CYBERJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has instructed all flood relief works to be expedited.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Special Duties) Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad said the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) under the National Security Council (NSC) has subsequently been granted permission to execute and expedite all flood relief works at Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam under Article 55 of the Federal Constitution.
Abdul Latiff said this decision was made by the prime minister during the Special National Disaster Coordination Meeting yesterday.
He said frontliners and volunteers who have been working round the clock to make sure that those stranded in Taman Sri Muda receive the necessary aid, were also told to be flexible with requests by residents who wish to remain at home.
Abdul Latiff said Nadma would provide food and medical supplies to those affected in Sri Muda, even if the residents refused to be relocated to temporary relief centres.
"During the meeting with the PM today, he had raised a few concerns about the Taman Sri Muda flood management operation, (after which) and we have made the necessary arrangements accordingly.
"Among the suggestions given by the prime minister is for Nadma to apply Article 55 of the Emergency Ordinance, to declare the flood as emergency.
"By doing so, we are able to cut through any red tape and long procurement process to execute flood management works," he said, adding people's lives and safety remained as the government's main priority.
He said the affected area in Sri Muda covers about 4,600 homes, with 2,000 residents still living in their inundated homes.
Abdul Latiff said on the advice of the prime minister, residents who do not wish to relocate to relief centres, were provided door-to-door assistance in regards to food and other daily necessities.
"They have their own reasons as to why they don't want to be relocated to relief centres, mostly out of fear of Covid-19 transmission," he added.
When asked about the delay in declaring the recent Selangor flood situation a crisis, Abdul Latiff said Nadma was caught off guard following the continuous downpour and that their preparedness was focused on the east coast states that usually experience flood following the annual monsoon season this time of the year.
"Selangor is not one of the states normally affected by bad floods during the yearly monsoon. Nadma has already deployed 81 of its personnel to be on standby in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan since November.
"Stimulation exercises had been carried out to suit the geographical topology at the flood-prone states and we didn't expect flooding to happen on a big scale in Selangor," he said, adding that there was also no clear indications of the flood's severity, until early Saturday.
"Heavy rain and flash floods are quite common in the Klang Valley and we were alerted of the severity of the situation when rain continued from Friday. We began flood management preparation around 3pm on Saturday."
Abdul Latiff said this during a special briefing at the Nadma headquarters last night. Also present were his deputy, Datuk Mastura Mohd Yazid and Nadma director-general Datuk Dr Aminuddin Hassim.
He said that the dense residential area and the mixed development of Taman Sri Muda also hampered the rescue and flood management process.
"Unlike managing floods in a city or in a village, this time proper planning was required as there are terrace houses, double storey homes, low cost units and even guarded housing areas, all in Taman Sri Muda," he explained.
He said this was among the issues brought up during the special flood management meeting with the prime minister.
Abdul Latiff also complimented Malaysians for pooling their resources to help each other at a time of crisis.
On flash floods at Kampung Kasipillay, Jalan Ipoh, on Saturday, Abdul Latiff said it was also caused by heavy rain in Selangor.
"We believe some parts of KL, especially low lying areas along Sungai Gombak, Sungai Klang and Sungai Langat experienced floods when the rivers overflowed. They are part of the rivers that run through KL and Selangor," he said referring to the floods at Dataran Merdeka, Masjid India, Kampung Kasipillay and several other areas along the river in the federal capital
On Saturday, more than 30 houses at Kampung Kasipillay were inundated by flood that rose more than two metres high.
At 8.30pm, it was reported thar the Fire and Rescue Department together with army and Civil Defence personnel used boats to help those trapped inside their homes to safer grounds.
Kampung Kasipillay, comprising houses made mostly out of wood, suffered massive damage.
Its residents were told to evacuate their houses for the night and were allowed to return home on Sunday afternoon, when floodwater had subsided.