The Dewan Rakyat will debate the severe flood that hit Penang and parts of Kedah in its Special Chamber this evening.

This follows the acceptance of an emergency motion brought by Ng Wei Aik (DAP-Tanjong) today by Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.

The speaker said the matter was in line with three conditions - a specific matter, urgent and of public interest - and thus would be allowed to be debated in the House.

The debate will take place in the Special Chamber by 2.30pm.

In his speech, Ng (photo) said the matter should be discussed in the House to create a more efficient method of handling the disaster.

"Close cooperation is needed to be formed between (the) federal government and state government to face any disaster in an effective manner," he said.

During the special chamber sitting, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim said as of yesterday, a total 1,722 families in Penang, registered under the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma).

Nadma was set up by the National Security Council to help disaster victims, coordinate temporary shelter for the victims and issue "wang ehsan" (compassionate fund).

He said a total RM422 million in compassionate fund have been handed out to victims nationwide since 2013.

When Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng sought the army's help in panic, he said, Lim did not realise the disaster management team was already on the ground.

"My machinery was there, maybe he just didn't know about that," he said when winding up the emergency motion on Penang flood.

"There have been no cases of help failing to reach any flood relief centres in Penang," he said.

Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Deputy Minister Hamim Samuri said the Department of Irrigation Drainage (JPS) was reviewing the design for the flood mitigation project in Penang by taking into consideration, the climate change and intensive development.

"JPS will review the protection level of the river from the design aspect of the flood mitigation projects.

“The state government should ensure development projects adhere to all the relevant conditions,“ he said.

"When an area is hit by flood, including in Penang, the cause included silt and erosion, so a system must be intact to resolve it.

"And the local community should refrain from throwing rubbish into the drainage system and river.

"These things made the situation worst, besides the heavy rainfall and the typhoon that caused tide," he said.