Floods: Infrastructure repairs to cost RM1bil, Parliament told

The Star

Cost to repair basic infrastructure due to the recent flooding incident is estimated to be RM1bil, the Dewan Rakyat was told on Tuesday (Dec 3).  Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the government would expedite relief assistance to repair schools, hospitals and road networks.  Read more at https://shorturl.at/jbxeH  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:02First of all, I would like to express my condolences to all flood victims across the country,

00:07especially in Kelantan, where it has been proven, alhamdulillah, that there are no floods.

00:11Our set did not break, alhamdulillah.

00:13The question is, the Minister stated that the flood-related issues in an extraordinary scale

00:18are now affecting the whole country, which will cause several waves.

00:22Is there a basis for reducing the risk of flooding in the DRR

00:27will be accelerated to enable all mega flood mitigation facilities to be immediately implemented,

00:33including LV3 to the east, to Tumpat. Thank you.

00:37Go ahead, Mr. Prime Minister.

00:39Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:41Like Tumpat, I also take the opportunity, in addition to expressing condolences to the victims,

00:51we also express our highest appreciation to the government officials.

00:57Public officials involved,

01:02that includes 80,000 public officials who have come down to help in every field,

01:10from ATM, PDRM, APM, Bomber, Railer, JKM, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education,

01:16and others that I cannot mention.

01:19They have worked together with all of the government agencies,

01:23the state, the airport, the regional office, and the government.

01:27So this is a very positive issue in facing the flood.

01:32But we have found, in the end, that the government has also directly involved

01:39and the private sector and NGOs, including volunteers,

01:44tens of thousands of volunteers have come down to help.

01:48The KSN, led by the so-called Human Resources Squad,

01:54helped after the flood, where the cleaning issues will be started.

02:02So that's why, while we are facing the problem,

02:06we can see the spirit of unity and kindness of the Malaysian people

02:13from various nationalities and regions.

02:15That is extraordinary, and I want to express my highest appreciation to them.

02:21Secondly, the root of the problem is among other things,

02:25apart from a few steps that are still not ready,

02:28including what I will say about flood prevention and others.

02:32But in Kelantan, in the last five days,

02:38between 26th and 30th November,

02:40from the JPS rain station in Tanah Merah, Tumpat,

02:45the rainfall was more than 1,167 mm in five days.

02:53According to the MET station, 1,442 mm.

02:59That is a record of too high rainfall.

03:03It was measured by JPS and MET.

03:09According to MET, the record was broken by 1,761 mm

03:16in five days, between 26th and 30th November.

03:22And in total, 1,439 mm.

03:26So, it was far more than expected.

03:29In five days, the rainfall was more than six months.

03:37So, the basis for reducing the risk of disasters,

03:42disaster risk reduction, was introduced.

03:45Among other things, we have established what is called

03:49the Basis for Reducing the Risk of National Disasters.

03:52The announcement by NADMA, the State Security Council,

03:56was very satisfying.

03:57It was approved by Prime Minister Satu.

04:01And I also appreciate it.

04:03Because the preparations were made months before that.

04:07Negotiations at the Association, State Government,

04:10and regional representatives.

04:12And this caused the steps to be taken,

04:15as I witnessed in Terengganu,

04:17and as others witnessed in Kelantan,

04:20were very satisfying.

04:23The steps that were taken were also about

04:26the development of flood prevention.

04:32In Kelantan, we saw several main projects.

04:38For example, Phase 1,

04:42Tumpat and some of Pasir Mas.

04:46It was 70% ready.

04:50So, according to the plan, it will be ready by early 2026.

04:55But we asked for it to be accelerated.

04:58Phase 2, Rantau Panjang,

05:01and some of Pasir Mas,

05:03were just started.

05:06And Phase 3, Tumpat Tanah Merah Pasir Mas,

05:09was 4%.

05:11But PLSB Sungai Kelantan,

05:14it was almost ready.

05:16Phase 1, 98%.

05:19So, at the beginning of next year,

05:21as I witnessed a few months ago,

05:23it was almost ready.

05:24But in January and February,

05:27it was quite good.

05:30And this was monitored by the Ministry.

05:34Sungai Kelantan, 2 phases.

05:37As I said,

05:39Jajahan, Kota Bawu, Tumpat Tanah Merah,

05:41Macang, Kuala Kerai,

05:4298% ready.

05:45And it is expected that early next year,

05:48in February and March,

05:50it will be complete.

05:52Phase 2, Jajahan Kota Bawu,

05:54was just started at the end of this year.

05:58It was only 4%.

