By Ma Chee Seng & Uzair Aneeq
KUCHING: The Social Welfare Department (JKM) has agreed to set up two depots in Sarawak to ensure that natural disaster relief is managed centrally, says Datuk Shaharuddin Abu Sohot.
According to the director-general, the depots would be located in Sibu and Miri. He told the media this after the visit to Sarawak JKM here today.
He explained that the plan to construct a new depot in the affected area was to reduce the cost of transporting necessary items from the present depot centre (Kuching) to the temporary centre in other parts of Sarawak.
“It is general knowledge that the travel distance from Kuching to the northern region is long, taking approximately 12 hours, so with the new disaster depot in the northern region, we will not have difficulty dealing with catastrophes, particularly floods.”
When asked when the plan would be executed, Shaharuddin replied that he would try to present the proposal at JKM’s 2023 annual financial statement later.
In another development, he insisted that the children’s mini house in Miri would be fully completed before the beginning of 2023, adding that the institution was already 90 per cent completed and waiting for the parliamentary clearance gazette in order to begin operations as a new children’s education centre.
Meanwhile, Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah requested that the instructors at the children’s centre be certified teachers to ensure that the children’s education and upbringing are guaranteed.
“We want the children to be handled by individuals who are properly trained in the field of childcare,” she stressed.
