State Assistance needed to rebuild the homes of the victims of a fire incident on the 18th of November in Kampung Manis, Perai.

The following is a letter that was submitted to the Penang State Government . The highlight of this letter is the issue of the responsibility of the State in cases like this. Is it just to give token help or should the State play a larger role in situations like this. There have been cases in the past where fire or Tsunami victims have been compensated for their loss by the Government. So, what is going to be the case here, we will wait and see. Our take on this matter is that the Government must help the rakyat in appropriate ways to get back on their feet.

HUMAN RIGHTS PARTY
NO.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar,
59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245
Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Date : 23/11/2009

YAB Lim Guan Eng
Chief Minister
State Government of Penang

Dear YAB,

Sub: State Assistance needed to rebuild the homes of the victims of a fire incident on the 18th of November in Kampung Manis, Perai. Pulau Pinang

As you are aware there was a fire incident on the 18th of November at Kampung Manis, Perai where two homes were completely destroyed and a third home partially damaged, resulting in two impoverished families afterwards being left with nothing. We write this letter to seek appropriate State Government assistance for these families. The families affected are those of Mr. Varatharaju and Mr.Muniandy.

On the 19th of November, Dr.Ramasamy, the Deputy Chief Minister, visited the families at Kampung Manis, viewed the situation and then handed the two families RM2,000 each. They are grateful to the State Government for this short term help. This helps them tide over this difficult period.

The houses of both these families were totally destroyed, leaving the families only with what they were wearing that day. Both Mr. Varathraju and Mr. Muniandy are contract workers and they earn between RM 600 to RM1,000 per month, barely enough to support their families under normal circumstances. Because they have no other recourse, they are now housed temporarily in a nearby community hall. We have a case here, where two Penang families in the lowest rung of our society, who are operating at the very brink of poverty already, now find their lives further devastated by this fire accident. This is agrave situation.

We would like to request the State Government of Penang to give these families the financial assistance they need to rebuild their homes. They have very little alternative other than to make this request to the Penang Government. The Pakatan Rakyat Coalition has often stated that their basic policy is to allocate Public funds and resources on the basis of need . Here is a case of clear need. These 2 families need to rebuild their homes where their old homes stood so they can at least go back to their already impoverished lives. They are not asking for more. They cannot do this on their own and they must have assistance from the State Government to help them in this hour of their need. This has been done before for other fire victims and for victims of the recent Tsunami.

It is with this kind of hope that the people of Prai voted for the PR government. The PR government should view the gravity of and the opportunity in this situation to consider saving these two families.

It is our opinion that the State Government must respond positively to their request and provide these families with funds they need to rebuild their homes in Kampung Manis. Actions such as these make a real difference to the Rakyat.

We can only see which tree is evergreen when the weather turns to bitter winter.

Thank You,

Your Faithfully,

…………………………….

N.Ganesan
National Advisor
Human Rights Party