Flood barriers in KL as short term measure to address the issue, says PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Flood mitigation works are being carried out as a short term measure to address flood occurrences in the country, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The Prime Minister said among the mitigation efforts was constructing flood barriers in Kuala Lumpur.

He said Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim had informed him that the flood barrier project had started in order to prevent flash floods from happening.

Speaking to newsmen after officiating at the World Environment Day 2022 celebration at Taman Tugu Negara here on Sunday (June 5), Ismail Sabri said, however, that it was too early to gauge the effectiveness of the flood barriers.

"We will see soon after works have been completed and when there is heavy rain," he added.

Ismail Sabri also said the impact of climate change was causing erratic weather in the country and caused floods in areas that had never experienced floods before.

"The floods last year were unexpected as a few areas experienced floods for the first time.

"We used to be able to predict (the weather) such as the North-East monsoon which happens between November to January but now it can happen anytime.

"In Kuala Lumpur, heavy rain can unexpectedly cause flash floods," he said, adding that in another 10 years, the situation could worsen.

"Because of this, we need to take care of the environment and achieve the neutral-carbon emission target by the year 2050," he said.

Ismail Sabri also said he would emphasise that the implementation of the new legislation on the environment should be expedited at the next Cabinet meeting.

“We believe it has been drafted by the Environment and Water Ministry because we have been talking about this for a long time,” he said.