BALING: Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor today urged the victims of massive floods that ravaged 12 villages and killed three people in Kupang here, to accept their fate with an open heart and be grateful for the other blessings granted to them.
Describing the disaster as God's will, Sanusi pointed out that even developed nations were unable to prevent flood disasters.
"Besides giving our level best in helping the floods victims to move on with life, although not 100 per cent, we can only advise them to accept it (the incident) as fate and always be grateful for other blessings granted by Allah to them.
"We were chosen to face this test and let us be His servants that are always grateful for all the blessings bestowed on us.
"There are blessings behind every fate, if we 'redha' (accept with an open heart) and be patient," Sanusi said in his speech at the ground breaking ceremony of a project to build 12 houses for the July 4 floods at Desa Keda Sadek in Kupang here today.
Later, at a press conference, Sanusi called on the people to pray for the district to be protected from further flood disasters.
"All we can do now is pray. Even developed nations are unable to prevent floods from happening.
"That is all we can do while the flood mitigation projects in Baling announced earlier by the government are completed," he said.
Meanwhile, Sanusi said the housing project for the 12 affected families would be completed by end of this year.
He said the project was built on a 0.85 ha land belonging to the state and being carried out by Kynetics Land Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Kedah (PKNK) at a cost between RM70,000 and RM75,000 each.
"The single-storey detached houses have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living hall, each with building size of 750 sq ft.
"The state government has provided the 12 families with rental fees for six months. We hope to complete the project in less than six months," he said.
Sanusi said the project was being funded by the state government, with some contributions from the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council and donations received via the Kedah Care Fund.
He added that Baling District Officer Mohd Shahdan Abdullah had also identified several plots of land for additional housing projects for floods victims in the district.
"The District Office has identified 16 more families who are living near the Sungai Kupang riverbank and they will also have to be relocated later for safety reasons.
"This is in line with the call made by the Raja Muda of Kedah urging residents who are living in risky areas along the riverbank and nearby to be relocated for their own safety, during his visit to the site earlier," he said.
In the July 4 incident, more than 800 houses in 12 villages were inundated. It was the worst flood ever recorded in Kupang, triggered by a water surge that began upstream on Gunung Inas.
Strong currents swept away 17 houses, seriously damaged 18 homes and left more than 700 homes with minor damages.
A woman, her 14-year-old son and her pregnant daughter-in-law died when their house in Kampung Iboi was swept away during the floods.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan is scheduled to table the full report on the Baling floods incident in Baling in Parliament tomorrow.