06:00In Terengganu, RTB Kemasik,

06:03it was almost ready.

06:0591.8%.

06:08And it is expected that it will be fully operational

06:10at the end of January.

06:13RTB Sungai Tepuh and Benggol Air Lih,

06:16it was just started, including Bukit Puteri

06:19and others in Bukit Payung.

06:22Three RTB projects have been completed,

06:24which are already completed in Terengganu.

06:26RTB Sungai Besut, Phase 1.

06:30RTB Gong Kiat.

06:33RTB Guntung Luar.

06:36RTB Pahang,

06:38this is a bit of a miss,

06:40because only 14 main projects have been started,

06:448 projects in implementation.

06:47In Pekan, Kuantan,

06:49Sungai Yeh, Sungai Maran, and others.

06:52In implementation, including in Sungai Jelai,

06:55Sungai Pahang,

06:57I don't know the area,

06:59but I didn't read everything.

07:01But the Ramalan and flood warning program

07:04is very advanced now,

07:06which is called PRAB.

07:08Hydrology data,

07:10session telemetry,

07:11PRAB,

07:12rain forecast data,

07:14weather forecast model,

07:16numerical,

07:18numerical,

07:20and using satellite and radar technology.

07:24That's for sure.

07:26And because of that,

07:28the range is not much anymore.

07:31The Director-General said,

07:35for next week,

07:37around 8th or 9th of December,

07:39we have to be more vigilant.

07:42Inshallah, the prayer will be more controlled,

07:45but there will be a forecast,

07:48and the rain will come.

07:58Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister.

08:00We know that Tumpat is located at the edge of the country,

08:02and is the city that is most connected to the border.

08:05Almost all of these waters will move to Tumpat eventually,

08:08after coming from the Kelantan River,

08:10to the Golut River, and so on.

08:12So, we see that last week,

08:14the SMART team couldn't come to Tumpat for disaster relief,

08:16because it was flooded in Jalan Raya.

08:18So, that's why I asked earlier,

08:20will the government start making a policy change

08:23towards the construction of a defense fort,

08:26which will cover all areas,

08:29related to safety and logistics,

08:32which will be needed to provide assistance

08:34to our people in the event of a disaster.

08:36And I understand that yesterday,

08:38the KKR ministerial team came to Tumpat,

08:41and announced Rp 2.5 million

08:43for a damaged road there.

08:45However, I need the Prime Minister's assurance,

08:48for an immediate additional budget,

08:51for infrastructure and mobilization at the border,

08:54by raising the level of the road

08:56from Jalan Kubo to Jubakar Pantai,

08:58from Jalan Negeri to Jalan Persekutuan,

09:01because in some places, the road is very damaged,

09:04and needs a bridge at certain locations.

09:07And we also need the Prime Minister's assurance,

09:10so that Phase 2 and 3 can be accelerated,

09:13because the people can't stand it.

09:15Every day, they have to face a lot of dust and holes.

09:18So, we hope that when Phase 1 is underway,

09:21Phase 2 and 3 will be very slow.

09:23So, I also want to ask the Prime Minister,

09:25how much assistance will be provided

09:28to the residents whose houses are completely submerged?

09:32Before this, it was very rare.

09:34Now, I feel that the number of houses

09:36that are completely submerged is almost tens of thousands.

09:38So, this is what we need to look at,

09:40and I also want to ask for the PM's assurance,

09:43so that the SPM can be built outside of Tengku Juh.

09:48Thank you, Tumpat.

09:50That statement is indeed very concerning.

09:54What I observed, including yesterday afternoon,

09:59immediate assistance to overcome the damage

10:03that we know for sure,

10:05cost almost one billion ringgit.

10:08The priority, of course, is to repair,

10:11schools, hospitals, main roads,

10:14those are given immediate priority,

10:16other than replacing the losses.

10:18I agree with Tumpat.

10:20If all the houses are destroyed,

10:23then the government must consider

10:26to replace the losses with patience,

10:28so that it can be rebuilt.

10:30I cannot give a specific statement

10:33on where.

10:34So far, we have provided,

10:36for now, this is only one billion ringgit.

10:40We are still waiting for detailed information,

10:45on the overall situation.

10:46Now, there is a little damage in Kelantan and Terengganu,

10:51but it has spread to Pahang,

10:55and in Johor, it will also be affected.

10:59So, we will look at the overall situation.

11:01But I assure you,

11:02that immediately, such as food and drink,

11:04they have basic facilities,

11:06including repairing damaged roads,

11:08that must be given priority.

11:11I will wait for the KKR and Petra reports

11:16to discuss the issue of improving roads.

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