"Government Better Prepared To Face Major Flooding"

SEPANG (Malaysia), Nov 1 (Bernama) -- The government is now better prepared to face major flooding, which is expected to occur next month due to the inter-monsoon period, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said. Muhyiddin, who is the National Disaster Management Committee chairman, said he would obtain feedback from government agencies to draw up preparations to face the disaster. "We are ready though we cannot predict how the situation is going to be; so we should be prepared more than usual," he told reporters at the Bunga Raya Complex of KL International Airport after seeing off Prime Minister Najib Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor, who left for Medina en route to Mecca to perform the haj. The media reported on Monday that people in states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, Kedah, Sarawak and Sabah have been advised to prepare for any eventuality of flood. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's (UKM) Southeast Asia Disaster Prevention Research Institute director Prof Dr Ibrahim Komoo predicts that the monsoon season this time around would bring 40 per cent or 880mm more of rainfall from last year. Muhyiddin said he would meet the National Security Council soon to get an overview of the preparations for the disaster. "I want to listen to each and every preparation that is being put in place, including from other agencies such as the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry; we want to know about the logistics and so on," he said. He said early preparations had been put in place taking into account the previous experiences. To a question on assistance to neighbouring countries currently experiencing floods such as Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, Muhyiddin said assistance would be channelled to these countries due to the severity of the disaster. "We also know that the people there are facing difficulties; that's why we are extending this assistance," he said. -- BERNAMA