Anwar wants RCI after flood exposes lapses in disaster preparedness

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has urged Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to set up a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) as well as a parliamentary committee following the government’s tardy response to last week’s flooding that has displaced at least 62,000 people.

He said the committees must be set up immediately to begin the work of improving the nation’s readiness to face future calamities.

“Climate change and our poor awareness of the role and importance of the environment will lead to a catastrophic increase in the likelihood of natural disasters in the future. We could not fathom and probe what were our weaknesses last weekend.

“The prime minister must act now by establishing an RCI as well as a parliamentary committee to improve the level of disaster preparedness,” Anwar said in a statement today.

This is in addition to providing aid to people affected by the floods so they could reclaim their homes and recover from the damage.

It must be transparent and hold itself to a high degree of accountability by having daily press conferences on the latest flood situation and rescue efforts, he added.

Last weekend’s floods occurred when the tropical depression 29W made landfall near Kuantan, bringing with it heavy sustained rainfall across central Peninsular Malaysia particularly Pahang and Selangor.

As of 8am today, a total of 62,999 flood victims have been evacuated to temporary relief centres, including 34,924 in Pahang, 22,947 in Selangor, and 415 in Kuala Lumpur.

Some affected areas are still inundated with water although much of the rain has stopped since Sunday, and efforts to pump the stagnant floodwaters into rivers are still underway.

At least 17 bodies have been recovered in Selangor and eight in Pahang in the flood’s aftermath, although the cause of death for some cases is still being determined.

Slow response, chaotic coordination 

Echoing other critics of the government’s flood response, Anwar said the incident exposed Malaysia’s lack of disaster preparedness.

Among others, he said the federal government’s response was slow particularly its National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), and coordination between the government and local authorities was chaotic.

The Port Dickson MP also made reference to media reports quoting sources claiming that the armed forces had mobilised its flood relief efforts without clearance from Nadma, after becoming fed up waiting for the agency to give the go-ahead.

Anwar said poor coordination between aid volunteers and the armed forces further added to the confusion and disappointment.

“Failure after failure in managing this disaster only highlights the true abilities of the government led by him (Ismail). 

"The government and its leadership have failed to show solidary with the people since the beginning of the disaster, and could not instil confidence in its ability to steer the country towards recovery including with the ongoing pandemic.

“I am proud that true solidarity has been shown to the people from many races, whereas the top leadership is preoccupied with meetings,” he added. - Mkini