Giving assurances: Ahmad Zahid chatting with the Sungai Ruil Orang Asli community affected by the landslide. Also present is Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail. — Bernama
CAMERON HIGHLANDS: Government agencies and residents in Peninsular Malaysia’s southern region have been urged to be alert and adhere to standard operating procedures (SOP) to face the fourth wave of the northeast monsoon which is now moving south.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said state agencies and committees need to be ready to take immediate action to deal with disasters brought about by the monsoon, including floods.
“The fourth wave of the northeast monsoon has shifted to the south and I hope immediate action in accordance with the SOP as stipulated by Nadma [the National Disaster Management Agency] and also APM [Malaysian Civil Defence Force] and other agencies can be followed by all the committees and agencies involved,” he told reporters after visiting the landslide site in the Orang Asli settlement of Sungai Ruil in Tanah Rata here yesterday.
Earlier, Ahmad Zahid, who is also Nadma chairman, visited the temporary relief centre (PPS) in the Sungai Ruil Orang Asli village hall, housing 88 victims from 17 families affected by the incident on Oct 12 last year.
Meanwhile, in KUALA LUM-PUR, the Malaysian Meteorolo-gical Department (Met-Malaysia) yesterday issued a warning of continuous heavy rain for eastern Pahang and Johor until today.
It also said in a statement that there would be strong winds and rough seas until tomorrow.
This, it said, follows the concentration of easterly winds expected to occur in Pahang, Johor, Sarawak and eastern Sabah until Tuesday.
Such weather conditions will increase humidity, which has the potential to bring continuous rain to the affected areas, it said.
According to Nadma, 1,197 flood victims in Johor took shelter in 12 PPS as of 6am yesterday, a slight increase from 1,153 the night before.
A total of 793 victims were placed in eight PPS in Kota Tinggi, 277 victims in two PPS in Mersing, 43 in a Johor Baru PPS and 84 in a PPS in Kluang.
In Kota Tinggi, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the Malaysian Armed Forces are ready for the go-ahead to move in to help people in the aftermath of flooding.
However, the ministry has so far not received instructions from Nadma to do so, he said.
With MetMalaysia’s prediction of rain in several areas in the state, he said armed forces members are on standby to deal with possible floods.
“In Johor, we have six officers and 66 members of other ranks assigned to help in the flood situation here. We are also ready to help if there are roads cut off by floods,” he told reporters after visiting a PPS at Sekolah Rendah Agama Bersepadu Kota Tinggi yesterday.
Earlier, Mohamed Khaled, who is also Kota Tinggi MP, also visited a PPS at SJK Cina New Kota and SK Laksamana.
In the meantime, the minister said the Sungai Johor flood mitigation project has already been tendered and is expected to be implemented in the near future.
“The project involves an allocation of about RM600mil to RM700mil. Now, the tender has been closed and is awaiting the award,” he added. – Bernama
