SEGAMAT, March 6 (Bernama) — Although cubicle tents are provided at the temporary relief centres to provide comfort to disaster victims, there are a few who are irresponsible by taking home the tents.
Segamat social welfare department (JKM) officer Mohamad Kamil Helmi Mohd Pang said such behaviour clearly violates the directive which is usually committed by flood victims when a PPS is closed.
“They like it, they think it’s beautiful and they take it home. For example, when we provide 1,000 tents, usually a hundred or two hundred tents will be missing,” he told Bernama when met at Sekolah Kebangsaan Gemereh relief centre, here.
He said that usually after being used, the cubicle tents will be stored in various stores either at JKM stores, schools or community halls to make it easier for them to be distributed immediately to relief centres that are opened.
He said the Sultan Ibrahim Johor Foundation had also contributed a total of 25,000 cubicle tents at the beginning of last year for the use of flood victims of which 10,000 were distributed to JKM Johor and Civil Defence Force (APM) for a total of 15,000.
Meanwhile, an evacuee Zarina Talib, 43, said that previously she was often upset, worried and reluctant to relocate thinking about the lack of comfort and privacy in a relief centre.
Zarina who comes from Seberang Badak Village, here, said that about seven to eight years ago the condition at a relief centre was uncomfortable because families were placed together in one place, without any barriers separating each family.
The mother of a 15-year-old daughter said it made her feel uneasy, especially for those who are sickly or women who are in confinement after giving birth because there is no privacy or separate space for them.
However, the housewife, who has experienced staying at relief centres almost eight times, observes that every year, the facilities at relief centres keep improving with the most significant changes in terms of accommodation management where families are provided with cubicle tents.
In this regard, she said the irresponsible behaviour of flood evacuees who took the cubicle tents home should be stopped because it will inconvenience other disaster victims in the future.
Meanwhile, another evacuee at SK Gemereh, Rahmat Abdul Latif, 73, said the tent was very comfortable because of its larger size, height and quality.
He said that the public should take better care of the facility because it is for common use and not private property.
“However, it would make better sense to provide cubicle tents according to the number of members of a family. For example, if there is only one evacuee, a smaller tent is sufficient,” he said.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency