THE Dewan Rakyat should hold a special session on last month’s deadly floods, so that the government can learn to improve on its response to disasters, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

“The special session will allow MPs to express their views and concerns, as well as offer suggestions to help the government find the best way to deal with the disaster,” the Bagan Datuk MP said in a statement today.

Zahid also said Umno was disappointed with the lack of coordination among relevant agencies in responding to the floods.

“The National Disaster Management Agency was lifeless and very weak in coordinating a response among the relevant agencies, despite the fact it has comprehensive guidelines for flood disaster coordination.”

Zahid added that the death toll from the floods, at 48, was the highest compared to other major flood incidents in the country.

“This requires the Keluarga Malaysia government to immediately implement the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s recommendation for a post-mortem on the floods.”

Umno also hoped that the government’s promised compassionate aid to flood-stricken households would be disbursed swiftly with minimal bureaucracy, Zahid added. The total aid promised could be a maximum of RM61,000 per family, depending on certain factors.

Thanking the government for the aid, Zahid reiterated his call to allow one last withdrawal of RM10,000 from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to help people cope with the economic fallout of the floods.

He said this Umno Supreme Council had supported another EPF withdrawal at its August 27 meeting last year.

Massive floods struck several states over the weekend of December 18 and 19 following hours of continuous heavy rain. The deluge killed 48 people nationwide and was the worst in the country’s history.

The government was criticised for responding to the disaster late as water levels rose swiftly. – January 5, 2022.