KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government will rebuild about 10 homes destroyed in recent fires at Kampung Petagas and Bukit Vor, near here, under the Rumah Mesra Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) initiative.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor (pic), who visited the affected families at the temporary relief centre in Sri Putatan Hall yesterday, said the state would help the fire victims recover and rebuild their lives.
“We understand the hardship these families are facing, having lost everything to the fires. The state government will help rebuild their houses so they can start anew,” he said.
The fires, which occurred on Monday and Tuesday, left 74 people from 28 families homeless, of which 20 families (46 individuals) are from Kampung Petagas and eight families (28 individuals) are from Bukit Vor.
To further aid the families, Hajiji said each head of household received various forms of assistance, including RM1,000 in Bantuan Wang Ihsan, RM1,000 from the Sabah Welfare Foundation and RM1,000 from the Sabah Zakat Centre under the Islamic Religious Council.
The victims also received food baskets and RM300 from Perbadanan Baitulmal Negeri Sabah.
“For houses that were completely destroyed, the government will rebuild them on the existing sites through Rumah Mesra SMJ.
“For partially damaged houses, the government will provide between RM5,000 and RM10,000 in aid depending on the extent of damage,” he added.
Hajiji said the state government remained deeply concerned about the people’s welfare.
Also present at the event were Deputy Chief Minister and State Works Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya; Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Arifin Mohd Arif; state secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong; Petagas assemblyman Datuk Awang Ahmad Sah Awang Sahari; secretary for Home Affairs and Research Datuk Awang Shahminan Sahari and Putatan district officer Masawi Salleh.
