Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has apologised to flood victims for the delay in sending emergency food supply to the evacuation centres.
According to Bernama yesterday, Muhyiddin (left) explained that extent of the floods was something the government did not foresee.
He was speaking at an evacuation centre in Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Banggol, Paya Berenjut in Kemaman, during a trip to Terangganu, which is one of the states hit by floods.
He also ordered that authorities ensure evacuation centres are stocked with at least three days' worth of food supplies.
Other states badly affected by the floods, a result of continuous heavy downpour, are Pahang and Kelantan.
The government have been receiving brickbats over its alleged slow handling of the crisis, with various quarters calling for emergency to be declared at states affected.
Yesterday, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang questioned the government’s refusal to declare the East Coast flood hit areas a disaster zone, as doing so will cut red tape and speed up aid and rescue efforts.
This came after Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi dismissed calls for emergency to be declared in Kuantan, despite admitting that the situation was "bad", as rescue teams have been mobilised.
Yesterday, Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Jalil came to the government’s defence, arguing that arguments were "mischievous" and made in "bad faith", pointing out that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak was even willing to leave the Umno general assembly early to visit the disaster zones.
According to Bernama yesterday, Muhyiddin (left) explained that extent of the floods was something the government did not foresee.He was speaking at an evacuation centre in Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Banggol, Paya Berenjut in Kemaman, during a trip to Terangganu, which is one of the states hit by floods.
He also ordered that authorities ensure evacuation centres are stocked with at least three days' worth of food supplies.
Other states badly affected by the floods, a result of continuous heavy downpour, are Pahang and Kelantan.
The government have been receiving brickbats over its alleged slow handling of the crisis, with various quarters calling for emergency to be declared at states affected.
Yesterday, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang questioned the government’s refusal to declare the East Coast flood hit areas a disaster zone, as doing so will cut red tape and speed up aid and rescue efforts.
This came after Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi dismissed calls for emergency to be declared in Kuantan, despite admitting that the situation was "bad", as rescue teams have been mobilised.
Yesterday, Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Jalil came to the government’s defence, arguing that arguments were "mischievous" and made in "bad faith", pointing out that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak was even willing to leave the Umno general assembly early to visit the disaster zones.
Delays unavoidable
Meanwhile, the Fire and Rescue Services Department stressed that delays in sending aid to several flood-hit areas were navoidable.
Its director-general Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim said the delays were due to various obstacles including power supply disruptions and communication difficulties.
"We have also been hampered by the closure of certain roads as they are nundated by flood waters, as well as vehicles parked on road shoulders by residents.
"So, a short trip can, in the end, take hours," he was quoted as saying by Bernama after opening the East Coast and South Zones Volunteer Firefighters Convention in Kuala Terengganu today.
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