KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — Penang state executive councillor Zairil Khir Johari today fended off accusations that the state government has done nothing to alleviate the flooding problem in the state, recently compounded by the exceptionally high rainfall intensity.
Zairil, who is in charge of flood mitigation, said that since 2013, a total of RM550 million has been allocated for both state and federal flood mitigation infrastructure.
He stated that from 2013, 369 projects worth RM155 million have been implemented throughout the state, with funds derived from the drainage contribution fund, a mandatory charge imposed on property developments.
“The Penang Island City Council (MBPP), on the other hand, has spent nearly RM43 million on 37 flood mitigation projects in the same period of time.
“On top of that, another RM150 million for eight high impact projects were approved by the state government following the November 2017 floods. Out of the eight projects, six are already underway, while two more are being tendered following completion of their detailed designs this year,” he said in a statement today.
The Tanjong Bungah assemblyman’s statement comes on the back of criticisms by the state opposition that the state government has not done anything to address the flooding problem, with some even deeming the flood mitigation projects a failure.
“It is extremely hypocritical for these parties to make such baseless claims as they were all part of the Barisan Nasional government who denied Penang many critical flood mitigation projects while they were in power at the federal level,” he said.
Zairil added that in addition to the projects, Putrajaya has, since 2018, approved five projects worth approximately RM200 million, including the long-awaited Sungai Pinang flood mitigation scheme.
The northern state has, in the last two weeks, been inundated with flash floods as the annual inter-monsoon period brought exceptionally high intensity of rainfall.
Statistically, Zairil said, the annual rainfall per hour in Penang has risen six times since the 1990s, from an average of 31mm to 180mm in recent years.
According to Zairil the capacity of existing drainage infrastructure in Penang is unable to cope with such an increase in rain intensity.
Zairil also noted the super tide phenomenon which occurred over the Deepavali weekend.
“Being a coastal state, heavy rain and high tide is a formula that will inevitably result in floods as stormwater is unable to discharge into the sea,” he said.
