Malaysia ummah village gives new light to earthquake, tsunami victims in Palu

From Amirul Mohd Sajadi

PALU (Sulawesi), Nov 17 (Bernama) -- The construction of the Malaysia Ummah Village here has been seen as a new light for victims of the powerful earthquake and tsunami that hit the city of Palu in Central Sulawesi nearly two months ago.

The effort, mounted jointly by Malaysian Islamic Organisations Consultative Council (Mapim) and the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), is the first in its series and among the largest initiatives in the humanitarian aid mission from Malaysia to the areas affected by the disaster.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof said based on current development, they were optimistic that the project, which began four days ago at the Ulujadi province, would be completed by middle of next month as scheduled.

“Alhamdulillah, the project is showing positive development. In just four days, we can already see the completion of the basic structure of the houses,” he said when launching the project here today.

The village, to be built at a cost of RM1 million, would have 100 houses, a mosque, a common kitchen, a well and a children playground. 

Mujahid said there was also a plan to build more of such villages in other locations to be identified later.

The earthquake and tsunami that struck the Sulawesi island on Sept 28, were reported to have claimed at least 2,000 lives.

-- BERNAMA