BATANG KALI: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced an immediate aid of RM10,000 for each family of victims who died in the landslide tragedy at the Fathers’ Organic Farm camping site in Gohtong Jaya here.
He also said a RM1,000 compassionate aid will be given to household heads of survivors.
Anwar said the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) will channel the allocations to the Selangor state secretary in his capacity as the state disaster management committee chairman.
“The Selangor state secretary will channel the aid directly to the (families of the) victims,” he told reporters after a visit to the site of the incident where he was given a briefing here yesterday.
As of 7.10 pm, 21 victims were confirmed to have died in the incident while 12 more are still missing.
Anwar said foreign leaders also expressed sympathy over the tragedy, including Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
“I want to also reiterate my sadness and grief for the families of the victims involved in this tragedy,” he said.
The prime minister also expressed his highest appreciation for the spirit shown and sacrifices of all personnel involved in search and rescue operations in high-risk situations.
“In completing this task, there is also a safety risk for them, especially with the unpredictable weather and rain,” he said.
Asked if the government plans to set up a committee to investigate if there were elements of human error behind the incident, Anwar said he would wait for the initial report first.
“I don’t want to get ahead of the report, let us wait a moment and take action as soon as we study all the reports,“ he said. – Bernama
