KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 — East coast states such as Kelantan and Terengganu were not given priority in the RM3.35 billion Flood Mitigation Projects (FMP) by the Department Of Irrigation and Drainage, said the latest Auditor-General’s (A-G) Report 2014.
The Third Series of the report released today also said that there were components of the FMP worth more than RM6 million that were not utilised optimally, while some were just not well-maintained.
“Some states particularly in the east coast such as Kelantan and Terengganu were among the states with the largest flood area and highest average losses caused by flood.
“However, they were not given priority in the implementation of FMP,” said the report.
One the components highlighted in the federal audit as not optimally used was the RM4.86 million Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (Scada) for Phase 1 of the Kelantan River FMP.
Another Scada worth RM1.44 million for Phase 2 of the Sibu FMP was also not used due to antenna installation problem.
The A-G’s report also said that all audited projects were not completed on time due to delays in land acquisition, obstacles and problems on site, weather conditions, changes in design to adapt to current site condition and delays in connection of electricity.
The FMP included river improvement works and construction of pump houses, which the audit admitted has reduced flood risk. The Muda River FMP in Kedah, for example, reduced the risk of a flood in 2003, the report noted.
The recent floods in late last year had affected states such as Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak and Johor and displaced over 250,000 Malaysians from their homes, and killed 21, according to the Inspector-General of Police.
Putrajaya has revealed that a total of around RM500 million was suffered in damages by schools and education institutions under the ministry nationwide, before launching a National Centre of Research Excellence to focus on disaster management in January.
