|
|
|
|
Malaysia plays politics with
aid
By Anil Netto
PENANG, Malaysia - Record humanitarian aid
might be pouring in for victims of Asia's tsunami
disaster, but critics here have accused the
Malaysian government of delaying the distribution
of badly needed emergency supplies to survivors in
Malaysia's coastal areas, northwest of the
peninsula.
"There are mattresses and
blankets piled up to the ceiling in the relief
centers, but they [the authorities] are waiting
for some big-shot government politician to come
and distribute them, so that everyone gets media
publicity," said an angry Saiful Izham, a relief
worker with the Merbok Community Development
Center in Kedah state.
Some 4,200 people
are still at eight relief centers in Kedah, said
Saiful, and they have not yet been allowed to
return home.
More than 1,000 homes in
seven villages in the state were affected, with
almost 500 homes either badly damaged or
destroyed, when an undersea earthquake off the
northernmost tip of Indonesia's Sumatra Island
spawned tsunamis that tore through coastlines
along the Indian Ocean on December 26.
Though fishing villages in Kedah were
destroyed, it was densely populated Penang Island
that recorded the most fatalities in the
catastrophe that has killed nearly 150,000 people
in the region. Fishing villages, squatter
settlements and shops along the coast of Penang
have been almost wiped out. The death toll in
Malaysia has risen to 68, while 299 people are
reported to have sustained injuries.
"No
one took responsibility, nor allowed anyone else
to. Government agencies and departments, which
should have rushed in automatically did not since
they were not ordered to," wrote prominent
columnist M G G Pillai in his weekly column in the
popular online daily Malaysiakini.
Some of
the fund-raising initiatives carried out by
prominent firms and media corporations in Kuala
Lumpur have already collected hundreds of
thousands of dollars for tsunami victims. But a
few evacuees in Tanjong Bungah - a fishing village
in Penang - told Inter Press Service they had each
only received around RM700 (US$184) in the last
seven days, RM500 ($131) from the state's Social
Welfare Board and smaller amounts from
zakat (Muslim tithes relief) and Buddhist
relief organizations.
"We have to wait and
see if there's more to come," said a fisherman who
only wanted to be known as Salim.
Up to
5,000 fishermen in Penang have been affected, and
90% of some 1,600 boats were damaged or destroyed.
A new boat together with an engine would cost
close to RM20,000 ($5,263) while repairs to a
damaged boat or engine could set its owner back
anywhere from RM1,000-3,000.
"Where do we
get the money for this?" asked Salim. "Our houses
have been damaged and we have nowhere to go." Out
of 100 fishermen in Tanjong Bungah, about half are
members of the local fishermen's association.
"They [the fishermen's association] only promised
aid to their members," Salim laughs, derisively.
"In contrast, the Buddhists didn't care whether
we, Muslims, were members or not when they gave us
aid."
Some fishermen claim that aid is
being channeled to victims through the ruling
United Malays National Organization. Aziz Kassim,
a trader also from Tanjong Bungah, looks annoyed.
"Aid should go directly to the victims wherever
they are in Malaysia," he insisted. "We don't want
what has happened here to happen elsewhere."
On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Najib
Abdul Razak said survivors of the tsunami in
Malaysia will have to wait for aid until the
government undertakes a full evaluation of losses,
which could take "more than two to three weeks".
He said the exercise would determine disbursement
of disaster-relief funds now being collected by
various parties, so that aid can be distributed
fairly and to the right people.
"There is
some perception on the ground that there is a lot
of money coming in, but there is a delay, [with
people wondering] why we are not distributing it
and so on," Najib was quoted as telling the
national news agency Bernama. "The money will be
distributed, but we have to do a proper evaluation
of the losses."
Meanwhile, the Penang
state government said it will look into ways to
help the fishermen regain their livelihood. The
relief center in Tanjong Bungah houses about 50
families or some 200 evacuees from Kampong Masjid
village. The evacuees believe they might be given
temporary housing in a longhouse, but some want to
return to their village.
The situation
looks chaotic at relief centers in neighboring
Kedah state, according to one report. "The
survivors are all in shock. Many are walking
around in a daze and at times incoherent," the
independent Malaysia Today website reported. "It
is clear they require counseling at best or
psychiatric help at worst."
"Some of the
relief centers are well stocked with supplies, but
they are being closely guarded by the government
coalition members and are not being distributed to
those in need," the website claimed. "They refuse
to distribute anything until a minister ... can
find time to personally do so with the television
crew and reporters in tow."
One concerned
woman, writing in an e-mail discussion group, said
she had spoken to the head of a charity
organization who went to a relief center to
deliver some donations on Friday. He had brought
100 relief packages of water, biscuits, towels,
sarongs, pillows and blankets to distribute to the
victims.
"When he got there, he was not
allowed into the school compound, 'for security
reasons'," she said. The head of the charity, she
added, was told that a certain ministry was in
charge of receiving donations. "They directed him
to a storeroom where he had to leave the goods,"
she wrote. "He was not even allowed to go in to
see what else the people needed and was told that
the goods would be distributed when the people go
home."
(Inter Press Service) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
All material on this
website is copyright and may not be republished in any form without written
permission.
© Copyright 1999 - 2004 Asia Times
Online Ltd.
|
|
Head
Office: Rm 202, Hau Fook Mansion, No. 8 Hau Fook St., Kowloon, Hong
Kong
Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
|
Asian Sex Gazette Southeast Asian Sex News
|
|
|
