ALOR STAR: The people should give the government departments and agencies ample time to carry out investigations into the Baling flood disaster.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said it was imperative for these agencies to establish the root causes of the disaster.
"We can't jump the gun and make assumptions because we need to wait for the reports from the Malaysian Mineral and Geosciences Department, Drainage and Irrigation Department and the Forestry Department.
"I am aware that some quarters are pressuring me to say that the incident was caused by the Musang King durian plantation (in Gunung Inas).
"However, I must wait for the reports. Should their findings prove otherwise, I will be seen as flip-flopping," he said after chairing the weekly state executive council meeting at Wisma Darul Aman here today.
Sanusi said the state government must avoid drawing conclusions based on the opinions spread online.
"I can't simply agree with the 'Netizen Department' as I have to rely on the expertise of government departments and agencies.
"It is up to anyone who wants to become the head of netizens, but this administration has to be managed based on the right policies in accordance with the conclusion reached by the agencies concerned."
On a related matter, Sanusi said the state government had decided to rebuild houses worth RM57,000 each for victims who lost their homes in the disaster.
He added that the new homes would be built on land belonging to the Kedah Regional Development Authority.
Sanusi said the state government would also provide RM400 in rental fees for six months to 16 affected families, pending the construction of new homes.
In the July 4 incident, more than 800 houses in 12 villages here were inundated following massive floods — the worst ever in Kupang — triggered by a water column phenomenon at the upper stream of Gunung Inas.
The strong currents swept away 16 houses, destroyed 18 others and caused minor damage to more than 700 homes.
A woman, who was four months' pregnant, her mother-in-law and her 14-year-old brother-in-law were killed after their house in Kampung Iboi was swept away during the floods.