WHILE the government’s flood mitigation initiatives under Budget 2024 are to be lauded, more can still be done to address recurring flash floods, Khazanah Alam Malaysia said.

Its president Damien Thanam Divean said millions of ringgit for flood mitigation, river widening and other projects have been spent by state governments and federal authorities for the longest time but to no avail. 

“What we see is that funds are being spent for various projects, but floods keep happening. 

“It seems that flood mitigation projects are not meant to last 10 or 20 years. Some projects are also still ongoing. 

“What went wrong? A study needs to be done because it is the taxpayers money used for these projects,” he told The Malaysian Insight. 

During the Budget 2024 announcement on Friday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said RM22 billion has been set aside under the 12th Malaysian Plan to finance flood mitigation projects.

Next year, RM11.8 billion will be used to fund 33 high-priority flood mitigation projects nationwide. 

Anwar said the government will also provide RM20 million to 150 local authorities to carry out repair works on damaged drains. 

As for the capital, Damien said Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has spent millions over the last decade but the floods were still happening.

“City Hall needs to look into why the floods keep recurring. The city is still prone to floods.

“Selangor also has to take heed, because its rivers cross into Kuala Lumpur.

“Both DBKL and the Selangor authorities, together with federal agencies, need to work together to prevent flash floods.”

Damien said the focus should be in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor as they are highly populated areas.

“This needs to be managed so that we can get rid of all risky areas,” he said, adding that the National Disaster Management Agency’s standard operating procedure must be made public for everyone to be on the same page.

He said all agencies must also work together with stakeholders, professionals and scholars on best practices and to be efficient and sufficient.

“They need to come up with a plan on how they are going to handle the coming northeast monsoon season and make it public.”

Last month, City Hall’s corporate communications department said it had completed flood mitigation works at 20 hotspots in the capital ahead of the monsoon season.

In January, former Kuala Lumpur mayor Mahadi Che Ngah said RM67.8 million had been set aside for flood mitigation efforts, of which RM39.4 million was for the maintenance of riverbanks, pump houses, and drainage.

Monitor high-risk hill slopes 

As for high-risk hill slopes, Damien said all potential areas need to be monitored, especially in populated areas.

“The SOP must be in place and warning systems should also be perfected.”

Under Budget 2024, Anwar said the government has provided RM563 million for the repair of slopes nationwide in order to prevent landslide tragedies like the one that occurred in Batang Kali, Selangor last year.

This includes monitoring, prevention and early warning reporting programmes involving more than 2,000 high-risk slopes.

Damien said the RM563 million must be used to strengthen existing artificial slopes being managed by the authorities.

“There should also be a breakdown on how the funds are going to be utilised for the sake of  transparency and accountability.”

On December 16, a landslide tragedy hit Father’s Organic Farm, claiming 31 lives. 

Damien also said all Malaysians should play their role by not disposing of garbage in drains that could cause flash floods. 

“People must be the eyes and ears for the authorities to detect any illegal dumping into waterways.

“Enforcement must be carried out to stop this.” – October 16, 2023.