PUSAT Pemindahan Sementara (PPS) Putra Heights yang menempatkan mangsa kebakaran paip gas pada 1 April lalu dijangka akan ditutup pada Ahad ini, kata Menteri Dalam Negeri, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

Menurut beliau, ketika ini masih terdapat 95 keluarga melibatkan 361 individu yang berlindung di PPS tersebut selepas beberapa pusat pemindahan lain ditutup secara berperingkat.

“Nama pun pusat pemindahan sementara, jadi sifatnya memang begitu, sementara sehingga penempatan tetap dapat disediakan.

“Ada yang sudah keluar kerana menemui alternatif, dan ada yang sedang dalam proses mencari,” katanya dalam sidang media selepas meninjau keadaan mangsa pagi tadi.

Lawatan beliau yang turut disertai Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN), Datuk Awanf Alik Jeman, Ketua Pengarah RELA, Lokman Effendi Ramli serta Ketua Polis Selangor, Commissioner Polis (CP) Datuk Hussein Omar
bagi meninjau pelaksanaan bantuan dokumen penting oleh Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) dan Jabatan Imigresen.

Saifuddin berkata, arahan telah dikeluarkan agar kaunter bergerak kedua-dua jabatan itu dibuka segera, dan beliau dimaklumkan sebahagian besar mangsa telah pun memanfaatkannya.

“Saya dengar sendiri daripada mereka — hampir semua mengambil peluang seawal hari kedua dipindahkan. Mereka sangat berterima kasih atas keprihatinan ini,” ujarnya.

Mengulas lanjut mengenai bantuan penempatan semula oleh Kerajaan Negeri Selangor, beliau menyatakan bahawa walaupun insentif RM2,000 sebulan untuk enam bulan disediakan, ada mangsa menghadapi kekangan kerana permintaan deposit rumah yang tinggi.

“Tuan rumah kenakan syarat biasa seperti dua hingga tiga bulan deposit. Ini menyukarkan mangsa walaupun bantuan tersedia. Jadi bila kita turun, kita dengar dan faham situasi sebenar,” katanya.

Beliau turut menyampaikan penghargaan kepada kumpulan kaunselor dan NGO yang bertugas membantu mangsa, terutama dalam menangani kes trauma dalam kalangan kanak-kanak.

“Walaupun kejadian ini sudah beberapa hari berlalu, ada kanak-kanak yang masih dalam keadaan trauma. Di sinilah pentingnya peranan kaunselor. Ia melambangkan nilai Kerajaan Madani — ihsan, prihatin dan ambil berat,” katanya.

Saifuddin turut menyatakan rasa puas hati terhadap pengurusan PPS oleh agensi terlibat termasuk Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat, Angkatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia, Polis Diraja Malaysia dan RELA.

“RELA paling ke depan, polis juga banyak membantu, dan kaunter JPN serta Imigresen sangat dihargai. Saya lega kerana kami dapat membantu walaupun dalam skala kecil,” ujar beliau.-WILAYAHKU

Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) will rebuild 81 homes that were destroyed in last week’s gas pipeline fire at Putra Heights, with the costs covered by the government.

SPNB’s CEO, Jamil Idris, said 48 units are located in Taman Putra Harmoni, while the remaining 33 are in Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru.

According to Buletin TV3, Jamil said the rebuilding will be carried out under the action plan announced by housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming yesterday, though the design of the homes has yet to be finalised.

“When the full study by SPNB is released next week, (and) before the construction begins, we will meet with the homeowners or landowners.

“We will obtain their agreement … whether they agree or not with the proposed reconstruction,” he was quoted as saying.

He said three management meetings have been held with the housing and local government ministry and related agencies, and several site visits have also taken place.

He also said several contractors will be at the site tomorrow to provide their views and suggestions.

It was previously reported that the damage to the residential homes would amount to RM65.4 million.

Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari said 81 houses were categorised as completely destroyed (with structural damage exceeding 40%), 81 as partially destroyed (with structural damage of less than 40%), and 57 as affected but did not suffer any structural impact. The remaining 218 were not affected.

KUALA LUMPUR: Five Pakistanis who waded across a river to rescue petrified residents during a gas pipeline fire in Putra Heights not only went viral on social media but also earned official accolades from the Pakistani Embassy in Malaysia.

The five of them, Khaista Nawab, 50, Bakht Munir, 37, Amir Nawab, 47, Rafiq Ullah, 25 and Jaafar Ali, 40, were invited to receive a certificate of appreciation presented by a representative of the Pakistan High Commissioner to Malaysia at his office ​​yesterday.

Khaista said he and his four pals never expected recognition for the spontaneous help they rendered, which drew praise for a sincere act to those in peril.

"We helped because that is what is expected of people, not for reward. When we saw the terrified residents across the river, we knew we had to do something," he said today.

According to him, all five of them are originally from the historically famous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan and have been earning a livelihood in Malaysia for between seven and 20 years.

Khaista said they had jumped from the Klang River embankment in Kampung Sri Aman, Puchong, into the water to help some 30 residents flee to the riverbank in Kampung Tengah (Puchong) to escape the searing heat of the inferno.

He said they assisted children and the elderly in crossing the river, which was over 40 metres (m) wide and more than 1.8 m deep, to the embankment near Kampung Sri Aman.

They carried people on their shoulders in the shallower parts and pushed them while swimming in the deeper parts.

Khaista explained that all five of them were at their homes near the river on a Tuesday as they were still on holiday for Aidilfitri.

The first thought that crossed his mind when he saw the flames raging about a kilometre from his house was to grab his passport and flee.

"But then I thought, we can't just run, because on Judgment Day, we will still be questioned. We must help others even if our own lives are in danger," he said.

"We crossed back and forth more than five times to rescue all the residents," he recalled.

Their bravery not only went viral in Malaysia but also caught the attention of their fellow countrymen residing in Malaysia, notably Farooq Ahmed, the owner of a clothing company Alfaro Sdn Bhd, who rewarded them with clothing and cash gifts.

According to Farooq, Pakistan's Federal Minister Amir Muqam, who is also his friend, contacted him to express the pride and appreciation of the Pakistani government for the bravery of the five citizens.

"I was moved to offer them a token of appreciation for their sincerity in helping those in distress. I hope this contribution will support them in their lives here in this country.

"They have now gone viral not just in Malaysia but also in Pakistan, even catching the attention of a minister there," he said.

– BERNAMA