Defence, Works ministries to jointly repair flood-damaged roads, bridges

The defence and works ministries are to work together to repair roads and bridges damaged by the floods to facilitate the transport of food supplies quickly to the flood victims in several states, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said Tuesday.

He said he had put forward the proposal to Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and the latter was agreeable to it.

"What worries me is that the road closures are making it difficult for us to send food supplies; we are forced to use helicopters and their use depends upon the weather.

"I will identify the damaged roads so that we can take immediate action," he told reporters after attending an 'OP Murni' briefing by the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) air base here.

With him were Defence Ministry general-secretary Datuk Seri Abd Rahim Mohd Radzi and 4th Mechanised Brigade commander Brig Gen Datuk Ahmad Tajuddin Abd Ghani.

Hishammuddin said his ministry would set up another flood aid collection centre, in Ipoh, to expedite the sending of aid to the flood victims.

The existing collection centres are in Subang, Selangor; Butterworth, Penang; and Batu Berendam, Malacca.

When asked if the ministry had sufficient assets to send aid to the flood victims, he said they had also enlisted the help of Maskargo and AirAsia.

Hishammuddin also welcomed a suggestion for volunteers from all government agencies to be mobilised to help in the post-flood clean-up operations.

"Post-flood cleaning should be done immediately as it could affect the health of flood victims and it is also to ensure that the schools which have been turned into relief centres are ready for use in the upcoming school session," he said.