KLUANG: The Home Ministry (KDN) has been notified of the needs of the Johor government, which requires additional manpower to help deal with the flood situation in the state.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that, for now, more than 4,000 Johor police personnel are ready to be deployed at any time.
“That’s 4,000 personnel available and, just now, I had a discussion and gave instructions directly to the state police leadership for help to arrive on time, with the main mission being saving lives.
“If we take into account other agencies like the People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA), General Operations Force (PGA) and others under the KDN, we will have nearly 7,000 people,” he told reporters after visiting the temporary evacuation centre at the Kampung Melayu Kluang Community Hall, here, today.
However, Saifuddin Nasution said should it be necessary, the KDN would be ready to deploy police teams from states that are not affected by floods.
This includes reducing all assets that are on the lists of police or other agencies under the KDN, such as four-wheel drives, lorries, lifeboats, ropes and many more, which can facilitate rescue operations.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin Nasution said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, during the Cabinet Ministers’ meeting earlier today, had instructed ministers who have nothing important on their schedule, to immediately go down to the ground to see for themselves the flood situation in Johor and report directly to him.
“As everyone knows, he (the Prime Minister) has announced an immediate RM50 million allocation to the state government and, yesterday, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as chairman of the Central Disaster Management Committee, also announced RM10 million (allocation).
“That is our (government’s) commitment as a sign of empathy towards the people in Johor, especially those affected by the floods. As a sign of our strong support, especially in the KDN and other security teams, I say thank you,” he said. - Bernama
