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.

KOTA KINABALU (April 5): The number of flood evacuees at the temporary evacuation centre (PPS) in Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Bukit Garam PPS at Pekan Bukit Garam in Kinabatangan, has increased from three families to 29 families as of today.

A statement from the Sabah State Disaster Management Committee stated that 131 people from 29 families are taking shelter at SK Bukit Garam PPS since the district of Kinabatangan was declared as a flood disaster zone by the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) on Wednesday.

The 131 flood victims consisted of 35 men, 36 women, 28 boys and 32 girls, from four villages in Kinabatangan.

The Sabah State Disaster Management Committee said continuous monitoring of the flood situation in flood affected areas is being carried out by the Fire and Rescue Department, the Malaysia Civil Defence Department and other agencies.

Yesterday, the State Disaster Operations Control Centre issued an Evacuation Order under the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) Directive No. 1, officially declaring the area a red zone.

The action was taken following the refusal of some residents to evacuate to the relief centre despite the Kinabatangan River level exceeding the danger mark.

SPAOH, 5 April: Mangsa-mangsa banjir baru-baru ini yang masih belum menerima bantuan kewangan daripada kerajaan diminta bersabar.

Timbalan Premier Sarawak, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas berkata, ini kerana Pejabat Residen dan Pejabat Daerah masih dalam proses pembayaran.

“Namun sebelum kami dapat membuat pembayaran, kami perlu mengesahkan data yang ada. Ini adalah untuk memastikan prosedur pembayaran dilakukan dengan betul.

“Menurut rekod kami, terdapat kira-kira 5,600 keluarga yang terjejas di seluruh negeri. Setakat ini, kami telah membuat pembayaran kepada 3,600 keluarga sebanyak RM1,000 setiap keluarga,” katanya dalam kenyataan hari ini.

Terdahulu, beliau mengadakan Program Ziarah Hari Raya Aidilfitri di Kampung Melayu Spaoh.

Uggah yang juga Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana Negeri Sarawak berkata, kerajaan komited membantu mangsa banjir bagi meringankan beban mereka.

“Tetapi prosedur, pengesahan dan mendapatkan maklumat akaun bank akan mengambil sedikit masa,” katanya.

Menurutnya, Pejabat Daerah mempunyai data mengenai semua keluarga yang dipindahkan ke Pusat Pemindahan Sementara (PPS).

“Bagi mereka yang memilih untuk tidak berpindah ke pusat tersebut, prinsipnya kami tetap memberi bantuan kepada mereka.

“Tetapi kerajaan perlu menunggu pengesahan daripada Pejabat Daerah untuk mengetahui sebab mereka memilih untuk tidak berpindah. Jika alasan mereka munasabah, kerajaan akan membuat pembayaran,” jelasnya. -TVS

KOTA KINABALU: It’s tough going at Bukit Garam, a flood-prone zone along Sabah’s longest river, with residents not budging from an area long declared unsafe for human settlement.

Civil defence officers struggled to evacuate nine families from floodwaters at Kg Pengkalan, Bukit Garam, a remote village along the Kinabatangan River.

In fact, all the original residents were previously relocated under a government resettlement programme to Taman Pelangi.

“When the houses were left vacant, others moved in,” said Kinabatangan Civil Defence Force officer Ahmad Roslan Mohd Kamel.

“Some were relatives, others were new settlers from nearby areas like Kuamut.” To date, Kinabatangan is the only district in Sabah still affected by floods.

These nine families occupying the abandoned homes near a dilapidated community hall have refused to evacuate despite worsening conditions.

All of them are Malaysian citizens who now rent shoplots in front of the hall.

While they are not the original residents, Ahmad Roslan stressed that they are also not illegal settlers – they simply moved into a place that had been declared off-limits.

“They’re used to the floods. Some say they don’t want to leave because all their belongings are there. Others fear theft if they abandon the place, especially since there are multiple routes into the area.”

He said the floor level of the old houses is just one foot above the ground, and floods hit as soon as the river level rises. While a few families have boats, the rest do not.

Electricity to the area has been cut off, but the residents still refuse to leave, even if it means risking their personal safety.

Officials have spent days coaxing the group to relocate, although authorities have the right to enforce mandatory evacuation under disaster response procedures.

“We are still discussing the next steps with the police as well as Fire and Rescue Department,” said Ahmad Roslan.

“Refusal to comply could result in imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to RM10,000 or both,” he said, adding that individuals could also be charged under the Penal Code’s Section 186 for obstructing officers or Section 188 for disobeying orders from public servants.

The authorities, however, are opting to give residents time and have asked local leaders and village committees to help persuade them.

Kinabatangan district officer Willey Lampaki officially declared the district a flood disaster area at 4.45pm on April 2.

Later that evening, a temporary evacuation centre (PPS) was activated at SK Bukit Garam to facilitate evacuation and coordinate relief efforts as water levels breached the danger mark.

As at 4pm on Thursday, 23 families comprising 100 individuals had taken shelter there.

Ahmad Roslan said the current flooding is due to “air besar”, a rush of water from upstream areas like Kuamut and Inara, funnelling into the Kinabatangan River.

Even though it had not rained heavily in Kg Pengkalan itself, water from upstream has overwhelmed the system.

And less than 1km away on a boat ride, a joint team from the Wildlife Department and police was deployed on Thursday after villagers reported spotting a crocodile near the bridge to Kampung Muhibah.

Ahmad Roslan said the monitoring team carried out surveillance at the site but found no physical traces of the reptile.

The Wildlife Department will be setting up a trap as a precaution. The area is not far from Tanjung Bulat – known to be the habitat of a crocodile referred to as Si Black.

The crocodile’s name still sparks fear in the local community.