KUALA LUMPUR – A Pahang executive councillor has dismissed suggestions that Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail was “missing” during the floods, saying instead that the Umno leader is a press-shy person.
State tourism, culture, environment, plantation and commodity committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin said that in fact, Wan Rosdy had been on the ground to monitor Pahang’s preparation in facing the disaster much earlier.
“I admit that my menteri besar is a bit media-shy. He doesn’t like publicity or being at the forefront of attention. He is moderate and is someone who gets the job done.
“Also, I must point out that in every district, we have exco members who provide reports and ensure that we are prepared (to face the floods),” he said in an interview published on the NRChannel TV YouTube channel today.
Sharkar was responding to a question from show host and Umno veteran Rafi Awang Kechik on the allegation made by Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik in Parliament on January 20 that Wan Rosdy was nowhere to be seen when floods hit the state.
Maszlee had said that this is in stark contrast to Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, who is always seen helping victims.
Malaysiakini had also reported last month that a resident in Bentong, Pahang had taken Wan Rosdy to task after he supposedly only waved his hands at victims from his car without offering help.
The Umno man later posted on Facebook disputing the claims he was not hands on with the victims, saying that the report is untrue and one-sided.
Meanwhile, Sharkar said rather than commenting on the performance of other leaders, Maszlee should ask himself why he failed to fulfil some of his pre-election promises made to his constituents.
“Previously, he had said that if Pakatan Harapan won the general election, people in Simpang Renggam need not pay for tolls anymore. So why are the voters still paying them?”
On Pahang’s supposed organised handling of the flood, Sharkar said this is down to the state’s disaster management that took into account high-risk areas before undertaking any development.
In comparison, he said the Selangor government had ignored these facts when developing residential projects that would later come to haunt residents.
“When we buy a house, how could we ever predict that it will be flooded? If it floods, then how was approval given for development in the area?
“If this happens, then residents must take appropriate action, including legal action, so as to serve as a lesson not only to developers, but those in power who gave approval.
“For us in Pahang, we have already expected floods in low-lying areas and those near the rivers.
“It is only that this time, (the flood happened because) the volume of rainfall was out of the ordinary,” he added. – The Vibes, January 31, 2022
