Fadhlina: Education Ministry guarantees permanent disaster relief centres will benefit disaster victims

PASIR MAS, Dec 4 — The Ministry of Education guarantees that the Permanent Disaster Relief Centres (PPKB) will benefit the victims of disasters such as floods, said Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.

She said the ministry has no problems in making the necessary preparations and is always ready to do so based on the set guidelines.

“The PPKB is permanent shelter for flood evacuees, so it needs to be planned and built in an orderly and neat manner, and maintained well in the future.

“We hope it will be implemented as there are large families among the evacuees and it will cost more to maintain,” she told reporters after meeting flood evacuees at the Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Gual Tinggi Temporary Relief Centre (PPS) near Rantau Panjang, here today.

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Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had said that the PPKB would be established immediately, with the pilot project to start in nine states.

Anwar, who is also finance minister, said the PPKB involves a ceiling cost of RM5 million for each centre and would provide better facilities compared to the PPS.

On October 28, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Duties), Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said the following PPKB locations have been proposed: SK Banggol Peradong in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu; SK Gual Tinggi in Pasir Mas, Kelantan; SK Seri Medan in Batu Pahat, Johor; SK Benta in Kuala Lipis, Pahang; SK Perwira in Teluk Intan, Perak; SK Machang Bubok, Penang, and SK Beradek in Kuching, Sarawak.

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Kedah and Sabah are still in the evaluation stage by their respective Education Departments.

Asked to comment on the Education Ministry’s preparedness to face a bigger wave of floods, Fadhlina said it has made early preparations, including prioritising student evacuees, whose homes have been cut off preventing them from attending school.

“We are always prepared and we prepare ahead, especially in flood-prone states.

“Even during disasters, education must be prioritised to prevent students from being jeopardised,” she added. — Bernama