Fadillah (centre) in a photo session with the recipients of the back-to-school aid. – Bernama photo
KUCHING (March 12): Deputy Prime Minister Dato Seri Fadillah Yusof hopes that the Sarawak government and community leaders will alert him if any smallholders in the commodity industry are affected by the floods in the state.
Fadillah, who is also Plantation and Commodities Minister, said that while he was aware of the flood incident in Sarawak, his ministry had yet to receive any reports regarding farmers affected by the flood.
“For those impacted by the floods in Johor, we have identified how many farmers were affected.
“But in Sarawak, we hope our party leaders and community leaders can inform us if there are any (smallholders) affected by the flood here,” he told reporters when met after presenting school aid special vouchers at Mydin Petra Jaya here today.
The Petra Jaya MP said individuals or households affected by floods usually seek help by submitting their applications through his parliamentary service centre.
Fadillah said while the government has provided various funds and means of assistance to those in need, including those involved in agriculture, the agency will need to reassess the applications on a case-by-case basis.
“Anyone who needs help will usually come to the parliamentary service centre. So, we look at it on a case-by-case basis by analysing the applicant’s economic position of households and assess according to the situation.
“But surely, we will provide assistance to ease their burden,” he said, adding that such assistance will be distributed through corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes.
When asked if there is any other form of assistance to help farmers impacted by the floods, Fadillah said the assistance would be distributed in the form of agriculture equipment.
Earlier, Fadillah presented special vouchers amounting to RM100 to underprivileged students from Petra Jaya constituency. The back-to-school initiative is an effort to help children from low-income households to buy necessary school supplies for schools.