluarga Malaysia initiative during the joint press conference in Putrajaya. — Bernama

       “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 will be done by Syarikat Perumahan Nasional Bhd (SPNB) and Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia (PR1MA).

       He said his ministry 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 will take two weeks while the construction of new homes is expected to be completed within four to six months.

       So far, he said, his ministry 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.

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

       Mahdzir also announced that his ministry had allocated RM50mil to repair damaged public infrastructure in rural areas such as community halls, surau and bridges. — Bernama