Skudai fire victims receive aid to ease their burden

JOHOR BARU: The victims of a recent fire in Skudai that wiped out eight houses were thankful of the speedy help offered by the MCA.

Retiree Lee Cheng Ho, 73, said that he was grateful that the party had come forward in just a few hours after the incident to offer aid to those affected by the early morning fire.

I hope to buy some new clothes with the financial aid handed out by them as I only managed to grab one piece of shirt with me when the fire spread to my house, he said when met at Kg Baru Bt 8 1/2, Skudai here yesteday.

Lee added he has been staying at the house for the past 30 years said that he is now putting up at a nearby Nan An Chinese Association as he did not want to trouble his relative by imposing himself to their house.

Easing the burden: Lee (left) receiveing a RM500 aid from Gelang Patah MCA crisis relief squad chairman Soon Keng Hock (right) while Jason (fourth from left) looks on at Kg Baru Bt 8 1/2, Skudai Thursday.

Another victim Goh Ah Moi, 68, said that she was startled by her daughter-in-laws scream for help when the fire broke out on Sept 7.

I felt so helpless as my legs went wobbly when I woke up to see her trying to put out the fire by spraying water but the blaze was too quick and the heat was too strong, she related.

Goh said she only managed to salvage her familys important documents while her precious jewellery were charred to bits.

Gelang Patah MCA division chief Jason Teoh, who handed out RM500 cash aid to each of the eight families affected, said that he would submit a report to the party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek on the victims plight as soon as possible.

We hope that the report can be submitted to Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman so that we can come up with ways to help th! e victim s like helping them apply for low-cost houses as they are desperate for a place to stay, he said.

A row of houses, which housed eight families, was destroyed in the pre-dawm fire.

State Fire and Rescue Department operation assistant director Mohd Pisar Aziz said said that the estimated total loss is about RM350,000, while salvaging about RM400,000 of belongings such as furniture, cash and jewellery and investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the fire.

-The Star-