News - Fishermen Fund To Help Tsunami-Hit Fishermen

Fishermen Fund To Help Tsunami-Hit Fishermen - Muhyiddin



KEPALA BATAS, Jan 4 (Bernama) -- The government will utilise part of the RM50 million Fishermen Fund under the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) to help more than 5,000 Tsunami-hit fishermen in four states to start their life afresh.



Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the assistance extended in the form of interest-free soft loans would be expedited to enable the fishermen to repair their damaged boats and buy new fishing equipment so that they could go out to sea for their livelihood.



"The government sympathises with the fate of the fishermen who have lost their source of income. The government will speed up disbursement of the aid to the affected fishermen," he said.



Muhyiddin said he had instructed LKIM to expedite disbursement of the cash aid so that fishing boats and engines could be repaired immediately to enable the fishermen to go about their lives.



"My ministry will ask Treasury to ease the procedures to utilise the allocation so that boats can be repaired quickly, infrastructures can be rebuilt and buy new fishing apparatus," he told a media conference after visiting Kuala Muda fishermen affected in the Dec 26 Tsunami catastrophe here Tuesday.



Source: Bernama

Original article can be read here.