In a short statement today, the ministry said that the Christmas open house, originally scheduled for tomorrow evening at the Pavillion shopping mall, was cancelled but gave no official reason.
Several Christmas and New Year’s events in Putrajaya, Selangor and Perak have also been cancelled following the worsening flood situation affecting the states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak, Pahang and Perlis.
Muhyiddin is currently leading Putrajaya’s relief efforts, having flown to flood-ravaged Kelantan earlier today and ordered the deployment of more helicopters, boats and land vehicles to reach and help the affected people.
Extremely high levels of floodwater and bad weather have made relocating victims and the transport of food supplies by helicopters difficult, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in a statement.
As of today, more than 32,000 people had been moved out of their homes in Kelantan after the floods struck on December 16.
Altogether, more than 100,000 people have been evacuated in the country, taking into account those moved out in Terengganu, Pahang, Perak, Kedah and Perlis.
A total of 103,412 people have been displaced in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak and Perlis, Bernama said, surpassing the previous record of 100,000 people evacuated during floods in 2008.
Northeastern peninsular Malaysia, which is worst affected, is regularly hit by flooding during the annual Northeast Monsoon, but this year’s rains have been particularly bad.
