PENAMPANG: Sabah Umno Youth chief Yameni Hafiz Musa has called on government linked companies (GLC) to help victims of the recent flood through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs.
Hafiz also called on the public to stop politicking for the time being and focus on helping the flood victims recover from the aftermath of the flood on Oct 7.
Speaking to reporters at a donation collection centre for flood victims in the district, Hafiz expressed his gratitude to the NGOs who had extended their assistance during the flood.
Among the NGOs were the various Four Wheel Drive clubs in the state which were instrumental in helping to transport stranded villagers to safer grounds.
“We also hope that members or supporters of other parties who are making comments about the flood on social media like Facebook, will work together with the NGOs and us in resolving the problem.
“If possible, we should stop politics for a while and focus on finding ways to help the flood victims. One of the things we can do is to try and organise a clean-up team because I know that cleaning up after a flood is tedious work,” he said.
Hafiz said he would ask the Sabah BN Youth secretary to call a meeting to discuss this proposal with the other component parties to see how they could start helping to clean up the flood affected areas.
“If they agree then we will identify the areas that we can help to clean up… maybe public areas and places of worship that were hit by the flood. I feel that this is the way forward and to me, community work is very important and there are certain times when we have to put politicking aside,” he said.
Meanwhile, Umno Penampang chief Datuk John Ambrose said he would be bringing to the attention of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak the urgency of a flood mitigation plan in Penampang.
John, who was also at the donation collection centre which was the initiative of Umno Penampang Women, Youth and Puteri movements, said the flood mitigation plan was long overdue.
“I think the flood mitigation plan should be given top priority and the Prime Minister can request the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) to prioritize projects… so I will speak to him personally.
“I am also very thankful to the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman for coming to Penampang to see the flood affected areas,” John said.
On flood mitigation plans for the district, John said once such plan was implemented, should future flooding occur, it would not be too severe and the impact could be less.
“Now every time it rains, Kibabaig will be hit by flood. I think there is a need to do widening, deepening and straightening of the Moyog River so the flow will be smoother.
“I also think that people residing along the riverbanks should be relocated to a safer area. The government has lands like grazing reserves, firewood reserves; we don’t use firewood now so why not change the status to one that is for resettlement of villages,” he said.
The donation collection centre at Dewan Tun Fuad Stephens here will be opened until October 14.
Those wishing to contribute can call Connielien-013-8098669, Syah Iskandar (012-8286406) and Dk Aini (016-8407079) for further information.