KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — Almost RM170 million in compassionate aid (BWI) has been distributed to 168,959 heads of households (KIR) affected by the 2022/2023 northeast monsoon season, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said RM560,000 BWI death assistance was also distributed to the 56 next-of-kin of disaster victims.
As for the 2023/2024 MTL season, it has not yet ended, but the Federal government, via the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), has channelled the initial RM232 million allocation of disaster aid to all states to speed up the BWI distribution process to affected KIR who meet eligibility requirements set.
“This is not a form of compensation for the losses suffered by disaster victims, but it is more a sign of the Federal government’s concern to ease the disaster victims’ burdens,” she said.
Nancy was replying to a question from Rantau Panjang MP Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff regarding the aid policy for flood victims, as well as the amount of compensation including compassionate assistance, during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
In addition to the Federal government’s assistance, the state governments can identify other assistance to contribute through state-level agencies, including zakat boards and corporate bodies, to help ease the disaster victims’ burdens.
To strengthen the preparedness level to deal with the impact of hot and dry weather during the monsoon transition, which is expected to continue until the end of March, the government has agreed to carry out cloud seeding operations (OPA) to ensure sufficient water resources in the water catchment areas throughout the period.
— Bernama
