KOTA KINABALU: Welfare assistance is provided for victims of the fire in Kampung Pondo, Pulau Gaya off here on humanitarian grounds, said Putatan Member of Parliament Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh said.
He said so far, 182 fire victims from 66 families have been registered with the relevant authorities.
Pulau Gaya is located within Mojigoh’fs parliamentary constituency and the MP said that his office was assisting the relevant authorities in the ongoing registration of the victims.
Twenty-eight houses were destroyed in the incident on Thursday.
According to Mojigoh, at the moment they have found out that 24 of the houses belonged to victims in possession of Malaysian identification cards while the remaining four families were renting the houses they lived in.
Mojigoh also regretted criticisms by people especially netizens expressing their disappointment and anger at the government for providing assistance to the fire victims as it was alleged that since most of them are foreigners and suspected illegal immigrants.
“The perception is that they are illegals and their origin is questionable as indicated in the investigations by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) they somehow managed to get IC. Hopefully the authority will check the authenticity of their documents,” he said, adding that Pulau Gaya also has a police battalion on hand to handle the matter.
He said those with Malaysian identity cards have to be treated as citizens and accorded the necessary assistance.
“We leave it to the authority concerned to deport the illegal immigrants found there,” he said, adding that assistance would be given not just because they were Malaysians but also based on humanitarian grounds.
“It is not much we just give them the basic food and clothes,” he said.
Mojigoh also hoped City Hall would ensure that the structures would not be rebuilt since they were not only illegal but also an eyesore.
City Hall Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir had said that the victims would not be allowed to rebuild their houses because Pondo is not a gazetted village.
However, makeshift tents and aid would be distributed to fire victims who are citizens while illegal immigrants would be referred to the relevant authorities for further action, he said.