Mandala assists victim's families

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta post, Medan

Cash assistance of Rp 300 million (US$30,000) each has started to be distributed in Medan to 119 families of crash victims living in North Sumatra and Aceh by PT Mandala Airlines on Monday.

The company shall also be giving cash assistance to the families of residents who were killed when a Mandala Airlines aircraft crashed into a densely populated area near Polonia Airport on Sept. 5.

All 119 families of the crash victims would receive the assistance once they had completed registration procedures, including providing documents that proved they are the heirs of the crash victims.

On Monday, several families, including the family of the late Regional Representatives Council member Abdul Halim Harahap and his wife, who died in the tragic crash, were not paid because they could not present the requested documents.

Abdul Hafiz Harahap, a brother of the victim, said he was disappointed with the registration system imposed by Mandala.

He said he could not meet the administrative requirements because he could not provide identity cards belonging to Abdul Halim Harahap and his wife.

"We were asked by Mandala to show his (Abdul Halim's) identity card and driving license. This is weird. Where can we get them? The other funny thing is, we're been required to show an original court letter stating that Abdul Halim Harahap and his wife have died," Abdul Hafiz told The Jakarta Post, adding that the requirements only complicate matters for families of the crash victims.

Mandala's acting chairman Maj. Gen. Asril Tanjung said the registration procedures were not intended to impose hardship upon families in obtaining the assistance. Instead, it was implemented to prevent mistakes in its distribution, he added.

He said the company did not want the money to go to persons who were not entitled to it.

He said that the company, just one and a half months after the disaster, had managed to raise money for the cash assistance to crash victim's families as well as assisting with medical expenses and repairs to houses.

He said the assistance was not only for the families of victims who died in the disaster but also for those who suffered injuries.

Ja'far Murman, 69, a family member of one of the victims, said he was grateful for the assistance even though the amount meant nothing compared to the loss of his daughter, Aida Marlina, in the crash.

Previously, families of crash victims had received pay-outs worth Rp 50 million each from insurance firm PT Asuransi Jasa Raharja.