Osimal Foundation is ready to help the flood victims at Kampung Sugud here to seek compensation.

Its chairman, Tun Richard Malanjum, said the foundation could assist in facilitating legal matters, if the flood was caused by external factors and if the villagers wanted to take legal action.

“We were asking the people here (villagers) whether they want to claim for compensation, but they have to think about it first.”

At the same time, he said a study had to be conducted on what and who caused the flooding.

“We are not here to instigate … it is not nice. It is sad also if we do not stop the culprits from doing nonsense, if there are culprits.”

Malanjum said the foundation would serve as a coordinator if the villagers decided to seek compensation.

“All these things have to be done pro bono, if ever there are ideas of doing it.

“My view is, sometimes we got to stop activities that are detrimental to the environment and welfare of the people.

“If we request them to stop, they don’t stop, we have no choice but to go to court for remedy.”

He stressed that the foundation did not intend to instigate, but only to coordinate if there were any requests from the villagers.

Osimal Foundation has raised RM250,000 to rebuild four houses in Kampung Sugud that were swept away by flood using the Industrialized Building System (IBS).

Two houses have been completed and handed over to the families by Malanjum on Monday.

Malanjum, a former chief justice, said the remaining two houses would be built after the land was cleared.

He said one of the recipients, Maidol Paulim, 67, lost his leg in an accident in 2007 and suffered a stroke in 2013. His wife works as a cleaner and  they have three children.

The family lost everything, including their home, when flood swept away their house on September 15. They had been living in a tent until Foundation Osimal stepped in to rebuild their home.

Malanjum said the family could hardly sustain with RM500 financial aid from the Welfare Department.

Hence, he said the foundation would also provide food and arrange education for the children.

Meanwhile, Juraimie Ahmad, 36, also lost his home in the flood. He had been staying in a tent with one of his children, whereas his wife and three children sought shelter at a relative’s home.

Malanjum said the foundation had received monetary donations from generous donors, including those from West Malaysia and Sarawak to help the flood victims.

“We have reached RM250,000 (in donation), if not more,” he said to the media after the handover ceremony.

He said the donations were sufficient to build four homes, which cost around RM50,000 each.

He added that the IBS allowed the homes to be constructed within 10 days by Beau Villas.

The foundation has also set up gravity water system in the village, which was destroyed by flood as well.

Aside from rebuilding houses for flood victims, the Osimal Foundation has also built school hostels; provided scholarships for three university students from poor families; sponsored meal coupons and textbooks for poor students, among others.

The foundation is also training school leavers to become agropreneurs by providing them with six-month training at its Kaiduan Agriculture Training Centre. The initiative started off with eight students for the first intake.

Malanjum said the idea was to train the participants on how to manage a farm. After the six-month course, the participants would be given seed money to start their own farms.

“We will follow up until they are strong enough to be on their own. Hopefully this will spread to other areas.”

He hoped that such training would prevent rural folks from migrating to urban areas.

In doing so, he said rural areas would continue to have development and the people would earn their own income instead of being unskilled workers.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by CHOK SIM YEE

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