Floods: Channel aid through security agencies, says Civil Defence

KUALA LUMPUR: Individuals or non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who wish to channel aid to flood victims are urged to do so through security agencies for coordination purposes.

Malaysian Civil Defence Force Disaster Management and Operations assistant director Lt Col (PA) Amirsarifudin Zalman said the move would also prevent the parties from facing unnecessary risks at the disaster site.

"They are not encouraged to enter the flood incident areas because the risk faced by the rescue teams is different from the safety risk of the general public and they are not trained," he said when appearing on Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme on Tuesday (Dec 20) night

While appreciating the efforts of the public and NGOs to provide aid to the flood victims, Amirsarifudin said his side also faced constraints in terms of providing logistics to those who wished to send aid to the flood location.

In the meantime, he said the MCDF was ready to guide those who wished to help in disaster areas by providing relevant training.

"We are ready to work with those who intend to help, so that they are trained and can join the rescue team in disaster operations," he said. - Bernama