Umno proposes special parliament sitting on floods

KUALA LUMPUR: A special sitting of Dewan Rakyat on the floods should be held to enable elected representatives to voice their views and put up proposals to help the government seek the best solutions to handle the disaster, said Umno president, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic).

Ahmad Zahid said Umno regrets the coordination of related agencies which should have been activated by the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) was sloppy and weak in facing the current floods.

"With such high fatalities compared to the big floods in 1971 (30 people) and 2014 (21), the government needs to heed the call of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to conduct a post-mortem on the flood disaster," he said in a statement here on Wednesday (Jan 5).

While appreciating all efforts to assist flood victims as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob which could amount to RM61,000, Ahmad Zahid said Umno hoped information on the method of implementation and channelling would be simplified and expedited.

Apart from that, he said Umno also hoped a one-off RM10,000 withdrawal from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) should be considered in line with the decision of Umno Supreme Council meeting on Aug 27.

On Dec 31, Pakatan Harapan (PH) also urged the government to hold a Dewan Rakyat sitting to debate the issue of floods that hit several states with many houses destroyed and lives lost. - Bernama