PUTRAJAYA: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has reminded district offices to treat the public impartially when delivering assistance during floods.
He instructed district offices to adopt a "colour-blind" approach to providing aid, irrespective of the affiliation of the state government with the federal government.
"Last year, I received reports about specific individuals receiving flood aid. This is federal funding, and we entrust the distribution to state and district agencies.
"The aid is intended for the affected victims, not based on political colour. This must be done if they are genuinely honest about helping the people," he said after attending a briefing and coordination on the current disaster situation at the Deputy Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya today.
Zahid, who is also the National Disaster Management Agency's (Nadma) Central Disaster Management Committee chairman, said that payments had been initiated through district offices.
He hoped that these offices would maintain political impartiality in their distribution.
Commenting on the floods which took place last month, he said the most severely affected state was Kelantan, with the worst hit being the Pasir Mas district.
Zahid said to date, the fifth episode of heavy rain from the northeast monsoon (MTL) had reached its final stage, with only 80 victims remaining in four temporary flood relief centres (PPS) involving three states, Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu.
A total of 62,467 victims have been placed in PPS since the onset of the Northeast Monsoon (MTL) on Nov 11, 2023.
PPS in the state of Kelantan recorded the highest percentage at 60 per cent, while Terengganu had 35 per cent, and other states, 5 per cent.
An estimated 19,204 houses were also affected by the MTL 2023/2024, which is expected to end in March.
"Continuous rainfall was the primary reason for elevated water levels in 2022, but the levels were considerably higher in 2023. However, the number of victims is not as high as it was in 2022.
"This collaboration with the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) for early relocation, based on notifications from MetMalaysia, represents the new standard operating procedures (SOP) that we are currently implementing," he added.