The Nipah Virus Disaster Rescue and Liaison Committee today demanded an explanation from the government as to why the money collected from a special lottery draw to aid victims of a viral outbreak was used for the SEA Games and Formula One instead.

"We demand the Finance Ministry to give us reasonable and acceptable explanations why the ministry decided to use this fund for the above events rather than helping the poor victims," the committee said.

Yesterday, the finance ministry in a written reply to an opposition member of Parliament said that money from the fund was used to finance the SEA Games and Formula One.

The ministry added that a total of RM217,472,620.06 including tax, was collected since the fund was set up in 1999.

However, the ministry did not specify how much of the above amount was used for both the events.

The Nipah committee expressed its disappointment with the ministry for not utilising the money to help the pig farmers affected by the outbreak to rebuild their lives.

"The pig-farming industry in Negeri Sembilan has collapsed since 1998 and the Bukit Pelanduk area is becoming a dead town," it said.

The outbreak left scores of people dead while some 400,000 pigs were culled, crippling the once thriving pig industry in Bukit Pelanduk and elsewhere.

Seriously listen

"We urge the government to seriously listen to the grievances of the Nipah victims. Some of the victims are paralysed and are unable to work," the committee added.

The committee also explained that about 100 families lost their breadwinners following the outbreak and many families have approached the committee for help.

According to the committee, they have been fighting for higher financial assistance from the government.

"We wanted a RM200 compensation for each pig culled. However, the government agreed to give us RM120 for the first 2,000 pigs culled and RM85 for the rest," it said.

Initially, the government only wanted to compensate the farmers at a flat rate of RM50 for every pig culled, added the committee.

The committee claimed that their demand for RM200 for each pig is justified as it is only about 60 percent of the cost to produce a sellable adult pig.

"We were told all these time that the government has not enough funds from the special lottery draw."

In August this year, the government announced that it would retain the remaining RM18 million in the fund to fight the outbreak of future livestock diseases.

The fund was supposedly derived from the special lottery draw which collected about RM217 million.

However, the decision was overturned by the government last month after several cabinet ministers such as Works Minister S Samy Vellu and Health Minister Chua Jui Meng highlighted the issue during the weekly cabinet meeting.