Selangor MB says no coordination issues between state and federal govts, stresses saving lives is first priority

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari has dismissed allegations that flood relief efforts between the state and federal governments were poorly coordinated, reassuring the public that saving lives is everyone’s priority.

During a press conference today, Amirudin explained the chronology of events involving the state government’s prior actions and reactions to the flood, including calling for immediate aid from the federal administration to deploy all necessary resources to help with the crisis.

Amirudin explained in detail that he had called a state disaster meeting on December 18 to discuss the appropriate response to the flood; however reiterated that state agencies were caught off-guard by the amount of rain that fell within the span of 24 hours.

This led to Amiruddin contacting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob at 8.30pm for immediate federal aid.

He then contacted Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein at 8:45pm to request aid from the army and other appropriate resources.

“Is there a lack of coordination, yes, but this is because we were caught by surprise by the amount of water. But is it because we don’t communicate? We do communicate,” he said, adding that he has proof of communications to prove it.

“At this time, our focus is to ensure search and rescue operations are carried out effectively and that they reach all who need it,” he said, adding that the state government has mobilised all necessary resources.

Amirudin explained that the relevant state agencies convened a meeting last month to prepare appropriate responses to the year-end monsoon season.

However, he reiterated that the rainfall that had accrued from December 16 to 18 alone had exceeded the amount expected for the entire month.

“On average, we were only expected to receive around 100mm for the entire month but during that span of time, rainfall levels exceeded 400mm in a single day (December 18),” he said.

Meanwhile, addressing the flood conditions in Taman Sri Muda, Amirudin clarified that the flood gates in the vicinity of the residential area were damaged due to the floods, and were temporarily shut to allow repairs to take place.

Amirudin briefly explained that the flood gate shafts were damaged while the gate itself was bent out of shape.

This comes after a video on social media showed a man claiming that local authorities had supposedly shut the floodgates and prevented floodwater in Taman Sri Muda from being diverted to a river nearby.

Amirudin also stated that the government is allocating some RM100 million in funds for flood-related repairs.