IPOH, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has channelled contributions to 164 families in Taman Klebang Jaya and Taman Meru 2C whose houses were affected by a storm last week.

The contributions of between RM700 and RM1,400 were handed over by the Prime Minister's senior political secretary, Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin, at the Taman Klebang Jaya Community Hall and Taman Meru Multipurpose Hall today.

Shamsul Iskandar told reporters that the contributions were to ease the burden of the victims and help them repair the damage caused by the storm.

"The aid is also aimed at expressing the sympathy and responsibility of Anwar, as the Tambun member of Parliament, to the people in the constituency that he represents.

"Although always busy with his duty, he always cares and wants to know about what is happening in his constituency. When such incidents occur, he doesn't wait long to ask us what kind of assistance has been given and action taken,” he said.

Shamsul said Anwar had also instructed all disaster and safety-related agencies and the state Disaster Management Committee to always be on the alert to face any uncertain weather conditions, such as storms and floods.

"This instruction was issued to the relevant agencies, especially the police, fire and rescue department and all state disaster management committees so that they are always prepared for the unpredictable weather conditions during the end of the year.

"He (Anwar) also stressed the need for the relevant agencies to be effective in channelling aid directly to the people so that any disaster can be tackled immediately,” he said.

In the Nov 8 incident that occurred around 2 pm, the roofs of 65 Klebang Jaya houses were blown off following heavy rain and strong winds, causing the ceilings to collapse. No deaths or injuries were, however, reported.

A similar incident occurred in Taman Meru 2C on Monday (Nov 13) at about 4 pm when over 99 houses in Persiaran Taman Meru 22, 24, 26 and 30 suffered damaged roofs.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency