KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 ― Gabungan Impian Kelantan, a joint initiative between DAP and several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), will be building 40 new homes for the entire village of Guchil displaced by severe floods that hit the state late last year.

The houses which cost RM50,000 each will be built on five acres of land in Kampung Sungai Mas in Kuala Krai, Kelantan.

“We want to move them to a piece of land that is higher up, 9km from their original location... And we also leave one acre of the land to make aquaponics to give the residents a chance to rear fish and they have the opportunity to sell the fish they rear or to eat it themselves.

“We want to guarantee them that when they move somewhere that is further than their current location, they have a means to make a living,” Seputeh MP Theresa Kok said while announcing a fundraiser for the new homes next month.

In the new village, Gabungan Impian Kelantan will also be building facilities fit for an entire community like a public hall, playground and even an aquaponics pond to farm fish and cultivate water plants.

The entire project is estimated to cost RM2 million.

She added the construction of the 40 houses was merely the first phase of Gabungan Impian Kelantan's relief efforts for the flood victims, with the second phase expected to cost some RM1.2 million.

According to the group's brochure. Gabungan Impian Kelantan has since built 45 new homes in Kampung Pasir Tumboh and Gua Musang.

The Gabungan Impian Kelantan fundraiser will take place on July 11 here, with a table costing RM2,000 each.

Kok noted that donations of any amount are also welcomed.

The Impian Kelantan initiative comes amid criticisms levelled against Putrajaya and the Kelantan state government for moving too slowly in the rebuilding of homes, with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim telling Parliament on Tuesday that only 33 homes have been built for the 1,900 flood victims so far.

Previously, Putrajaya had said that of the 261 units of new permanent houses to be built by the federal government for flood victims in Kelantan, 168 will be handed over before Aidilfitri, in late August.

The 261 units are part of the first phase of 1,255 housing units to be built by the federal government for flood victims in Kelantan.

The remaining houses will be built by the Kelantan government.