REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MATARAM -- Vice President Jusuf Kalla (JK) asserted West Nusa Tenggara provincial government had the ability to handle the earthquakes disaster in Lombok. Therefore, disaster status would not be increased into national disaster.
"However, the way of handling Lombok earthquakes would be the same as national disaster," Kalla said.
According to Kalla, Aceh provincial government colapsed during tsunami and major earthquake in 2004. They were unable to handle effects of the worst natural disaster in modern history. Foreign assistance needed to help recovery.
"But Insya Allah (God willing) we can handle Lombok disaster,” said JK on the sidelines of his visit to the refugee post in Kekait Village, Gunung Sari, West Lombok on Tuesday (August 21).
JK visited Lombok after the region was hit by a new main shock on last Sunday (August 19) evening following a powerful 7-magnitude earthquake occured a week earlier (August 5). He was accompanied by a number of ministries to coordinate the reconstruction and rehabilitation meetings after the disaster.
In addition, JK invited all parties to start rehabilitation of the post-earthquake recovery in Lombok. Especially, in repairing damaged houses.
“Start from today, we will begin the rehabilitation of houses, we must be enthusiastic, rise again," JK said.
JK was accompanied by Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy, Social Affairs Minister Idrus Marham, and Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, and also West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zainul Majdi or usually called Tuan Guru Bajang (TGB). Government will ensure rehabilitation process to be carried out together.
Meanwhile, Minister of Social Affairs Idrus Marham remarked that in order to deal with the impact of the earthquake in Lombok, his Ministry had issued a budget of Rp16.5 billion. The minister has ensured that food, medicine, side dishes, and other basic needs would be met.
"I have coordinated with the Bureau of Logistics, which has provided more than 300 tons of rice, to fulfill people's food needs. So far, there have been no problems," he noted.
Teams of the public works and public housing ministry and the state enterprise ministry (BUMN) have been deployed to the province for the implementation of the reconstruction and rehabilitation processes. Minister Basuki said the state-owned companies have been told to immediately carry out the rehabilitation of damaged public facilities such as school buildings, hospitals, mosques and government offices.
The budget will come from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and the public works and public housing ministry.
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