Year: 2021

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — The government has agreed to give emergency leave to civil servants who are affected by the floods which has hit several states, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

“Tomorrow is Monday and they have to go to work, even though they have to evacuate to the relief centres. We understand their plight, so the government agrees to give emergency leave because of this disaster.

“To civil servants who are affected by the floods, when they return to work, they can discuss with their respective department heads about the leave. I hope when they are able to return home, finish cleaning the house and so on, they can go back to work. As for now, we are giving them leave,” he told a media conference after chairing a special meeting on the floods today.

As for the private sector employers, the prime minister said he also hoped they would take a similar initiative by providing emergency leave to employees affected by the floods.

“If they (employers) agree to give (leave), there are two conditions, that it (leave) cannot be deducted from the annual leave and the salary of the employees cannot be deducted. If the leave is for five days, it cannot be deducted from their salary. It should be paid leave,” he added.

Ismail Sabri said although there is no law that can force employers to give leave to employees in such circumstances, employers could do so on a humanitarian basis.

The prime minister said he would discuss the matter with Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.

Meanwhile, he said the situation in the flood-hit states was reported to be improving, although in some areas in Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu, the river water level is still rising.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SEPANG, Dec 19 — Main roads leading to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) have been closed due to floods.

“Dear passengers and airport staff, main federal roads to KLIA from Putrajaya/Cyberjaya/ Dengkil/Banting and Nilai have been closed due to flood,” said Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).

The airport operator, in its tweet today, said KLIA and klia2 could still be reached via the Elite Highway, exiting at the KLIA toll.

“For those coming from within the airport vicinity, you can access the Elite Highway via Serenia City, or use Jalan Pekeliling near Sepang International Circuit (SIC)/Staff Quarters KLIA,” it said.

MAHB said flight operations and public transportation service at KLIA are operating as normal.

Yesterday, five routes in Sepang district had to be closed temporarily to all vehicles, including Jalan Labu to Taman Dataran Abadi, Jalan Kota Warisan to Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi and Jalan Bukit Changgang to Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi.

A check by Bernama today showed that the Jalan Labohan Dagang-Nilai route near Kota Warisan was still closed as at 1 pm today due to floods.

Floods struck the Klang Valley yesterday and did not seem to abate today, causing thousands of residents to be evacuated and road users stranded due to road closures.

Floods have also been reported in Pahang, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu and Kelantan.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had instructed all relevant ministries to immediately mobilise assets to the flood-affected areas to ensure that the people are rescued and placed in evacuation centres.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — The Youth and Sports Ministry’s facilities and volunteers are ready to be deployed to assist flood victims nationwide.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said this included turning its existing facilities into temporary evacuation centres besides deploying the volunteers to flood-hit areas.

“The KBS (Youth and Sports Ministry) is ready to offer its facilities, like the state youth and sports complexes, 22 KBS Training Institutes and International Youth Centres (IYC) as temporary evacuation centres.

“We have also prepared youth volunteers known as the post-flood volunteer squad with the cooperation of the Youth and Sports Department, IYC, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the KBS Club itself,” he told reporters after launching the KBS Post-Flood Volunteers Squad at MITEC here today.

“Based on the scale of the disaster that we are facing and the non-stop reports that we are getting, we will definitely need more volunteers.

“InsyaAllah, when we deploy our teams nationwide, surely we can get more volunteers. I am not sure how many vollunteers we can gather, but surely we can get more than 10,000 people (volunteers),” he added.

The country has been hit by severe floods in several states like Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan. Last year, KBS deployed almost 10,000 volunteers to provide flood assistance and cleaning work.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SHAH ALAM, Dec 19 — The Section 21 Muslim Cemetery near here, was shrouded in sadness when eight funeral vans arrived with the remains of nine family members who perished in the horrific accident along the Elite Expressway near here last Friday.

The vans, driven by health workers donned in full PPE clothing and escorted by the police, were seen entering the main gate of the cemetery at 12.40pm today.

By 1.30pm the remains were buried in a common grave as requested by the family after the autopsies and COVID-19 screening were performed and funeral prayers conducted at the Shah Alam Hospital Forensic Unit here.

The remains of Norul Naziah Buyong, 37, were buried with her eight children, Razarul Amin Abd Razak, 17; Razatul Aliah, 16; Puteri Hidayah, 12; Muhamad Aizat Syazwan, 10; Muhamad Rolkaizat Rezky, 9; Muhamad Hidayat Hakimie, 7; Puteri Nur Ain Syalwana, 3; and 10-month-old Muhammad Raid Fathi.

Norul Naziah’s younger sister, Nurul Atika, 33, said five of the deceased children tested negative for COVID-19 but four others, including the baby, were COVID-19 positive.

Norul Naziah, her husband Abd Razak Majit, 50, and their eight children were travelling in two Proton Wira cars but had stopped on the emergency lane after one of the cars broke down.

Abd Razak and the occupants of another car, a Perodua Axia, – Mimie Nafiesa Abdullah, 19; Ihyat Sufi Shokip and Ummi Nasuha Annuwar, both 20 – all suffered minor injuries.

The remains of another victim of the midnight crash, mechanic Mohamad Rahimi Rolex, 27, were buried at the same cemetery at 1 am today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — MCA’s Crisis Relief Squad (CRSM) has begun mobilising manpower to help flood victims especially those who have been evacuated to temporary relief centres.

Party president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said he had instructed the squad to go down to the ground and visit flood areas around the Klang Valley and other localities in Selangor which were badly affected by the floods.

“We also have CRSM in every state where they will coordinate rescue work

“We are doing our best to help the flood victims as we understand that many roads have been cut off because of the high tide resulting in certain areas are not accessible by cars.

“In fact, even buses cannot return to the depot, thus resulting in delays, and trains have been diverted to other stations,” he told a press conference after the 68th MCA General Assembly here today.

Wee, who is also the Transport Minister. said he would try his very best to provide aid to the flood victims aside from the latest information in terms of the transportation system.

CRSM was established by MCA in 2005 to provide humanitarian aid during disasters.

The two-day 68th General Assembly which began yesterday ended early to enable the delegates to assist flood victims in their respective areas following the worsening flood situation in several states.

Several areas in the Klang Valley and Selangor were also inundated with floodwaters yesterday resulting in thousands of residents being relocated while many motorists were trapped in a gridlock when roads were closed.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency