Big increase in aid for flood victims

A TOTAL of RM887.9mil was spent on flood victims between 2021 and last year, including for rescue operations and various welfare aid, the Dewan Rakyat has been told.

This was a massive increase from the RM8.6mil spent between 2019 and 2020, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak affairs, and Special Functions) Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong.

He said the significant increase was due to several aid packages announced by Putrajaya, which includes Bantuan Wang Ihsan (BWI) that was raised from RM500 to RM1,000 in September 2021.

“The increase was also due to other forms of assistance to help relieve the burdens faced by flood victims,” he said.