Deputy defence minister: 131 MAF members, veterans affected by floods in Kelantan and Terengganu

KOTA BARU, Jan 11 — A total of 131 Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) members and veterans were affected by the recent floods in Kelantan and Terengganu.

Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said 49 of them are members of the Malaysian Eighth Infantry Brigade, while the remaining are veterans, comprising 47 in Kelantan and 35 in Terengganu.

He said the Department of Veterans Affairs (JHEV) will look into the appropriate assistance to be given to the veterans, like house repair.

Regarding damage to military assets and camps, he said, no report on the matter had been received so far.

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He told this to reporters during a post-flood working visit to the 8th Brigade Headquarters, Pengkalan Chepa camp, here today, which was also attended by the Commander of the Eighth Infantry Brigade, Brig Gen Muzamil Ali.

Regarding the current floods in Johor, Adly said a total of 279 ATM personnel as well as some military assets such as trucks and boats, had been mobilised to the state to assist in the evacuation process.

“The ministry has placed nearly 18,000 personnel on standby for the floods in the country,” he said. I

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Meanwhile, Adly said a total of 33,042 ATM veterans have received the benefits under the JHEV welfare scheme with a total amount of assistance worth more than RM62.5 million being disbursed.

“This scheme is in the form of financial assistance to help the ATM veterans and their eligible dependents to live a comfortable life,” he said, adding that the “Peduli Veteran” programme will continue to be carried out, involving at least 800 programmes a year. — Bernama