SIBU, June 24 – The state government will not be hasty in deciding on the relocation of the Kampugn Datu settlers whose homes were destroyed in the fire on June 19.
Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said the government would give time to the fire victims in the village until their daily life returned to normal.
Speaking to reporters while visiting the site of the houses destroyed in the fire, he said that the village site had been proposed to be developed as an extension of Sibu town.
“It’s better that we (the government) don’t be hasty in considering the matter. I think that they are now discussing (with the Sarawak Land Custody Development Authority) to relocate to another site.
“As such, we leave it to them (villagers) to take a little longer to decide when they are ready to lead a normal life,” he said when asked whether the villagers would be allowed to rebuild their homes at the old site.
In the incident at about 4pm on June 19, a total of 60 wooden houses were razed which resulted in more than 600 residents losing almost all their possessions.
Kampung Datu is among the traditional villages built along the Batang Igan about a century ago. Taib said the state government had agreed to relocate the fire victims temporarily at Bandar Baru Sibu Jaya and Rantau Panjang.
– BERNAMA
