Stupid of ministers to blame people for flood disaster - Kit Siang
It is stupid of ministers to blame the people for not heeding weather warnings during the recent floods when they are the ones sleeping on the job, said Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang.
He said this in response to Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man who said that people failed to heed the government’s weather warnings because they were under the impression that floods only occur on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia...
It is stupid of ministers to blame the people for not heeding weather warnings during the recent floods when they are the ones sleeping on the job, said Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang.
He said this in response to Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man who said that people failed to heed the government’s weather warnings because they were under the impression that floods only occur on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
"It is shocking that ministers are blaming the people for the flood disaster for not heeding the government’s weather warnings instead of admitting their mismanagement blunders.
"It is stupid and unproductive for ministers to indulge in the blame game instead of raising the efficiency and effectiveness of flood disaster management as many ministers and relevant departments are sleeping on the job with the right hand not knowing what the left hand in government is doing," Lim (above) said in a statement today.
Among the examples he gave was the confusion over who was leading the Selangor National Security Council, and discrepancies between the National Disaster Management Agency and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on cash aid for flood victims.
Name ministers on holiday
The DAP veteran commended Ismail Sabri for cancelling the leave of all ministers and recalling them even though the floods have receded.
However, Lim said the prime minister should disclose how many ministers are on holiday so people can know whether they are complying with the directive.
"There is no reason for keeping this information an 'official secret' as the public is entitled to this information so that they could ascertain how many and who are the ministers defying the prime minister on the cancellation of their year-end leave.
"This will be a test whether we have a prime minister who cannot even exercise discipline among his ministers," he added.
Lim also asked if the ministers returning from Covid-19 high-risk countries will be subjected to quarantine like ordinary Malaysians.
Raise goodwill payment
The MP welcomed Ismail Sabri's announcement that the death compensation for flood victims will be doubled from RM5,000 to RM10,000 but urged the government to similarly raise the goodwill payment from RM1,000 to RM10,000 per household.
"The flood victims have lost everything – their furniture, personal documents, kitchenware as well as their money – with the option of additional aid on a case by case basis.
"The government should not only provide a sustained relief package but also jump-start the economy by giving businesses affected by the floods RM1,500 in rental relief for two months as the small businesses were just starting to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic," Lim said.
