IPOH: The Works Ministry has instructed all state Public Works Departments (PWDs) to establish and activate task forces during disasters.
Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said these teams are essential, particularly during disaster seasons, to provide round-the-clock monitoring of bridges, roads, buildings, and slopes.
He said this would allow immediate actions to be taken on identified issues.
"As there is a task force team in Perak, we also recommend that other states set up similar special task forces for disaster management.
"I hope the state PWD task forces will be activated, just as we have activated the Disaster Operations Room or 'BigBen' at the headquarters, operating seven days a week and 24 hours a day with six reports daily," he said at a press conference after an official visit to the Perak PWD office in Jalan Panglima Bukit Gantang Wahab today.
In Kelantan, for instance, the PWD was able to act swiftly through the task force by allocating RM600,000 to install sheet piles along the East-West Highway near Kampung Lakota, which was at risk of being cut off due to a landslide, he said.
He said the road could collapse without the vertical sheet piles to stabilise the soil, severing the connection between Kelantan and Perak.
In a related development, Ahmad said the Perak State Task Force is led by the state PWD Director Zamri Mat Kasim, supported by a deputy director, 11 heads of PWD divisions in Perak, state chief electrical engineer and state chief mechanical engineer.
Meanwhile, Ahmad also expressed satisfaction with the performance of projects overseen by the Perak PWD, which totaled RM5.94 billion.
He said only two out of 157 projects, comprising 116 building projects and 41 road projects, are behind schedule.
"This does not indicate any significant issues, as it represents a tiny fraction of the projects.
"However, we encourage efforts to complete projects one or two months earlier while maintaining the same quality through more active work at construction sites," he said.