KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 ― Putrajaya should immediately stave off potential looting and disease outbreaks in flood-hit Kuala Krai by diverting its resources there, DAP MPs Anthony Loke and Liew Chin Tong said today.
Having personally witnessed the widespread destruction there, the two MPs said the prime minister needs to pre-empt any possible “social unrest” by quickly ensuring food supply and clean conditions for Kuala Krai residents.
“We urge Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the federal government to mobilise the maximum number of civil and military personnel and assets, preferably via a declaration of emergency, to clean up Kuala Krai in the shortest possible time and to ensure adequate food is distributed to all victims at the quickest time,” they said in a statement today.
Loke is leading DAP’s flood relief operations, while Liew is the DAP national political education director; both said they were in Kuala Krai to distribute donated supplies to flood victims.
Describing the devastation in the Kelantan town, the duo spoke of how most of the residents had survived without electricity and clean water supply for 10 days, with such supplies only restored in limited areas.
Flooded areas have yet to be cleaned up and rubbish was mostly left uncollected, while the stench of dead animals was common, Loke and Liew said as they expressed worries about the health hazards in Kuala Krai.
Further illustrating the severity of Kuala Krai’s dire conditions, the two federal lawmakers described businesses closing up for fear of looting and low cash reserves in the hands of flood victims, coupled together with scarce food supplies even for those with cash.
“Without the government stepping in to ensure food and essential items are distributed to all in an orderly manner, and without the market forces of shops and stalls functioning properly, social unrest cannot be ruled out,” they said.
They reiterated the DAP’s call for Najib to declare a state of emergency for Kuala Krai and to deploy at least 10,000 military personnel from all the camps in Kelantan for a massive clean-up exercise there.
Food rations should also be sent to all corners of Kuala Krai, they said, saying that increased police presence and the deployment of military personnel will restore public order for businesses to operate again.
Power provider Tenaga Nasional Berhad should also issue a schedule for resumption of electricity supply, they said.
In what is said to be Malaysia’s worst floods in decades, 21 people have been killed and over 230,000 people were forced to flee their homes due to the rising flood waters.
The flood waters have however started to recede and the number of evacuees has dropped to 79,220 as of the National Security Council’s statistics at 4pm today.
Many parts of peninsular Malaysia were swamped by floodwaters, with Terengganu, Pahang and PAS stronghold Kelantan being among the hardest-hit states.
