THE Malaysian Armed Forces sprung into action to save flood victims after getting exasperated waiting for the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) to give instructions.
According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), NADMA was hesitant to rope in military personnel in the relief efforts, including the Selangor state government.
“But it came to a point where the Defence Ministry (MINDEF) decided ‘to hell with NADMA’ as flood waters were rising and there was no point waiting any longer,” a source told FMT.
Hence the Armed Forces headed to flooded areas to provide relief soon after the Friday prayers.
The source told FMT that MINDEF was miffed with both NADMA and the Selangor state government over the matter.
“The agency did not know how to handle the crisis, as both NADMA and the state government were not monitoring social media to trawl for SOS messages from victims,” the source claimed.
The anonymous person alleged that MINDEF officers were “screaming” at NADMA officials. The latter only called for a meeting to coordinate relief measures yesterday.
“It was as if there was no sense of seriousness to the gravity of the situation. Hence, the Armed Forces and MINDEF decided to just bulldoze (rescue efforts).”
In the flood over the weekend, parts of West Malaysia got hit with torrential rain, displacing over 40,000 people.
To date, the authorities have recorded 14 fatalities. – Dec 21, 2021.
Photo credit: FMT
