Anwar revokes leave for ministers, orders focus on flood relief as more than 100k evacuated from 9 Malaysian states

KUALA LUMPUR — Floods hit nine Malaysian states on Nov 29, with Kelantan being the worst hit, and about 103,000 people were forced to flee their homes because of rising waters.

Government figures showed that 74 per cent of the evacuees are from Kelantan, on the east coast, and 19 per cent from Terengganu, as at 9pm on Nov 29.

The remaining seven per cent of those displaced are from the northern states of Perlis, Kedah and Perak, the central states of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan and southern states of Melaka and Johor.

The serious situation has prompted Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to revoke the leave of all Cabinet ministers and deputy ministers as he directed them to focus on flood relief efforts.

"All ministers have been instructed to go to the ground now. Yes, their leave has been frozen," Datuk Seri Anwar was quoted as saying by The Star.

Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi visited Kelantan and was told by the growing number of evacuees that the deluge was worse than the 2014 "bah kuning" (yellow flood) — so called as the water was mixed with a lot of mud — which displaced more than 200,000 people in Kelantan then.

"I have been informed of a shortage of tents on the ground. I have ordered the National Disaster Management Agency to send tents from the storerooms of other states to Kelantan," Datuk Seri Zahid, who was accompanied by Kelantan Menteri Besar Nassuruddin Daud, told reporters in Kota Bharu.

Those evacuated are usually sheltered in schools and public halls, and they sleep in small, open tents until the waters recede.

Zahid said Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek was on her way to Kelantan to coordinate with the local authorities to ensure that students who are taking the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia exam — the equivalent of Singapore's O levels — starting on Dec 2 can be safely transported to exam halls.

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"The army will use trucks to take candidates from remote areas... All headmasters and headmistresses must ensure that no candidate fails to take the test," Zahid said.

Zahid, who is also chairman of Malaysia's National Disaster Management Committee, warned on Nov 28 that the worst flooding in a decade was expected over the next few days, raising the spectre of the 2014 "bah kuning", when fast-flowing waters swept away dozens of wooden houses in Kelantan.

He said that high tides expected in the following week would worsen the flooding as they would prevent the rainwater swelling in rivers from draining into the South China Sea.

On Nov 29, figures from the Department of Irrigation and Drainage showed that 17 out of 27 water-level markers in rivers in Kelantan rose above warning levels.

Two main rivers in the state, Sungai Kelantan and Sungai Golok, had overflowed their embankments.

Muhammad Aizuddin Ghazni, a resident of a village just outside the Kelantan capital of Kota Bharu, said the flood on Nov 29 was worse than on the previous day, with water reaching the compound of his house.

"I'm going to rescue my documents and cat," the 28-year-old smash burger stall owner told The Straits Times via WhatsApp.

Another resident, Mohd Amizul Fazly Muhamed Sudin, said the road surrounding his house in Melor, 40 minutes from Kota Bharu, was submerged.

"My house is okay for now. There is no flood. But I had to take a lorry to return home yesterday (Nov 28) from Kuala Krai because the major roads were flooded," the 47-year-old special officer to a federal lawmaker said on Nov 29.

He is worried that he may not be able to attend the parliamentary session in Kuala Lumpur when it resumes on Dec 2.

Meanwhile, Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah on Borneo island, experienced heavy rain for several hours on Nov 29, causing severe flooding in the surrounding districts of Luyang, Penampang and Inanam.

Kaven Lee, chief liaison officer to a Kota Kinabalu MP, said water levels in parts of the capital rose to 0.8m this time around, compared with just 0.3m in 2023.

ALSO READ: 3 dead, thousands displaced as Malaysia warns of worst floods in a decade

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.