KOTA TINGGI – The government will expedite post-flood recovery efforts for the 17 affected schools in Johor, so that students can attend classes as usual for the 2023/2024 academic session, which is scheduled for March 19.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said there will be coordination between the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), the Malaysian Civil Defence Force, the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), and other federal and state agencies.
He will ensure that the post-flood works can be carried out immediately, so that students can continue their school sessions in a more conducive environment, he said.
“For these 17 schools, most importantly, students can continue to study, even though the situation may not be very conducive, but we will try to get it resolved as soon as possible,” he said, at a press conference after a working visit to the Southeast Johor Development Board at its headquarters in Bandar Penawar, here today.
Also present were Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and State Secretary Tan Sri Azmi Rohani.
Zahid, who is also the chairman of the Central Disaster Management Committee, said this when asked to comment on the steps the government will take to help the 17 schools in Johor affected by the floods, following the opening of schools in the state on March 19.
On March 6, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, announced that there will be no postponement of the 2023/2024 academic school session, scheduled for March 19 and 20, in the states affected by the floods.
Fadhlina was reported as saying that there were 17 schools badly affected by the floods in Johor, and Segamat was the worst, with 14 schools, while three schools were in other districts.
She also said that, if the work to repair schools affected by the floods could not be carried out before those dates, students would be given the option to attend classes via home-based teaching and learning.
Meanwhile, in relation to the stagnant flood water in Batu Pahat, Zahid, who is also the rural and regional development minister, said that the work of pumping water out of the flood-affected areas has already started.
“The pump works have already been carried out, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has announced a RM50 million grant for Johor to buy equipment, and the menteri besar has submitted a 300-page application (for allocation), and god-willing we will address it one by one,” he said.
As of 12pm today, the SDMC announced that a total of 42,706 evacuees were still displaced by the floods in Johor, with Batu Pahat recording the highest number of evacuees at 39,944 people. – Bernama, March 12, 2023
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