PUTRAJAYA: All federal agencies must treat state governments equally when providing help and aid for flood.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he had instructed all agencies to do so, regardless whether the state government was a part of the federal government or not.
"Equality and justice must be continued, regardless of who they are. We are here to resolve the problems of the people, not the political problems.
"This is also an approach that the prime minister holds. On matters relating to the people, he is colour blind," he told reporters after chairing the National Disaster Management (Nadma) committee meeting, here, today.
Zahid also said preparations were already underway to face possible flooding, including activating temporary flood relief centres.
"We feel that preparedness measures must be proactive and not reactive. This is to prevent from loss of lives, property damage, and the loss of important documents."
Zahid gave his assurances that any flood aid given during the last administration would be continued.
The government, he added, would also look into long-term solutions to prevent floods in the future, especially providing holistic flood mitigation solutions.
"Long-term solutions are better than an as-and-when approach. We have asked the Drainage and Irrigation Department to find ways to resolve this," he added.
Commenting on forecasts that the country would experience significant flooding within the next three days, Zahid said the government must be prepared and coordination must be made not just at the central level but at at every district as well.
"The weather forecast by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) showed that heavy rain may happen starting Dec 17, but this is just a forecast.
"It is the same like when they forecasted that the elections would be held during the floods. It's just a forecast."
Zahid said according to MetMalaysia, there were three main areas that were susceptible to flooding, namely the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia (Kelantan and Terengganu), the east coast of Sabah, and the west coast of Sarawak.