PUTRAJAYA, Jan 5 — The government is doing all it can to deliver supplies and aid to flood victims through village chiefs but cannot “control what happens” at the lower level, a federal minister said today.

In the wake of the country’s worst floods, complaints have risen alleging bias on the part of some village chief; some families claim they did not receive aid as their names “were not on the list”.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government is not selective in giving aid as supplies were sent to all affected areas.

“When we send to the villages, the village chiefs will handle the distribution work. It is impossible for us to send to every home.

“On the government’s part, based on our efforts, we are confident the supplies will reach to all but in terms of details at the lower level, we can’t control what happens,” he told reporters at the ministry’s headquarters here.

He noted though there had only been “isolated cases” where people would make “all kinds of allegations” for political mileage, pointing out that several people have been arrested for spreading false information.

“ I don’t know about other political parties but as far as the government is concerned, we are giving to all.

“When we send aid to the flood operation centres and evacuation centres, we leave it there even though there are all kinds of people there, and they all get to share our supplies,” the Umno man said.

Last week, a villager in Temerloh Pahang told Malay Mail Online that her family as well as several others have not been receiving government aid which were given to her village chief to distribute as their names were “not on the list”.

She had appealed to non-governmental organisations (NGO) to send supplies directly to flood victims. Her husband has been going to the flood operation centre there by boat to collect supplies which were distributed among the families in his village.

A Royal Malaysian Navy officer also said he had received similar complaints but lamented there is nothing they can do about it.