NSC defends Putrajaya’s relief efforts, says floods abnormal

No matter how prepared we are, there will always be a bigger and more devastating disaster that will test the capability and resources of the country, the National Security Council (NSC) said today, taking a swipe at critics claiming Putrajaya has failed to manage the flood situation in the country.

NSC said the floods which led to the displacement of more than 200,000 people in the East Coast states are abnormal and has also caused major obstacles and problems to the relief efforts.

"Government agencies have encountered major problems which has slowed down the rescue and relief operations. Access to some areas and evacuation centres were effectively cut off.

"Because of strong currents and bad weather, rescue personnel could not reach the victims either by truck, boat or helicopter," the NSC said in a statement today.

The NSC was responding to criticism from various quarters, including the opposition, that questioned Putrajaya's preparedness to face disasters in the country.

DAP national publicity chief Tony Pua had slammed Putrajaya recently for what he described as an apparent lack of urgency in dealing with the floods, especially as the situation worsened.

He had urged Putrajaya to declare a state of emergency if necessary to enable the full mobilisation of assets and manpower to assist the flood victims.

DAP's Ipoh Barat MP M.Kula Segaran had demanded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to probe why Putrajaya appeared to have been caught unaware by the floods.

"Why has Putrajaya not learnt from its previous experiences in dealing with floods, especially when it traditionally occurs at the end of the year?"

The NSC, in reply, said it was deeply disturbed by the allegations made by certain individuals over social media and web portals, including those published by The Malaysian Insider.

"These articles and commentaries which smack of political motive, claimed that Putrajaya had failed in managing the flood situation.

"These individuals making their remarks from the bench are full of pomp calling on the government to buck up and that we are lackadaisical in our response," the NSC said.

"However, their scathing comments only reveal how shallow their understanding of the concept of disaster and what it entails as well as the country’s system at managing it which covers the activities before, during, and after a disaster occurs," the NSC replied.

Referring to Pua's article, NSC said "the fact is, nobody can resolve nor eliminate disasters. Disasters have, and will, always be a part of life so long as hazards and risks exist.

"What we can do is to mitigate and reduce the impact of disasters in order to save more lives.

"Even the most advanced countries with the most sophisticated disaster management system and law in place still faces hiccups and challenges when facing the brunt of the ravaging forces of mother nature."

The NSC cited an example of the Japanese government, which had invested billions of dollars in mitigation and preparedness plans.

"Even they were overwhelmed when facing the tsunami which struck Tohoku region in 2011.

"This is because the preparations that had been put in place are for a one in 100 years event but what came that day was a one in 1,000 years event.

The NSC said what was happening in Malaysia now, especially Kelantan, was a similar example.

The NSC also claimed that Pua could be held for libel by claiming in the article that deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was only now meeting the NSC on December 27 to deal with the flood, and there were no prior meetings conducted to prepare for the flood.

"Several rounds of meeting were convened prior to the beginning of the monsoon season with the first meeting chaired by Muhyiddin himself on January 3, 2014.

"Following this meeting, the Minister at the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim chaired a second meeting on October 13, 2014 to further iron out crinkles in the coordination and preparation.

"A third meeting was later convened at the working level on the same day, chaired by the National Security Council secretary.

"In essence, everybody had met, planned, and are on standby.

"To accuse Putrajaya of not being prepared is a gross understatement, NSC said.

"It has always been our first priority to save lives and had we not been prepared, hundreds or maybe thousands of lives would be lost due to this serious flooding." – December 29, 2014.