FLOODS: PM ANWAR ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL RM50 MLN ALLOCATION FOR KELANTAN, TERENGGANU

SETIU, Dec 1 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today announced an additional immediate allocation for Kelantan and Terengganu, with RM25 million for each state, in the wake of the severe floods that have hit them.

Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, said that the funds, channeled through the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) of the Prime Minister's Department, will be used for repairing essential infrastructure such as roads and drainage systems, as well as raising road levels in Hulu Besut.

He also announced that the Federal Government had agreed to provide a special financial assistance of RM500 to over 14,000 civil servants in Terengganu, involving an allocation of RM7.4 million.

He made the announcements after visiting flood victims at the Temporary Evacuation Centre (PPS) at Sekolah Kebangsaan, Kampung Telaga Papan, Setiu, which currently houses 269 evacuees.

The Prime Minister had earlier arrived at Sultan Mahmud International Airport, Kuala Terengganu at 10.25 am today to personally assess the current flood situation in the state.

Earlier, the Federal Government had allocated approximately RM50 million to assist flood victims in Kelantan and Terengganu through funds from the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), and today's additional allocation is intended for the repair of infrastructure and post-flood work, which is expected to incur high costs.

"For other states, we are monitoring the situation. We don’t want any misunderstandings… allocations will follow needs, and I expect the total losses (in the flood in affected states) this time could approach RM1 billion," Anwar said.

Meanwhile, Anwar said that there is no need to declare an emergency, despite the increasingly serious flood situation, especially in Kelantan and Terengganu.

He explained that this is because all security teams, including the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM), the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the Civil Defence Force (APM), the Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), and all federal, state, and district machinery are capable of handling the disaster effectively.

"Therefore, there is no need at all to declare a state of emergency," he said.

After visiting flood victims at SK Telaga Papan, Anwar also spent about 20 minutes visiting victims at the temporary evacuation centre (PPS) at SK Mangkuk, which houses 372 victims.

As of midday today, Terengganu recorded a total of 42,040 flood victims from 11,352 families, with Besut being the most affected district, with 15,756 victims.

-- BERNAMA