KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia needs better infrastructure to mitigate flood disasters and strengthen existing measures to prevent things turning from bad to worse.
Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said it could be done by curbing deforestation and promoting sustainable development to reduce the impact of natural calamities.
He said the inclement weather in Malaysia was likely due to climate change, which was a global phenomenon.
"This year alone, more than 70 people have died and thousands have been displaced due to landslides and floods. The fact that these incidents are getting more common indicates that the country's current measures are insufficient.
"We need better infrastructure to ensure the safety of our citizens. Floods should not become an annual occurrence and we should not be taking them lying down.
"We need to take action now before it is too late or we will continue to suffer from untold misery as a result of climate change," he said in a statement today.
Lee emphasised on educating the public on how to save energy because energy consumption and climate change are directly related to each other.
"It is time for everyone to take proper steps to reduce their carbon footprint failing which, the consequences would be disastrous.
"We cannot stop the floods but we can slow them down and reduce the damage.
"The first thing we must do is to teach children about recycling and how to conserve energy and for us to set an example by being eco-friendly ourselves and taking good care of our environment."
Lee also said that each time there was a major natural calamity, the finger-pointing and blaming game would start.
"People ask: Why did this happen?', How could this happen?', Who's to blame for this happening?
"Well, it isn't just because the government didn't notice the danger signs in advance. It isn't just because they didn't have a plan in place to tackle it once it started. It has to do with what people have been doing for years, decades even."
On this note, he underscored the importance of trees as green lungs, which would not only allow mankind to breathe clean air, but also to preserve the ecosystem.
"The more trees we cut down, the worse off we are as a nation. Without them, we're looking at a bleak future where floods will be more frequent, landslides will be more severe and weather patterns will change drastically," he warned.