SUBANG JAYA: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today reassured the public that the country was in good hands while Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was away.
The deputy prime minister said he would do his best to act on behalf of Najib as the country faces one of the worst floods in its history, with tens of thousands displaced.
"Don't worry, I'm in charge.
"The PM needs time to take a break... he has been working very hard so let's be fair to him as a human being," he told reporters at the Christmas celebration hosted by the Christian Federation of Malaysia here.
Muhyiddin was responding to criticism from several quarters regarding Najib's absence during the floods, which has now seen more than 90,000 people evacuated around the country.
Muhyiddin said he was keeping close contact with Najib while the prime minister was away, and providing the latest updates on the current situation.
He said the government would mobilise all available assets to help in flood rescue operations, and would call on the private sector to assist if needed.
"We may ask some private companies or other agencies not involved with the flood operations to lend their helicopters for this crisis."
"Our priority is the safety of the people, and we will do all we can to save lives even if it costs more than we expected."
He urged the public not to spread false or unsubstantiated rumours in order to avoid adding to the flood victims' distress.
"Rumours such as distress calls and so on are hard to verify which makes it difficult for us and causes people to panic.
"This is not helpful so we hope people will not be taken in by these claims spreading on social media."
Muhyiddin said he has been receiving updates every two hours from the National Security Council on the flood situation and will to continue to advise them on the mobilisation of assets and aid distribution.
Erratic weather patterns, he said, had made it difficult for rescue and aid operations to be carried out as planned, especially in heavily affected areas in Kelantan.
He said his scheduled visit to the state tomorrow may even be disrupted, depending on the weather and flood situation at Pengkalan Chepa airport.
"If that happens, I will resort to Plan B, which is to land in either Kuantan or Terengganu."
He dismissed criticism that the government had been unprepared for the crisis, saying that the extent of the floods had been unexpected.
"We face floods every year but this is looking to be the worst the country has seen in the last 30 years.
"We can prepare all we can, but some things just cannot be predicted. Some things are also out of our control... This is a natural disaster and it can be caused by many things, including climate change and soil erosion."
Despite the seriousness of the crisis, Muhyiddin said there was not yet a need to declare a state of emergency, as several criteria needed to be met.
"Unless there was a total breakdown in electricity or water supply, or if the number of evacuees rises to over hundreds of thousands, we will not declare a state of emergency."
"Even it was declared, the important thing is what we do about it... Ensuring lives are saved and that they have all the essentials they need."
Earlier, Muhyiddin wished all Malaysians a Merry Christmas on behalf of Najib and the government.
He said Christmas was a time for the country to foster peace and harmony.
"These are very challenging times.
"There is a need for us to come together and share our feelings so that we can resolve issues in the best possible manner we can."