PETALING JAYA: There is no distinction of race or religion when it comes to helping flood victims, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar (pic).
He said the Department had allocated RM12.55mil for assistance in the form of prayer kits, food and trauma healing programmes for those affected by the floods.
“We are not identifying victims by religion or ethnicity, even though we are in charge of Islamic religious affairs.
“Flood assistance from us is typically provided to all victims, regardless of their religion or ethnicity, as victims suffer no matter what their religion is. This is the time for us to show compassion as human beings.
“Initiatives like the Musa’adah Flood Fund managed by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and the Malaysian Waqf Foundation collect donations from the public to be distributed to flood victims.
“Various parties have come together in this humanitarian effort,” said Mohd Na’im, who said the government also worked with various Muslim NGOs such as the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (Mapim)
The volunteers of the Skuad Musa’adah Al-Falah Madani consist of staff from the 14 religious agencies under Mohd Na’im.
“This is actually our second squad helping out at ground zero of floods. Our first one was Skuad Prihatin Ummah which has already been on the ground since Oct 11 itself.
“The deployment of this second batch of volunteers under Skuad Musa’adah Al-Falah Madani to several locations will be based on priorities coordinated by Jakim with local agencies,” said Mohd Na’im.
Currently, 40 volunteers from the Skuad Musa’adah Al-Falah Madani are carrying out aid missions at several locations around Rantau Panjang and Tumpat, Kelantan, starting Dec 5.
“Among the activities carried out were the distribution of essential items and food, community cooking, as well as spiritual reinforcement programmes such as talks and congregational dawn prayers at relief centres,” said Mohd Naim.
He said of the RM12.55mil allocated for the flood relief, RM7mil was from the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council along with RM5mil from the Taqwa Foundation.
