JELEBU – The federal government should not be expected to shoulder the responsibility of managing the flood disaster alone, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
State governments and frontliners in the districts also play a crucial role in doing so, he told reporters after visiting flood victims at Dewan Besar D'Sury here.
The National Disaster Management Agency, Ismail Sabri added, “only coordinates.”
“If it is considered a weakness in coordination, I do not defend anyone in this situation. In my view, everyone must be held accountable,” he said.
Ismail Sabri added that he does not deny shortcomings that may have surfaced in terms of the authorities’ response during the crisis.
“I don’t deny (the weaknesses) and will strive to improve in the future,” he said. “I don’t blame netizens for making complaints. I’m thankful that they continue to complain to me.”
Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri said that during a meeting with the Menteri Besar this morning, it was found that preparations in facing floods in states like Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang were already in order as the floods, especially during this time of the year, are a normal phenomenon.
However, he said, the flood that occurred in Selangor was unexpected.
Ismail Sabri said there are rules for opening a disaster operations centre and that there are standard operating procedures that have to be followed, whereby an operations room must be opened when a house is affected.
Not only one house was affected by the floods in Selangor, but all of them, especially in the Petaling and Shah Alam districts, he said.
“In Selangor, there is a problem. We are transparent about this, and I do not want to cover anyone.
“On the other hand, in other states (like) in the east coast, floods have become like an annual event, so all the preparations have been made, just waiting to open the (temporary relief centres), which have been identified and already there.
“Every year, the flood evacuees will move to the same place,” Ismail Sabri said. – Bernama, December 21, 2021
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