KUALA LUMPUR: State governments and local authorities must adhere to the federal flood master plan when drafting development proposals, especially in high-risk areas, says Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof (pic).
The Deputy Prime Minister said flood risk plans under the federal Flood Mitigation Master Plan (PITB) should be used to determine where and how new projects are approved.
“Once these plans and guidelines are in place, they must be followed so that we can reduce flood risks.
“That is why close cooperation between district councils, local authorities, state governments and the Federal Government is very important,” he said when replying to Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PN–Rantau Panjang) in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Fadillah, who is also Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister, said the Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS) is currently carrying out both structural and non-structural measures to address flooding.
This, he added, would implemented in high-risk areas in the east coast, including Sabah and Sarawak.
On the non-structural measures, he said these would include floodplain data management, land use planning, development control, flood hazard and risk mapping, and early warning and public awareness programmes.
As for the structural measures, he said they would be implemented under the Flood Mitigation Plan (RTB), covering physical works such as river bunds, floodwalls, retention ponds, control gates and pump systems.
Fadillah said 14 PITB plans have been drawn up for the east coast, while Sabah and Sarawak have a combined 12 PITB plans that are either completed or being implemented.
“So far, 140 RTB projects have been approved, including new and ongoing projects.
“For the east coast, 29 projects worth RM9.377bil have been identified and are at various stages of implementation.
“In Sabah, there are 15 projects involving RM1.49bil, while in Sarawak there are 10 projects worth RM33.4bil, also at different stages of implementation,” he added.
He said recent RTB designs already incorporate climate change factors to make projects more resilient to extreme weather.
