Johor govt announces flood relief aid for 85,000 residents, including cash totalling RM34.2m

ISKANDAR PUTERI, March 27 — The Johor government today announced five key measures to help 85,000 residents affected by the recent floods get back on their feet.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said that post-flood work and other related assistance need immediate attention.

“The first incentive is the basic needs goods aid amounting to RM2,500 to be given to each household head. Its distribution will start from April with a total cost of RM60.3 million.

“The next incentive is cash assistance with RM1,000 from the federal government to each household head and an additional RM300 from the state government.

“The cash payments will involve an allocation amounting to RM34.2 million and are expected to be completed by this month, except for Batu Pahat and Segamat districts that will only be completed in early April due to the larger number of recipients,” he said during his winding-up speech at the Johor state legislative assembly here.

Onn Hafiz, who is also the Machap assemblyman, said the third incentive involves a discount of up to 40 per cent on the flood victim’s water utility bills

He said the state water service provider, Ranhill SAJ, has agreed to give the discount to affected flood victims for the months of March and April.

Onn Hafiz said the fourth incentive is the six-month loan moratorium for flood victims that was earlier announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on March 7.

He said the moratorium involves all banks in the country.

“The fifth and final incentive involves a RM250 exemption by the government for fees related to the replacement of important personal documents that were lost or destroyed due to the floods,” he said.

The recent flood disaster in Johor became the main topic at the state legislative assembly last week.

At its peak earlier this month, more than 85,000 people in Johor were reported to have been affected by the flood disaster.

The floods in Johor have been described as among the worst flood disasters to have hit the state, with Batu Pahat being the worst affected district involving about 50,000 victims.