PUTRAJAYA: An allocation of RM50mil each has been provided to the Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Rural Development Ministry to rebuild and repair houses damaged by the floods under the Rumah Kasih Keluarga Malaysia initiative.

       Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican and Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid announced this at a joint press conference in Putrajaya Monday (Jan 10).

       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.

       "The Housing Ministry is responsible for the affected houses in urban areas and under the purview of local authorities while the Rural Development Ministry will be in charge of houses in rural areas,” he said.

       According to Reezal Merican, his Ministry 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 governments and will be submitted to the ministry,” he said.

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

       He said the Ministry had also proposed for a rental voucher of RM200 be given to 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, the Rural Development 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 Centres.

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

       Mahdzir also said the Ministry had allocated RM50mil to repair damaged public infrastructure in rural areas such as community halls, surau and bridges. - Bernama