MARAN – Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today ordered the government to conduct a detailed study to reduce and address flood risks.
The king said that short- and long-term solutions, such as flood mitigation projects and efforts to deepen shallow rivers, are necessary due to frequent floods.
“We can think about the cost (to implement projects to address flood problems) later, but we have to find the cause as there are always floods occurring, every year, every month. This is also for small rivers and drains in the city, which are not well maintained... all kinds of garbage thrown arbitrarily, which may be the cause of the flooding,” said the Agong.
The king said this while visiting and presenting donations to flood victims, at the Kg Baru Sg Chedong temporary relief centre here today.
He was accompanied by Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah and their son Tengku Panglima Raja Tengku Amir Nasser Ibrahim Shah. Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail was also present.
In addition, the Agong also wanted those who were ordered to evacuate immediately to comply with the instruction, apart from always being aware of the safety of their children and other family members and maintaining cleanliness in the relief centre.
The king, who expressed his appreciation to all federal and state government agencies and non-governmental organisations for helping flood victims, also hoped that assistance would continue to be increased from time to time.
During the visit, the king and queen also presented donations in the forms of cash, food items, and personal care products to flood victims in the Kg Baru Sg Chedong and Dewan Arena YAM Tengku Muda relief centres here.
The floods hit Pahang on Wednesday as a result of continuous heavy rain, causing rivers to overflow in the Raub, Jerantut, Maran, Pekan, Bera, Temerloh, and Rompin districts. However, the flood situation in Raub and Jerantut fully recovered today.
Meanwhile, one of the evacuees, Mohd Sulaiman Abdul Shukor, 39, was visibly moved by the king’s concerns about his right leg, which was amputated at the knee as a result of a road accident in October last year.
Sulaiman, who has sought shelter at the Kg Baru Sg Chedong relief centre since Wednesday, said that the assistance he received greatly helped to reduce his financial burden as he is now unemployed after the accident.
“I used to help a fish trader in the market, so my income and savings were not much,” he said. – Bernama, March 3, 2023
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