Negri govt to give RM1,000 aid to 490 smallholders hit by floods, says MB

SEREMBAN: The Negri Sembilan government will give RM1,000 in aid each to 490 small-scale farmers as well as those involved in aquaculture and livestock farming affected by the recent floods, says Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun.

The Mentri Besar said these food producers were badly hit and lost some RM22.5mil in total.

"We have decided to help out as their losses were big.

"The aid will be paid out once they get a letter from the relevant agencies confirming that they had been affected,” he said, adding that the departments concerned were Fisheries, Veterinary Services and Agriculture.

Aminuddin said there were also companies and large corporations involved in food production that suffered even greater losses but they would not be given aid.

Citing an example, he said a freshwater prawn producer lost some RM4mil after the corporations’ ponds were flooded.

Aminuddin said prior to this, the state government had already paid out more than RM5.67mil to 5,671 households affected in the floods. Each family received RM1,000.

Separately, he said the state government had also agreed to waive the RM130 fee for those applying for new land titles if their old ones were damaged in the floods.

"We will also write to the federal government to ask for a waiver of another RM70 which each title holder is supposed to pay," he said.

Aminuddin said Muslim couples who lost their marriage or divorce certificates and wished to apply for a copy would also not be charged the RM20 fee.

They can submit their applications to any district Islamic department before March 31 and would be given a copy of the document within a day.