Published on: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 |
Monetary aid of RM20,000 will be given to the next-of-kin of each of those killed in the tsunami disaster that hit several states in the northwest of the peninsula last month, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Monday.
The decision was made at Monday's meeting of the National Disaster Management and Relief Committee which was chaired by him.
"We agreed to give RM20,000 for each victim killed in the tragedy. If in a family, three or five members perished, for example, the amount is multiplied accordingly," he said.
The money would be credited into Bank Simpanan Nasional accounts, he told reporters after the meeting.
The families of the 68 Malaysians killed last Dec 26 when the disaster struck will begin receiving the money when Najib visits them in Kota Kuala Muda in Kedah later Monday.
The tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake off Sumatra last Dec 26, has claimed more than 155,000 lives so far, mostly from Aceh in Indonesia, which bore the full brunt of the quake and the ensuing tsunami.
Najib said the committee also decided that 206 fish breeders and 102 farmers, especially padi planters, affected were eligible to receive aid of RM500 each.
"The committee also agreed to compensate the fish breeders RM530,000 for their losses as assessed by the Fisheries Department," he said.
He said the Welfare Department and the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry had promised to expedite the appraisal of the victims' losses.
"As soon as the final estimates are done, the committee will sit again to decide the final amount to be given based on aid contributions given by caring Malaysians which continue to rise," he said.
"The Government will decide on the method and principle to be used for channelling the final amount," he said.
Disbursement of the first round of aid of RM1,000 for each death and RM500 for each family evacuated was almost completed, he said.
The second-round payment of between RM2,000 and RM5,000 for damaged or destroyed homes and RM1,000-RM3,000 for damaged or destroyed fishing boats was being made to victims.
Najib said a small boat was defined as one using an outboard motor while a big boat was one with an onboard engine.
Answering reporters' questions, he said the RM7.7 million aid given earlier did not include the aid announced Monday.
Asked on reports of multiple lists of victims in some of the affected areas, the Deputy Prime Minister said this was why the authorities had to thoroughly verify claims of losses.
"There may be people claiming they have not received assistance. So we have to verify them on a case by case basis as there may be incidents of double reporting and so forth," he said.
To another question, Najib said those who had been in close contact with dead bodies in Aceh had to undergo quarantine for two to three days in case they were carrying infectious diseases.
He said the situation was different for those who were just visiting tsunami-stricken areas.
"As a visitor, you are not really in direct contact with dead bodies. That (quarantine) is a requirement of our Health Ministry," he added.- Bernama
