As floods wreak havoc, Putrajaya announces RM50m special aid for Johor
PUTRAJAYA, March 3 — The federal government has agreed to provide special aid to Johor totalling RM50 million to deal with the devastating flood there, government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil announced today.
Speaking to the press after a Cabinet meeting earlier, he also assured the public that an Emergency would not be declared in Johor.
“At the same time, we would like to extend our condolences to the flood victims, particularly in Johor which affected 32,716 victims across 10 districts involving 9,910 families according to the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) at noon,” he told a press conference held at the Communications and Digital Ministry here.
He said the matters were decided in the Cabinet meeting this morning.
“At this time, the Cabinet is looking more towards what can be done immediately and which government assets can be deployed right now,” he said.
Cabinet members would also go to the ground there to examine where their ministries can help alleviate matters, he said.
“For the Communications and Digital Ministry, among the issues that are my focus is related to the connectivity of telecommunication services,” he added.
He said that he has already instructed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to fix affected telecommunication towers in the area, of which there were more than 90.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was on the ground yesterday at the affected locations, he said.
“He was looking at issues that arose from the situation which could be solved immediately,” Fahmi said.
Besides that, he said that the Cabinet also discussed the need to roll out bailey bridges to connect areas.
“For now, the Cabinet is examining the situation in Johor and will assist the Johor state government to solve the issue,” he said.
On the fifth day of the floods in Johor, the number of flood victims continued to increase today.
Johor also faced severe flooding issues in January when 2,757 victims from 774 families were placed in 31 temporary flood relief centres in the state.
