Anwar pledges more funds as Malaysia’s monsoon floods worsen

MALAYSIA Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his administration will provide extra funds for disaster management and rescue efforts following the monsoonal floods that have been more severe than expected this season. 

The government has allocated RM400 million (S$122 million) to the National Disaster Management Agency for early preparedness initiatives in flood areas, and more funds will be provided when needed, Anwar, who also doubles up as finance minister, said in parliament on Tuesday (Dec 20).

Annual floods in Malaysia have forced more than 56,000 across five states to seek shelter in relief camps, Bernama reported, with continuous heavy rain raising water levels of several rivers in Kelantan, Terengganu, and in the palm-growing state of Pahang. 

Malaysia’s meteorological department issued warnings for continuous rain through Thursday, calling the situation in Terengganu hazardous. The agency had earlier said that the wet weather is expected to last until early next year due to an active La Nina and negative Indian Ocean Dipole concurrences. 

Floods in the South-east Asian country have become a yearly phenomenon, triggered by the north-east monsoon that brings heavy rain from November to March.

Last year’s floods – the nation’s worst in decades – left dozens dead, displaced more than 61,000 people and caused an estimated RM6.1 billion in losses. BLOOMBERG