PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the amount allocated was huge and as such, its management needed to be transparent.
"The RM800 million fund for relief is huge. PAC will ask the Finance Ministry and the NSC to explain in detail how the allocation will be channelled to flood victims," Nur Jazlan told The Malaysian Insider.
Nur Jazlan said the substantial allocation would require transparency and careful spending to ensure that the additional budget that is due to be presented in the Dewan Rakyat would not become an issue.
"The issue now is the additional budget, many parties are questioning why can't the government budget accurately.
"PAC will only call them to find out if the additional budget is really used in a right and transparent way," he said.
Nur Jazlan, who is also Pulai MP, said the move by PAC to seek an explanation from the ministry and the NSC, which is the agency in charge of disaster management, would also avoid confusion when the additional budget is presented.
The RM800 million allocation, said the PAC chairman, was to help flood victims but it does not include the expenses to be incurred in rebuilding the affected areas.
"This is only help for flood victims. It does not include costs for the re-development of the areas such as rebuilding of roads, reinstalling electricity and water supplies and more," he added.
The NSC, he said, would also be required to explain several matters, particularly complaints about the lack of preparation and mismanagement in handling the floods this time.
"We want to ask why were they ill-prepared this time as we have had complaints that the supplies were inadequate, communications were cut off and there were not enough boats," he said.
When asked when the Finance Ministry and the NSC would be called, Nur Jazlan said letters from the committee would go out as soon as Parliament begins sitting and the flood problems have subsided.
Yesterday, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan revealed that the government has so far spent about RM800 million to help victims in the states affected by floods.
He said the amount was for the provision of food supplies, logistics and for the cleaning up of the victims' houses.
"The government is also preparing for a contingency provision should a second wave of floods hit the country," he had said.
He said the government needed billions of ringgit to provide assistance to flood victims and to rehabilitate areas which had suffered much destruction and losses due to the flooding.
The floods in Peninsular Malaysia that started in mid-December affected five states – Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak and Johor. An estimated 150,000 people were affected by the devastation.
- TMI
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