Current Penang govt had approved 8 times more hillslope projects: Subra (Update)

BUTTERWORTH: MIC has revealed that Penang had approved eight times more hillside development projects compared to the previous state government.
Its president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said that this information was revealed to him during a ministerial meeting in Putrajaya, and it is a cause for concern as its depicts a degradation of the environment.
He said it was important to note the after effects of such development, as what happened in Penang must be taken seriously to avoid similar recurrences in the future.
He said this after handing out aid to flood victims at the Sri Muniswarar Temple in Prai.
Later, Subramaniam said that his ministry has an effective standard operating procedure in public hospitals to cope in an event of a major disaster occurring.
He said that the medical services were able to provide assistance during the floods that hit the state on Nov 4.
"We have our own SOP in handling issues during emergencies. We also have the means to check against the spread of contagious diseases."
He was responding to questions from reporters, who had asked him on Penang Health committee chairperson Dr Afif Bahardin's remark that public hospitals in Penang need to undergo more emergency simulation exercises to prepare their medical personnel to cope better in the event of major disasters such as floods or accidents.
Subramaniam also advised the public to be cautious during the post-flood period when preparing food.
He reminded the public to always boil water meant for consumption.
Meanwhile, MIC central working committee member J. Dhinagaran said that about 400 residents who were affected by floods in Bagan Dalam and Prai have received aid from the party
He said that the aid was meant to lessen the burden of the victims, and MIC felt obliged to help those in need.
Penang was hit by the worst floods in recent times which claimed seven lives, displacing 9,000 people.