KAPIT (Oct 13): Works Minister Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi has called for greater emphasis on fire preparedness and preventive measures following the recent blaze that razed Rumah Austin Ekau, a 29-door longhouse in Nanga Sipan, Song, leaving 81 residents homeless.

Chairing a coordination meeting at the site yesterday, Nanta said the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Sept 28, should serve as a wake-up call for all quarters to step up disaster readiness, particularly in rural areas where access to emergency response is often limited.

“This incident is deeply saddening and should serve as an important lesson for all of us. There is a pressing need to improve disaster preparedness, especially in terms of firefighting equipment, which is still not at a satisfactory level,” he said in a statement.

Nanta urged the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) and other safety agencies to conduct regular inspections and report any shortcomings to ensure timely improvements in firefighting capacity at longhouses and remote settlements.

During the meeting, Nanta also discussed post-fire recovery efforts, including the proposal to rebuild the longhouse on its original site, pending resolution of land ownership and site clearance issues.

For now, he said residents are building temporary shelters (dampa) with RM10,000 in assistance from the Welfare Department (JKM).

He added the government has also allocated RM70,000 per door for the construction of new permanent homes.

“As a gesture of concern, Katibas assemblyman YB Lidam Assan and I are also contributing RM1,000 per door to help ease the burden of the affected families,” he said.

To further support reconstruction, Nanta announced an additional RM10,000 per door contribution—totalling RM290,000—with RM145,000 to be disbursed soon for the construction of temporary shelters.

“Hopefully these initiatives restore the spirit and livelihood of the affected families and remind us all of the importance of preparedness in facing disasters,” he said.