Sarawakians affected by the floods in February have been urged to remain patient while awaiting the payment of RM1,000 in aid promised by the state government.

Deputy premier, Douglas Uggah Embas said about 5,600 households were affected by the floods and that it would take some time to distribute the RM1,000 financial aid to all of them.

“We have distributed the aid to about 3,600 families, and are verifying the details of the remaining families,” said Uggah, who is chairman of the Sarawak disaster management committee.

Uggah said district offices had to confirm the details of families who opted not to relocate to relief centres, as well as their reasons for doing so.

“If the reasons are reasonable, we will proceed with the payment,” he said, Bernama reported.

He added that Sarawak has approved a RM100 million allocation to repair roads and longhouses damaged by the floods and resulting soil erosion.