Put politics aside, work together to manage disasters, says Zahid

 

Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the federal, state and local governments must work together to manage disasters, including floods. (Bernama pic)

PUCHONG: Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called on opposition-led state governments to set aside political differences when managing disasters.

Zahid claimed that certain states view disaster management, including floods, as the sole responsibility of the federal government.

“What we need is cooperation among the federal, state and local governments.

“Therefore, political differences should be set aside, especially by states that are not aligned to the federal government,” he said at a press conference on the sidelines of a National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) event here today.

Earlier today, Bernama reported that there had been no change in the number of flood victims in Johor, Pahang and Sabah since last night, with  205 people still at five relief centres in the three states this morning.

After a trip to Kelantan on Dec 28 to visit areas hit by floods, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stressed that cooperation between the federal and state governments was vital in dealing with natural disasters.

Opposition-led states Kelantan and Terengganu were among the worst hit by last year’s floods. - FMT